Bibingka is a type of rice cake native to the Philippines. This is traditionally made from galapong (milled glutinous rice), coconut milk, margarine, and sugar. During dawn masses on Christmas season, side street vendors are a common sight preparing and selling this delicious rice cake along with “puto bumbong”.
The traditional way of cooking Bibingka is unique and quite time consuming. The mixture is poured on a clay pot lined with pre-cut banana leaf. A special clay oven known as “Bibingka oven” is needed to bake this rice cake. The clay pot is placed between the layers of the Bibingka oven and lit charcoals (locally known as “uling”) are placed below and above the clay pot to evenly cook the mixture.
The recipe that we have here is an alternative to the traditional. Since most of us do not have clay pots around and it is impossible to find Bibingka ovens in you local Home Depot, we’ll be using ordinary cake pans and our kitchen oven instead. As for the galapong, I’ll try to feature another recipe variation in the future using that. For now, we’ll settle for an alternative ingredient that needs no preparation at all – rice flour.
We will need ordinary rice flour for this recipe, not the glutinous one. This should be available in any Asian or Pinoy store in your area. If in case you are having a hard time distinguishing between the two (since most of the labels are written in Chinese), always remember that the package with the red print is the ordinary rice flour while glutinous rice flour is printed green.
By the way, I like to take this opportunity to thank all of you, our loyal readers, who gave time to send feedback and comments.
Bibingka Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice flour
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1/4 cup fresh milk
- 1 piece salted duck egg sliced
- 1/2 cup grated cheese
- 3 pieces raw eggs
- Pre-cut banana leaf
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Combine rice flour, baking powder, and salt then mix well. Set aside.
- Cream butter then gradually put-in sugar while whisking.
- Add the eggs then whisk until every ingredient is well incorporated.
- Gradually add the rice flour, salt, and baking powder mixture then continue mixing.
- Pour-in coconut milk and fresh milk then whisk some more for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Arrange the pre-cut banana leaf on a cake pan or baking pan.
- Pour the mixture on the pan.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven then top with sliced salted egg and grated cheese (do not turn the oven off).
- Put back in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the color of the top turn medium brown.
- Remove from the oven and let cool.
- Brush with butter and sprinkle some sugar on top. You can also top this with grated coconut.
- Serve. Share and enjoy!
Hi, thanks for this recipe. I followed every measurement and instruction for the ingredients but the outcome is so airy that it crumbles. Is there anything I can add to make it less airy? Additional rice flour perhaps? But it tastes really good!
Hello po. Ano po ang pwede replacement kung di po lalagyan ng gata?
If I can’t eat regular sugar, could I use honey instead?
Can I substitute butter for vegetable oil as I am lactose intolerant. If yes, what is the measurement? Thank you.