Tembleque

Pierce the eyes of the coconuts with a nail and drain the liquid into a bowl, reserving the coconut water.

Crack open the coconut shells and remove the white meat using a vegetable peeler or knife, discarding the brown skin.

Grate or blend the coconut meat into small pieces, then place in a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth and squeeze firmly to extract the coconut milk; you should yield approximately 2 cups of rich coconut milk.

Pour the extracted coconut milk into a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until steaming, about 3–5 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, sugar, and salt until well combined and free of lumps.

Slowly add the cornstarch mixture to the hot coconut milk while stirring constantly to prevent lumps from forming.

Continue stirring over medium heat until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon, approximately 8–10 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract until fully incorporated.

Pour the tembleque into individual serving dishes or a shallow baking dish and allow to cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours until set and chilled; the tembleque should have a custard-like, slightly jiggly texture.

Serve chilled directly from the refrigerator, optionally garnishing with ground cinnamon if desired.