How to Make the Authentic Filipino Milk Candy Pastillas de Leche
By kerlynb
Pastillas de leche is one of the well-loved desserts from the Philippines, where people get fresh milk from carabaos or water buffalos and make them into these mini-logs of sweet and succulent milk candies.
Making pastillas is as easy as 1-2-3 and you even need only a couple of main ingredients to make it: milk and sugar.
While cow, goat, or commercial condensed milk may be used, the authentic pastillas de leche from the Philippines makes use of pure carabao’s milk wheedled out of carabaos ploughing the rice fields in the countryside.
What’s the difference? Carabao’s milk is said to be creamier and richer, giving pastillas de leche a distinct, luscious, melt-in-your-mouth tang. Plus, the texture should be extra-smooth, almost velvety.
Carabao’s milk is plenty in the Philippines and in other Southeast Asian countries. Elsewhere in the world, people can buy carabao’s milk in Asian stores.
Genuine Pastillas de Leche – Ingredients and Tools
- 1liter of pure carabao’s milk (substitutes: cow’s or goat’s milk)
- ¾ cup sugar (1/2 cup sugar if cow’s or goat’s milk is used)
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- pan
- ladle for stirring
- bowl
- board
How to Prepare Pastillas the Traditional Way
- Pour one liter of fresh, pure carabao’s milk into a pan and add in ¾ cup of sugar. If cow’s or goat’s milk was used, cut down the sugar to ½ cup.
- Add ½ teaspoon of cornstarch into the mixture, making sure everything is well-set.
- Put the pan over medium heat. Stir slowly and continuously until the mixture of milk and sugar thickens a bit. Once the mixture is thick, lower the heat.
- Over low heat, continue stirring the gooey milk mixture until it forms into a mass that can be lifted off from the pan with the ladle.
- Put the mass of pastillas into a bowl. Let it cool for a few minutes.
- While waiting for the pastillas de leche to cool, sprinkle ½ teaspoon of cooked cornstarch on a board.
- Once cool, get a small lump of pastillas then roll it onto a board, making logs of milk candies.
- Trim the logs of milk candies into desired length or size.
- Cut out pieces of bond and Japanese paper.
- Place each piece of pastillas into Japanese paper. Then, wrap each of them further into bond paper.
Notes about this Pastillas De Leche Recipe
- It takes more or less 45 minutes to process one liter of fresh carabao’s milk into pastillas de leche.
- That much carabao’s milk can make about 50 pieces of pastillas that each weighs five grams.
- If cow’s or goat’s milk was used, about 40 pieces of pastillas de leche could be made.
Useful and Interesting Hubs on Desserts from the Philippines
- 10 Most Delicious Filipino Desserts
- Easy Recipe for Making the Well-Liked Filipino Dessert Mango Float
- Recipe for Sans Rival – Chewy, Buttery, Nutty Filipino Dessert
- Simple Recipe for Bibingka – a Christmas Rice Cake from the Philippines
- Puto Bumbong Recipe Made Easy – How to Cook the Purple Filipino Christmas Rice Cake without a Steamer
- Easy, No-Bake Recipe for Philippine Crema de Fruta – the Filipino Christmas Cake
- How to Cook the Chocolaty Filipino Comfort Food Champorado
- Recipe for Philippine Halo-Halo – Filipino Dessert Overload
- Recipe for Filipino Ube Halaya: Philippine Purple Dessert
- Recipe for Philippine Yema: Filipino Custard Candy
- Recipe for Heavenly Leche Flan – Philippine Caramel Custard
Filipino Pastillas de Leche Recipe
Comments
super yummy and delicious Pastillas i ever had, thanks for sharing hub. good job!
@mafe That's great to know :) Thanks for reading and leaving your comment mafe.
I love Filipino dishes especially deserts. I already tasted pastillas de eche and it made me say SWEET just like Filipinos..=)
@mottiandbander Oh we're so the same so I have to say hi sweet-toothed cousin! Candies are fun, milk candies rock! :D
@Arlynne That sounds like a quick, easy, and yummy treat :) I do just the same with powdered milk and sugar. For a twist, I add in a sprinkle of coffee. Yes, coffee-flavored pastillas!
@kitikits It's so easy to make, isn't it? Even high school students can earn making it :)
@leann2800 Glad to introduce you to our very own pastillas de leche :) Thank you for stopping by my hub.
@Erin Boggs1 Onigiri? Omusubi? Rice balls? Yum-yum!
Oh, you can make substitutes if your Asian store doesn't carry carabao's milk. You can use condensed milk. The end product would still be heavenly, sinful :)
@Movie Master Hope you get the time to try it out :) Thanks for the comment and the vote, really appreciate them.
@Farmer Brown Right, nothing beats fresh. I love Red Ribbon's pastillas though :) I can eat a whole pack by my self and still crave for more,LOL!
@lord de cross Delicioso indeed! Thanks, thanks for dropping by Lord!
Woww yummy,,delicious really!
Sooo... delicious! I always love Pastillas! :)
Useful and voted up. I'm happy this is the Hub of the Day pick.Pinoy pride...hurray!
Congrats!!!! Where would I find Japanense paper?????
Can I substitute another paper? Would love to try these.
Congratulations on the nomination, I am happy for you. Never tasted this Filipino candy, maybe one of these days :)
congratulations kerlynb for being picked as hub of the day. you very well deserve it. you can write hubs that are entertaining and full of information. this pastillas de leche reminds me of my childhood. now this has become a treat anybody can enjoy. superb!
Congratulations on being selected for the Hub of the Day! My wife is from Cambodia and she lived on a Refuge Camp in the Philippines during the Khmer Rouge Regime. I showed this article to her and she wanted me to tell you that she loves this recipe! Thanks for sharing! Voting up and sharing!
JSMatthew~
Great hub and the pictures really makes me want some. Yum!
Hiya Kerlyn, oh I love pastillas de leche! It's one of my favourite Filipino sweets. I didn't know about the carabow milk.. I just eat them! lol Great job! Voted up up up! Cheers!
Have a nice day,
Rosie
I have never heard of these before but they sound really good. Congratulations on Hub of the Day.
Awesome hub for a unique recipe! Love the detailed pictured and information. Congrats on getting Hub of the Day!
Great hub! I have a sweet tooth, so just the picture by itself looks wonderful....
Oh, this sounds delicious! I am adding this to my holiday treats list. Thank you for the recipe.
kerlynb: Your receipes are always delicious! These look so good. You do such a great job writing and illustrating your hubs. Congratulations on hub of the day! You are so deserviing and I am so happy for you!
Voted up!
That looks so lovely, what a great hub. I haven't heard about this before, and can't wait to try it!
This sounds really good! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Wow, this is a real informative recipe. I never heard of pastillas de leche until I read your hub. I am not sure I would try making it myself, but if someone else made it, I would love to taste these.
Great hub kerlynb!
Cant wait to try this out.
This looks really easy to make and outright delicious! I'm craving for such a sweet so will definitely try this out soon :) Thanks for sharing.
I have never heard of milk candy before. It is such a nice color and I can only imagine how sweet and tasty it must be. Congrats on hub of the day.
my mouth is watering for some pastillas de leche.
i don't have the time to make my own so i just eat powdered milk and add a little water. haha! :))
I like it. Looks very tasty. Thanks for sharing! Voted up!
That is an interesting recipe - simple to make and it has just a few ingredients! I'll have to try this one with the kids!
I have seen these but never knew what they were. Now I can't wait to try them out. Excellent hub!
Me also love candy.nice hub.
Oh Wow! I used to make Pastillas de Leche when I was in high school and I sell them too. :)
I have never had one of these but it sounds really good. Thanks for sharing.
Carabaos milk sounds really good by itself, and the recipe seems simple enough to make. Hopefully I will be able to make these soon, I think I will see if my local Asian market has any carabaos milk.
Although I have to be honest I am still trying to master making the Japanese dish Onigiri.
Hi kerlynb, another mouthwatering recipe, I'm looking forward to trying this one too!
Well written and voting up.
Oh I love this candy! I will have to get my hands on carabao candy...or hit Red Ribbon the next time I'm west or northeast. Although, nothing is better than fresh!
Delicious!milky pills? LOL!
love the sweeteness and the pics. Thanks for putting together this hub... for us!Delicioso! amiga!
@MonetteforJack Hi! Thanks for your message :) Oh, but I've never sampled salt water taffy :( My folks just sent me cherry taffy wrapped in these really cute pink pieces of paper and I thought the wrapper and the size looked almost like those of pastillas.
You really make my mouth water with this recipe !!!
Ah, Kerlyn, pastillas de leche is far from taffy :) Taffy are like Toffees ... they're chewy. I wish I could send you the Salt water Taffy, Kerlyn! Salt water taffy is a native candy of Atlantic City, NJ -- the city just next to my town.
Dirt Farmer -- pastillas de leche is more like a very, very, milky and creamy texture of ladyfingers cookies with really sweet, milky , creamy taste. It is chewy but very soft chewy kind, the type that is light and airy in the mouth, that breaks very easy.
Good hub !!!
@The Dirt Farmer LOL! Yeah, almost like taffy, just without the fruit flavors :)
It's like taffy! Another interesting, well-written hub. Awesome!
Phoebe Gavino 3 months ago
yummy and Delicious pastillas .