To a medium pot, add the whole milk, heavy cream, vanilla, salt, cornstarch, and sugar. Stir until the cornstarch is completely dissolved, with no lumps. Turn on the heat to medium.

Stir constantly with a whisk or a rubber spatula while slowly heating the milk mixture. Don’t rush it with high heat, or the texture won’t be right. During the first 3-5 minutes, stir often. Around the 6 minute mark, you’ll notice it starting to thickening and coating the spatula (pull the spatula out of the liquid periodically to check). If not, increase the heat slightly and stir until it does start to thicken.

Once it starts to thicken, immediately reduce the heat to medium-low, and stir vigorously for 15-30 seconds. The milk mixture will thicken very quickly at this point. Remove the pot from the heat once the milk mixture is somewhere between lightly runny and pasty.

Stir off the heat until the mixture is completely smooth. Immediately transfer it to the prepared container. Cover and chill in the refrigerator overnight.

After chilling, flip the milk pudding container onto a cutting board, and cut it into bite-sized cubes. Roll each cube in coconut flakes to coat completely. Enjoy immediately! These are best served chilled.