{{Short description|Coconut dessert pudding from Puerto Rico}} {{For|the village in Spain|Tembleque, Spain}} {{For|the large one-piece skirt|Pollera}}
{{Infobox prepared food | name = Tembleque | image = Tembleque - coconut pudding.jpg | caption = | alternate_name = | country = {{Flag|Puerto Rico}} | region = Puerto Rico | creator = | course = Dessert | type = Pudding | served = | main_ingredient = Coconut milk, heavy cream, cornstarch, sugar, and cinnamon | variations = | calories = | other = }}
'''Tembleque''' is a coconut dessert pudding from Puerto Rico<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/puerto-rican-coconut-pudding/|title=Puerto Rican Coconut Pudding|website=Taste of Home|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-17}}</ref> similar to blancmange and related to Catalan menjar blanc and Filipino maja blanca. It is one of the best-known desserts in Puerto Rican cuisine.<ref name="EPRL 2016">{{cite web | last=EPRL | first=Publicado por Grupo Editorial | title=Cultura popular - Cultura Popular | website=EnciclopediaPR | date=May 8, 2016 | url=https://enciclopediapr.org/encyclopedia/cultura-popular/#1464574011522-2f10c584-c56c | language=es | access-date=July 20, 2019 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
== Ingredients == {{lang|es|Tembleque}} is made by simmering and constantly stirring coconut milk, heavy cream (optional), salt, cornstarch, and sugar until thick. It is then poured into a mold and set to chill. When chilled it should be smooth and stiff with the texture similar to pudding. It is garnished with ground cinnamon. Orange blossom water is a common ingredient that some{{who?|date=December 2025}} consider traditional.
Tembleque can also be topped with a fruit relish or chocolate shavings.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thenoshery.com/tembleque-coconut-pudding/|title=Tembleque (Coconut Pudding)|date=2018-12-14|website=The Noshery|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goya.com/en/recipes/tembleque-coconut-pudding|title=Tembleque - Coconut Pudding|website=www.goya.com|language=en|access-date=2019-07-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.delishdlites.com/dessert-recipes/tembleque-puerto-rican-coconut-pudding/|title=Tembleque (Puerto Rican Coconut Pudding)|date=2018-01-04|website=Delish D'Lites|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-17}}</ref>
{{Cn|date=February 2025}}
== Cultural importance == It is a holiday dish, served on New Year's Day throughout the island of Puerto Rico.<ref name="Salsa stories">{{cite web | title=Salsa stories : Delacre, Lulu | website=Internet Archive | date=October 23, 2016 | url=https://archive.org/details/salsastories00dela | access-date=July 20, 2019}}</ref> While the recipe may have originated in Puerto Rico,<ref name="CCNY Recipe Book">{{cite web | title=CCNY Recipe Book 2017 | website=Internet Archive | date=October 23, 2016 | url=https://archive.org/details/CCNYRecipeBook2017 | access-date=July 20, 2019}}</ref> there are variants on the dish such as manjar blanco in Latin America, manjar branco in Brazil, and maja blanca in the Philippines. According to the ''Encyclopedia of Puerto Rico'', published by the Foundation for the Humanities, each time a Puerto Rican migrant to the <!--mainland--> United States comes closer and closer to forgetting their roots, foods like {{lang|es|tembleque}} bring them back and remind them of who they are, of their island, and of their grandmother.<ref name="Ramis 2016">{{cite web | last=Ramis | first=Publicado por García | title=Estampas del comer boricua - Proyectos FPH | website=EnciclopediaPR | date=July 9, 2016 | url=https://enciclopediapr.org/encyclopedia/estampas-del-comer-boricua/#1469770979384-51f9756c-638a | language=es | access-date=July 20, 2019 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
== Etymology == In Spanish, the word ''tembleque'' is an adjective used to describe something that shakes, or a noun to describe the shakes themselves. The dessert, due to its Jell-O-like gel texture, trembles, shivers, and shakes<ref name="Diccionario Inglés-Español WordReference.com">{{cite web | title=tembleque | website=Diccionario Inglés-Español WordReference.com | url=https://www.wordreference.com/es/en/translation.asp?spen=tembleque | access-date=July 20, 2019}}</ref> if it has been prepared correctly.<ref name="WorldCat.org 1999">{{cite book | title=Daisy Cooks! : Latin Flavors That Will Rock Your World. (eBook, 2013) [WorldCat.org] | date=February 22, 1999 | oclc=880406782 }}</ref>
== See also == {{Portal|Food}} * Coconut bar * Khanom thuai * Bebinca * Haupia * Maja blanca * Manjar branco
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Puddings}}
Category:Puerto Rican cuisine Category:Puddings Category:Coconut desserts
{{dessert-stub}}