Natilla Colombiana

Ingredients

• 1 litre whole milk
• 250 g panela, grated, or dark muscovado sugar
• 120 g cornflour
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 whole cloves
• 1/4 tsp fine salt
• 30 g unsalted butter
• 60 g desiccated coconut
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon, to dust

Before you cook

• Grate the panela if it comes as a solid cone.
• Measure 700 ml of the milk into a heavy saucepan and keep the remaining 300 ml cold.
• Whisk the cornflour into the cold milk until there are no lumps at all.
• Butter a 20 by 20 centimetre dish or line it with cling film.

Steps

1. Put the 700 ml of milk, the grated panela, the cinnamon stick, the cloves and the salt into the saucepan.
2. Warm over medium-low heat for ten minutes, stirring, until the panela has completely dissolved.
3. Strain the infused milk through a sieve back into the clean pan and discard the spices.
4. Set the pan over medium-low heat and give the cold cornflour milk a final whisk.
5. Pour the cornflour milk into the pan in a thin stream, whisking constantly.
6. Switch to a wooden spoon and stir without stopping, reaching into the corners of the pan.
7. Keep stirring for twelve to fifteen minutes, until the mixture thickens and the spoon leaves a clear track across the base of the pan.
8. Cook for two more minutes so the cornflour loses its raw taste.
9. Beat in the butter and the desiccated coconut until the butter has melted.
10. Pour the natilla into the prepared dish and level the top with a wet spatula.
11. Leave it on the worktop for thirty minutes to lose its steam.
12. Chill uncovered for at least four hours, until firm enough to cut cleanly.
13. Dust the surface with ground cinnamon and cut into squares to serve.