Butterfly Pea Flower Pudding — blue-tinted coconut pudding

i. Origin & history

Butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea) is a deep-blue flower whose petals are used as a natural food dye across Southeast Asia. The dye changes colour with acidity, becoming purple in lemon juice; the magic has made it a fixture of modern dessert presentations.

ii. Ingredients

Makes 12 servings · scroll the side panel to adjust

• 200 g rice flour
• 50 g tapioca starch
• 150 g sugar
• 800 ml water
• 30 dried butterfly-pea flowers
• 200 ml thick coconut milk
• 2 tbsp rice flour
• Pinch salt

iii. Method

1. Steep butterfly-pea flowers in 600 ml very hot water 20 min; strain — the water will be deep blue.
2. Whisk rice flour, tapioca starch and sugar into the blue water and 200 ml more plain water. Strain.
3. Mix coconut milk with 2 tbsp rice flour and salt to a smooth slurry.
4. Pour blue batter into small cups, three-quarters full. Steam 12 min until just set.
5. Top each cup with a spoon of the coconut mixture. Steam another 6 minutes.
6. Cool 15 min before serving.

iv. Tips & common mistakes

• Use the freshest ingredients you can. The recipe relies on them.
• Read the method through first. Several steps must be ready in advance.
• Season patiently. Sweetness and salt are tuned at the end, not the start.

v. Variations

Pandan version tints the bottom green. Layered three-colour uses blue, green and white. Modern Bangkok cafés use the butterfly-pea-and-lemon colour-change effect for ombré presentations.

vii. More from Thai

• Khanom Chan — Thai layered rice cake
• Seri Muka — two-layer pandan rice cake
• Kue Lapis — Indonesian layered cake
• Banh Da Lon — Vietnamese tapioca cake
• Malabi — Levantine rose milk pudding
• Sapin-Sapin — Filipino layered rice cake