Blan Manje Recipe, a Haitian Coconut Dessert (2024)

July 25, 2019
11 Comments

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We call this dessert blan manje. Commit those words to memory, even if this is not your language. Why? Because blan manje is a delightful dessert. It deserves that you remember its name. Simple as that.

Who am I fooling? If you’ve been reading me long enough you know there’s much more to this statement than just that. But brace yourself. You’ll find out why I insist so much in the upcoming lines.

I prepared blan manje on my own for the very first time for a country fair in college. I was proudly showcasing our Haitian culture and cuisine. I lived on campus. This meant, I had limited access to adequate cooking tools. I, thus, had to prepare something quick, simple and delicious enough for foreign palates.

What better dish than our beloved cold coconut dessert: blan manje?

It did not require any specialized tools or ingredients. All I needed was a good pot, a stove and access to a fridge. Tools and equipment I could easily find. As for the ingredients, they were all readily available. Just a quick trip to the neighborhood store and I was on my way to preparing a delicious coconut treat.

My blan manje was a success. It quickly turned into my go to dessert for all events requiring that I bring a taste of home to the table. I loved preparing it and serving it. Except that a friend kept calling it coconut jello. It was her way of making sense of this gelatinous dessert. She also claimed it would draw more people to my stand. It actually did. But I was not too happy about that appellation. Even though it did attract people, I felt it was demeaning. To this day, I can’t help but grimace as I commit those words to writing. I felt that name reduced our blan manje to the most basic thing ever. And to me it isn’t.

So what exactly is blan manje?

When you think about it, blan manje does have a jello-like texture. But, unlike your basic jello, it is also creamy and rich in coconut flavors. It is a mixture of coconut milk, sweet condensed and evaporated milk enhanced with sweet spices and held together with gelatin. Back in the days, Haitian cooks prepared the coconut milk from scratch. They would spend hours grating the actual coconut flesh so as to extract and prepare the milk. Today, with coconut milk readily available in any store, we’ve simplified the recipe. But that in no way means we should simplify its name. Our blan manje simply isn’t jello. It is an unctuous coconut dessert. One that is rich in history and engrained in our local traditions. For those reasons, it deserves to retain its true identity and name.

Blan Manje, a creamy Haitian coconut dessert

This Blan Manje recipe is a breeze as it simply asks for a can of coconut milk unlike the original recipe, which actually calls for real coconuts. Indeed, the traditional recipe would have you
prepare your own coconut milk. But, for the sake of simplicity, I use the canned version.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Ingredients

2 envelops of gelatin
½ cup of water
1 cup of sweet condensed milk
2 cups of evaporated milk
1 cup of coconut milk
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tsp nutmeg
Toasted shredded coconut for garnish

Instructions

Sprinkle the gelatin over the water
Mix condensed milk and regular milk in a small pot
Add the gelatin to the milk mixture
Warm on the stove until the gelatin dissolves completely
Remove from the stove and add the vanilla, nutmeg and coconut milk
Pour in a dish and refrigerate until it sets
Serve cold sprinkled with shredded coconuts.

Notes

Some people serve their blan manje with a prune sauce. But, personally, I'd rather sprinkle some toasted coconut on top of mine.

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11 Comments

Izzy
March 11, 2021 at 12:05 pm
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How many people does this recipe serve?
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Alexia
December 21, 2020 at 7:10 am
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Hello, I live in France. Could you please tell me how many grams of Gelatin is required please. I want to make them in a Christmas ornament shape with a pinneable insert (version entremet).
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Fay
June 18, 2020 at 7:10 pm
How can I send you a picture?
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Fay
June 10, 2020 at 11:11 pm
Annick, I too have had issue with people wanting to call this dessert “coconut jello”! To better explain to those who don’t know, I’ve at times called it “coconut panna cotta” as well as “coconut custard”. It’s so rich and smooth and custardy. The gelatin simply holds all the ingredients together. For serving, I turn it out onto a serving platter and garnish with fresh fruit from the blanc mange to the edge of the platter. It makes for an impressive dish on a holiday dessert table, for sure!
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Roseline
December 1, 2021 at 4:06 pm
Fay, I really like that description…I dislike ‘coconut jello’, but panna cotta (yyyeess…)
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annick
June 17, 2020 at 8:15 pm
I know right! I think it’s a coconut panna cotta, just richer…that would be the most accurate way to describe it… what fresh fruits do you put on yours? I know most people here use canned fruits which I am not quite fond of
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Alex
September 9, 2016 at 5:17 pm
I don’t see this type of dessert in any upscale haitian bakery shop. Looks delicious. Will make it one of these days.
See Also
Homemade Raspberry Fudge Recipe
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annick
January 14, 2017 at 4:06 pm
Blan manje can actually be found at some of our popular bakeries!
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Claudette
October 25, 2015 at 1:35 am
I also use cream of coco(coco Lopez)
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Josette Abellard
October 23, 2015 at 9:33 pm
I love this dessert. I will try it one day!
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Maryleen
October 23, 2015 at 2:57 am
Merci de partager, j’avais oublie quelques ingredients car je savais preparer ce dessert. C’est gentil. Thanks for sharing.
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Isabelle Camille
October 23, 2015 at 1:38 am
With the prune purée, it is to die for!!! Try it!
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