Santa Tanghulu (SUPER EASY!)

It’s officially HOLIDAY SEASON, so let’s make the CUTEST Santa Tanghulu.

All you need is a few simple ingredients to make this fun and cute Santa Tanghulu dessert that your kids will love. You can also save this fail-proof easy recipe when making other Tanghulu! 

For the Santa Tanghulu, you will need strawberries, bananas, black sesame seeds, sugar, and water.

The number one tip I have for fruit is to make sure they are AS DRY AS POSSIBLE.

After you wash the strawberries, use a paper towel to fully pat-fry the strawberries. When the fruit is dried, it will help the sugar coat the fruit better, ensuring it is extra crunchy!

For the strawberries, keep the leaf on, as when you remove it, the juices from the strawberries may come out, which may cause the sugar coating not to stick. 

When making the sugar coating, all you have to remember is that sugar and water are 2:1 ratio!

You will need 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of water. This may seem like ALOT of sugar, but if this is your first time making Tanghulu, I recommend following this recipe, as this makes around ¾ cup of sugar mixture.

Once everything is dissolved, the more sugar syrup you have, the easier it will be to dip your fruits in. 

Here are a few tips to make sure your Santa Tanghulu is FAIL-PROOF! 

• Fully PAT DRY the fruits, the more dry the fruits are, the easier it will be for the sugar syrup to coat. 
• Keep the stems on the fruit. Since you want to ensure the fruits are as dry as possible, you want to prevent juices from coming out. 
• 2:1 ratio of sugar to water, I recommend using 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of water; the more syrup you have, the easier it will be to dip the fruit. 
• Mix only at the START, so the sugar and water are dissolved; once dissolved, DO NOT STIR; let it simmer for 10-15 minutes or until it becomes golden.
• To test whether or not the syrup is ready, dip a wooden chopstick in the sugar mixture and dip it into ice water for 3 seconds; if you bite it and it’s crunchy, you are ready! 
• Make sure every part of the fruit is dipped into the mixture; this will seal any openings and prevent any juices from coming out. 

Do you want more DESSERT recipes? Here are some of my go-to recipes! 

• Air Fryer Bread Pudding (15 Minutes ONLY!)
• Taiwanese Milk Mochi (4 Ingredients ONLY!)
• Instant Pot Creme Brulee (3 Minutes, 5 Ingredients)
• Mango Pudding (5 Ingredients ONLY!)

Ingredients 

• 12 Strawberries 
• 2 Banana, sliced 
• 2 cups Sugar 
• 1 cup Water 
• 24 Black Sesame Seeds 

1. Cut off ⅓ of the strawberry; the pointy end will be the hat of Santa. 
2. Assemble by adding the strawberry base, then a slice of banana, and top off with the ⅓ of the strawberry. Using black sesame seeds, add on the eyes of the Santa Tanghulu. 
3. In a small pot, add sugar and water. Turn the heat to medium, and mix until the sugar is dissolved. 
4. Once dissolved, do not stir; let it sit and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye out to prevent it from burning, and you are looking for a golden brown color. 
5. To test whether or not the syrup is ready, dip a wooden chopstick in the sugar mixture and dip it into ice water for 3 seconds; if you bite it and it’s crunchy, you are ready! 
6. Once ready, TURN OFF THE HEAT, and dip the fruit in the sugar mixture. Let it rest on a plate; within 3 minutes, the sugar should have hardened and shouldn’t stick to the plate. 

Print Pin Recipe

Santa Tanghulu

It’s officially HOLIDAY SEASON, so let’s make the CUTEST Santa Tanghulu. All you need is a few simple ingredients to make this fun and cute Santa Tanghulu dessert that your kids will love. You can also save this fail-proof easy recipe when making other Tanghulu!

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Active Time10 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Keyword: asian christmas, asian dessert, Asian Recipe Easy, banana, candy, christmas, christmas candy, christmas dessert, christmas recipe, christmas treat, cute food, Dessert, easy christmas recipe, easy dessert, easy holiday recipe, fruits, holiday, holiday dessert, holiday recipe, potluck, santa, skewer, snack, strawberry, sugar, tanghulu, treats

Yield: 12 Tanghulu

Equipment

• 12 Wooden Skewers

Materials

• 12 Strawberries
• 2 Banana sliced
• 2 cups Sugar
• 1 cup Water
• 24 Black Sesame Seeds

Instructions

• Cut off ⅓ of the strawberry; the pointy end will be the hat of Santa.
• Assemble by adding the strawberry base, then a slice of banana, and top off with the ⅓ of the strawberry. Using black sesame seeds, add on the eyes of the Santa Tanghulu.
• In a small pot, add sugar and water. Turn the heat to medium, and mix until the sugar is dissolved.
• Once dissolved, do not stir; let it sit and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye out to prevent it from burning, and you are looking for a golden brown color.
• To test whether or not the syrup is ready, dip a wooden chopstick in the sugar mixture and dip it into ice water for 3 seconds; if you bite it and it’s crunchy, you are ready!
• Once ready, TURN OFF THE HEAT, and dip the fruit in the sugar mixture. Let it rest on a plate; within 3 minutes, the sugar should have hardened and shouldn’t stick to the plate.