A collection of delicious and easy calamansi dessert recipes, including tarts, preserves and jellies.
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What is Calamansi?
Calamansi, also known as kalamansi, calamondin, Philippine lime or Philippine lemon, is a type of citrus fruit that grows readily in the tropics. This golden lime is a common ingredient in Indonesian, Filipino, Singaporean and Malaysian food and is actually a hybrid of a kumquat plant and another citrus, probably mandarin oranges.
Despite its small size, the calamondin fruit has a lot of Vitamin C and packs a punch in terms of flavor!
In Singapore and many parts of Southeast Asia, many families keep fruit trees, such as calamansi and papayas, in their garden, which is why you'll often find this small fruit served on the side of a local dish.
I remember heading out to my basketball court to pluck some before meal time as a child. Just adding a squirt of calamansi juice to Singaporean recipes such as sambal brinjal or Singaporean Hokkien mee makes the dish really sing!
Note: If you can't get this tart fruit- its floral bouquet makes it stand out from the other citrus fruits-here are some of the best calamansi substitutes, such as mixing lime juice and lemon juice.
Savory Recipes
Calamansi fruit can also be used to make sauces such as Toyomansi, a calamansi soy sauce, that Filipinos like to eat with Sio mai, or sambal mayo. It's also used in Panic bihon, a Filipino cuisine dish.
The sour taste goes really well with palm sugar and fish sauce, making a great dipping sauce!
You can also use this tart fruit as a marinade for fish and pork, or squeeze it to make mixed fruit juices, calamansi lemonade and cocktails.
Recipes for Asian Garden Produce
FAQ
Yes, calamansi can be used in place of lemon or lime. However, lemon or lime don't make very good replacements for calamansi as calamansi has a particular fruity flavour that the other 2 citrus fruits don't. They'd do in a pinch though!
Preserves
Lime Curd
Marmalade
Pies & Tarts
Lime Tart
Note: if you don't have whipped cream, serve with vanilla ice cream on the side.
Cream De Fruta
Jellies
In Singapore and Malaysia, this small citrus fruit is often mixed with jelly and ice cubes to make refreshing local desserts.
Sea Coconut Jelly
Longan Tong Sui
Which is your favourite of these easy calamansi dessert recipes? Let me know if I've missed something out!
Fern says
That pie looks heavenly, making it the next time I have a surplus of the fruit!
Zen says
Thanks Fern, I do love the photo of that calamansi pie myself! Waiting for my plant to fruit, fingers crossed