Pramot Temple’s soft coconut custard is sold only during the Luang Pho To gold leaf ceremony from 23 to 27 October, with a purchase limit of four per person. Proceeds from sales are used to maintain the temple.
At 50 baht per piece, many might hesitate before buying, but the soft coconut custard from Pramot Temple in Bang Khonthi District, Samut Songkhram Province, is a rare treat sold just once a year. Missing this year means waiting another whole year, and buyers are limited to four pieces each.
This custard-in-coconut is available only during the temple’s annual Luang Pho To gold leaf ceremony and Buddhist Lent festival, a tradition continuing for 109 years. This year’s event runs from 23 to 27 October. The temple’s Thai dessert production to raise funds has been ongoing for 51 years.
Phra Kru Pramot Panyawat, the district monk chief of Bang Khonthi and abbot of Pramot Temple, explained that the recipe starts with selecting fragrant coconuts aged 25-30 days, when the flesh has two layers—neither too hard nor too soft. The coconut is husked, the top cut off, and water poured out to leave only the flesh. Then custard made from white duck eggs, fresh coconut cream, and pure palm sugar from Mae Klong is blended and poured in. The mixture is steamed over strong wood fire in large steamers for 1 hour and 10 minutes.
This year, the temple increased its steamers from six to ten and prepared over 40,000 fragrant coconuts and 100,000 duck eggs. Each steamer rack has five layers with 17-18 coconuts per layer, producing 80-90 custards per batch, which still sell out quickly. More than 100 committee members, devotees, and volunteers take turns preparing and steaming from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Besides the soft coconut custard, the temple also makes traditional Thai sweets such as Thong Yod, Foi Thong, Med Kanun, and Look Chup with help from devotees and locals. Total annual proceeds from all sweets exceed one million baht, which the temple uses for maintenance and public service activities.
Regarding the four-piece purchase limit, the temple explained it is to ensure that everyone waiting in line has a fair chance to enjoy the sweets.