Every time Larissa posts recipes for more-or-less authentic Dutch dishes, I get the urge to cook up something that reflects my own heritage.
But then I think about all the weird things that Filipinos have been known to eat — like stew made out of pig entrails and blood and boiled bird embryos — and go looking for another cupcake recipe instead.
Don’t mind me, though. I’m pretty much the worst Filipino ever. I refuse to eat a major staple of Filipino cuisine: fish. Have you ever heard of such a thing? A Filipino girl who doesn’t like fish?
I’m actually not a huge fan of Asian cuisines in general. Shameful, I know. I blame it on the fact that I’m only half Filipino, and fully McDonald’s-ized.
Today, though, I’m introducing you to one of the few Filipino foods that I’ll voluntarily eat. It shouldn’t surprise you to know that this food is cake. It’s called bibingka.
Bibingka is dense and chewy and made with rice flour, coconut and cheese. Cheese? Yes, cheese. If that sounds a little weird to you, think back to those cooked chicken fetuses I told you about earlier. How relatively normal does rice-coconut-cheese cake sound now?
I got this recipe from my mom, who got it from my grandma, who is awesome. I just wanted to throw that out there. Anyway, her recipe said to use either two cans of coconut milk or two cans of evaporated milk. I decided to use one of each, for no good reason. But you can do whatever you want.
There’s only two sort-of exotic ingredients in this bibingka recipe: Mochiko rice flour and the coconut milk. You can get both in the Asian section of the ethnic food aisle at Vons.
Oh, and if you’re totally against the idea of cheese in your cake (even though cheddar makes everything better!) try this version of bibingka — it’s got brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Not as authentic, but I bet it’s still delicious.
Recipe: Bibingka
From my grandma
- ½ stick of butter, soft
- 2½ cups sugar
- 5 eggs
- 1 box (16 ounces) Mochiko rice flour
- 5 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 cans coconut milk or evaporated milk
- 1 cup coconut flakes
- 1 cup cheddar cheese
- Preheat your oven to 450˚F, and grease a 13-inch-by-8-inch baking sheet. (The pan is critical. Any other size, and your bibingka is doomed.)
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until smooth. On low speed, slowly add the sugar, and continue to beat until fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the rice flour and baking powder. Pour the dry mixture into the wet mixture, and mix well.
- Stir in the milk, one can at a time, and mix well. Add the coconut flakes and cheese and stir just until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. You’re probably going to get a little nervous here, thinking all the batter won’t fit. Don’t worry — just fill that pan right up.
- Bake at 450˚F for 15 minutes, then turn the heat down to 375˚F and bake for 20 more minutes. Cover the pan with foil when when it gets brown.
- The cake is done when a knife stuck in the center comes out clean.
No related posts.
18 comments
Insider
June 3, 2010 at 3:38 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
The coconut is a turn-off for me, but I enjoyed the story and awesome pictures!
Chrissy
June 3, 2010 at 4:01 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Thanks! I actually don’t like coconut either … this is the only coconut-y thing I’ll eat. But that might be just because I’ve been eating it since I was a little kid, so it’s all nostalgia.
Jerome
June 3, 2010 at 7:47 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Wow, this is totally a new look of Bibingka in the Philippines! This one looks like more of a cake :D
Jeanette
June 7, 2010 at 10:36 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Delicious!!! I’m excited to try your grandma’s recipe on my family. Mmmmm. Bibingka.
KC
October 6, 2010 at 11:04 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Great cake. I brought to an asian-themed pot luck and it was a great success! The texture is not like regular cakes. If you’ve ever had mochi – the texture is simlar to that. Think more dense and chewy in the middle. I followed the recipe exactly – though my baking time was 15 mins at 450, then another 37 mins at 375. I was nervous about the cheese and used a scant cup of medium cheddar. You don’t really taste the cheese in the final product, but it adds just enough salt and “unami” to make the cake more than just a “coconut cake”. A few people came up afterwards to ask if it was Cassava cake – which was pretty cool, and it made me feel like I totally pulled off something authentic!
Chrissy
October 7, 2010 at 10:50 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Awesome, KC — glad you liked it! The cheese definitely weirds people out, but those brave enough to try it are always pleasantly surprised.
Kai
October 30, 2010 at 4:08 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
OH MY GOODNESS! I never knew what Bibingka was until today. I was playing Baking Life on facebook and googled……. got the recipe and just finished. Had a bite. HEAVEN! I had to cook it for longer as well…… maybe high altitude. Love, love, love the texture! It’s like a mochi cake. Thank you for this recipe. YUMMY! I will bring it to our Thanksgiving potluck.
christina p
November 2, 2010 at 11:43 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
i also saw it on facebooks baking life game LOL i love cocnut so i will have to try this !
Josephine Hernandez
November 15, 2011 at 6:04 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
My students and I tested the recipe and they loved it. Many thanks
Valerie
November 23, 2011 at 5:36 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Is there any substitute for the 13×8 baking sheet?? Can’t seem to find one–even online! Thanks.
mitsuko
November 26, 2011 at 6:11 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
masarap ba? :/
Jazzy
December 3, 2011 at 8:55 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
I know this may sound silly but I have never heard of a 13 x 8 sized pan, suggestions on where I might find one?
lani
December 21, 2011 at 4:48 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
where is the vanilla and cinnamon in the recipe?
sdpinay
January 29, 2012 at 10:32 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
what size can do you get for the coconut milk and the condensed milk?
DennisT
February 25, 2012 at 7:20 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Great recipe! It turned out perfect – even better than I remember having before. It barely fit the 13 x 8 pan and tasted like a creamy coconut custard but with a great smooth mochi texture and nice crust! The coconut milk I used were 13.5 oz. each.
Janice
March 12, 2012 at 11:44 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
The best ever home baked bibingka! Thanks so much!
Neil R
June 3, 2012 at 8:21 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
I thought the comments about putting cheese in a pastry weirded people out, seemed strange to me because most people I know love cheesecake? My favorites are cherry and lemon cheesecake.
When I introduced my wife to cheesecake, I kind of regretted it afterwards because now I have to share … LOL
There are so many varieties of cheese, that perhaps different varietiess of bibingka may be prepared? Just like there are different varieties of Krispy Kreme donuts, pastry chefs may devise different varieties of bibingka; perhaps sugar free varieties may be added for diabetics or health conscious folks?
Perhaps these days folks are tired of biscotti, cakes, cannoli, cheesecakes, chocolates, cookies, donuts, muffins, biscuits, and bibingka may offer additional variety to folks with a sweet tooth…
ric
November 1, 2012 at 6:24 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
doesn’t sound or look like the babinka I am used to. At the roadside, cooked over coconut husk fire, flat, hot and a breakfast treat!!!