AI-generated image
Dous makos
Dous makos: Petit-Goâve's three-layer milk fudge
Petit-Goâve, on Haiti's southern coast, is famous for one sweet: dous makos, a soft milk fudge set in three bands of cream, pink and cocoa brown, sold wrapped in paper to travellers passing through. It is made by slowly cooking milk and sugar with cinnamon and lime peel until it turns thick and pale toffee, then colouring and layering it in a tin. The common mistake is stopping too soon; undercooked fudge stays sticky and won't slice, so cook until it leaves the pan sides cleanly. A heavy pan and a long spoon make all the difference. Chef's tip: add a pinch of bicarbonate of soda with the milk; it stops the milk from catching and splitting during the long boil.
- Total time
- 75 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 16
Ingredients
- 1 litre whole milk
- 1 ⅛ lb sugar
- 1 pinch bicarbonate of soda
- 2 strips lime peel
- 1 oz butterplus extra for the tin
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 drops red food colouring
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Fresh ingredients (3)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Butter a 20 cm square tin. Put 1 litre whole milk, 1 ⅛ lb sugar, 1 pinch bicarbonate of soda, 1 cinnamon stick and 2 strips lime peel in a large heavy saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
8 minStep 2: Boil steadily over a medium heat for 40–50 minutes, stirring often and constantly towards the end, until the mixture turns pale caramel, thickens like porridge and pulls away from the base and sides as you stir (about 250°F).
45 minStep 3: Take off the heat, lift out the cinnamon and peel, and beat in 1 oz butter and 1 tsp vanilla extract for 1 minute until it starts to lose its gloss.
1 minStep 4: Working quickly, spread a third into the tin. Stir 3 drops red food colouring into the next third in the pan and spread it over. Stir 1 tbsp cocoa powder into the last third and spread it on top.
Step 5: Leave to cool for 1 hour, then cut into squares while still slightly warm and let them firm up completely before lifting out. Keep in an airtight tin for a week.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 190 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 36 g
- Fat
- 4 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does dous makos take?
- About 75 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 60 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 16 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Baklava
The famous layered pastry: crisp sheets of buttered fillo sandwich a filling of almonds, pistachios and cashews spiced with cinnamon, cardamom and saffron. After baking, the hot baklava is soaked in a syrup of sugar, honey, lemon, rose and cardamom and decorated with almond and pistachio flakes. Cut into 40 diamonds; serve with fresh cream or ice cream.
Soup joumou
Every 1 January, Haitian families from Port-au-Prince to Brooklyn wake up to soup joumou. It marks independence from France on 1 January 1804: under French rule, enslaved Haitians cooked this pumpkin soup but were forbidden to eat it, so the free people of the new nation made it their own as a dish of freedom. In 2021 it was added to UNESCO's list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. The base is a velvety purée of joumou (Caribbean pumpkin) with epis, and in it simmer chunks of carrot, potato, cabbage, celery and turnip, with pasta and a squeeze of lime. It's usually made with beef; this vegetable version is full and golden, rich enough for the day. Chef's tip: roast half the pumpkin before puréeing it; the caramelised edges give the soup the depth that slow-cooked meat usually provides.
Undu walalu
Walalu means bangles, and these dark, sticky rings of fried urad dal soaked in kithul treacle are a sweet that Sinhala families bring out for Avurudu and for special almsgivings, often made in large batches by an aunt known for her steady hand. A thick, fluffy paste of ground black gram is piped into loops and fried until crisp, then plunged straight into warm treacle, so the rings stay crunchy on the outside while drinking up the syrup. They taste a little like a darker, smokier jalebi, with a toffee finish from the palm treacle. Watery batter is what ruins them; it spreads into flat blobs, so grind the soaked dal with as little water as possible and beat it until light. This recipe uses no asafoetida, so it is naturally gluten free. Chef's tip: pipe the rings onto small squares of baking paper and lower them into the oil paper and all; the paper peels away in seconds.
Sri Lankan