Get ready to enjoy perfect Canary Islands desserts right in your luxury villa on Tenerife. Today we won’t be singing the praises of our eternal springtime climate, because Tenerife offers more than idyllic landscapes and sun. It’s also populated by a vibrant, unique local population that keeps its incredible culinary traditions alive, even in the smallest and more remote villages.
Frangollo is one of those desserts that tastes of tradition, and which many homes are working to bring back into daily life. If you’re someone who loves rescuing old treasures like the cookies your grandmother used to make, it’s time to learn how to prepare this Canary Islands food at your property on Tenerife, mixing flavours and textures that shine together, especially when drizzled with Spanish honey.
A little about the dessert’s origins: the word “frangollo” means a mix of crushed grain, a term brought to the Islands by people that returned in the middle of the XX century after having emigrated to the Americas and the Antilles. Today it is the name of this traditional dessert whose principal ingredient is roughly milled corn flour combined with egg, milk, sugar, raisins, and almonds, with the unmistakeable aromas of lemon and cinnamon. Thanks to its highly nutritious character, this recipe was once common in Canary Islands cuisine, but now it is prepared almost exclusively in rural areas, and on feast days and holidays like the Day of the Canary Islands. If one of the reasons for your purchase of a luxury villa on Tenerife was the incredible cultural richness of the area surrounding Abama Resort, do your part to keep this tradition alive by learning to prepare simple Canary Islands desserts!
Ingredients for 8 servings of frangollo
1.5 litres of milk
250 g of corn flour (there are brands that market themselves as being especially for frangollo)
100 g of sugar
3 egg yolks
50 g of raisins
50 g of almonds
A tablespoon of butter
Lemon rind
A pinch of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of matalahúva or anise seed
Preparation of the frangollo
The first step is to toast the almonds in a pan and set them aside. Meanwhile, heat up the milk in a pan with the lemon rind. When it begins to boil, remove the rind, lower the heat, and add the flour while stirring constantly so that it dissolves without lumps.
When the mixture has thinned out, add the three beaten egg yolks, the sugar, the butter, and the matalahúva or anise seeds. Toss in the cinnamon, the almonds, and the raisins as well. Keep stirring for another 10 minutes so that everything is well blended and takes on a thicker consistency, and…there you have it! The only thing left to do is transfer the mixture into individual containers or a large receptacle and let it chill. Or, if you prefer, you can serve it as is!
The key to a good frangollo is the low heat during the preparation so that all the ingredients can contribute to the final product. In addition to choosing whether to serve it cold or at room temperature, you can also decide to add dried fruits or nuts or whatever topping you prefer. It’s great for breakfast too. If you plan to serve the frangollo as dessert, we recommend that you add honey or palm honey.
And with every delicious spoonful, remind yourself that you are gifting your palate a Tenerife food that will never go out of style, and shouldn’t be lost, either. Enjoy this taste of Canary Islands desserts from your villa on Tenerife, and be a proud part of a land with a storied history.
