Colombia’s December dessert is more like a sliceable confection than a spoonable pudding: milk, panela, and cornstarch are cooked in a pot until a spoon drawn across the bottom leaves a clear trail, then poured into a pan and cut into squares once cool. Cornstarch alone sets it; there is no gelatin or other binder. It is dusted with cinnamon and served with buñuelos. The key sign of the right consistency is the trail in the pot: if it stays open when you scrape the bottom, the dessert is ready.
Set aside 250 ml of the milk. Whisk the cornstarch into this cold milk until completely smooth. Adding cornstarch directly to hot milk makes lumps that gel on the outside while remaining dry inside.
Add the remaining 750 ml milk, the grated or crumbled panela, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and salt to a pot. Heat over medium, stirring occasionally, for 12 minutes, until the panela has dissolved completely and bubbles appear around the edges of the milk. Do not let it boil.
Pour the milk through a fine-mesh strainer to remove the cinnamon sticks, cloves, and any panela sediment. Rinse the pot and return the strained milk to it.
Pour the cornstarch mixture into the hot milk in a thin stream, stirring constantly with a spoon. Cook over low heat for 12–15 minutes, stirring in a figure-eight pattern with a wooden spoon. It is ready when a trail drawn across the bottom of the pot stays open for 2 seconds and the mixture coats the spoon in a thick layer. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter.
Pour the mixture into a moistened 25 × 30 cm pan, smooth the surface with a spatula, and tap the pan lightly on the counter 2 times to release air bubbles. Once completely cool, dust with ground cinnamon and shredded coconut, then cut into 4 cm squares.
After pouring the mixture into the pan, let it rest at room temperature for 1 hour, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours; natilla cut before it is fully chilled will run at the edges. Do not pour all the hot milk into the starch mixture at once, or it will become lumpy.
Panelayı sütte tamamen erittikten sonra süzmek gerekiyor, süzmediğim ilk denemede tabanında şeker kırıntısı kaldı ve muhallebiyi pürüzlü yaptı.
Nişastayı soğuk sütte çözmezseniz topaklanıyor. Karanfili de az koyun, tarçınla birlikte ikisi birden öne çıkınca panelanın tadı kayboluyor.
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