If there’s one thing Filipinos love as much as food, it’s Christmas. In fact, Filipinos love Christmas so much, our holiday season begins as early as September 1! And bibingka is the perfect example of a classic Filipino Christmas food. Like the famous Ben & Ben song of the same name says, we can find bibingka sold by street vendors, especially near churches, during the holiday season.
Typically, one enjoys bibingka with another type of rice cake, puto bumbong, especially after Simbang Gabi. Hot drinks, like coffee or chocolate, also make the ideal companion for this treat. Treats like bibingka often brings back a lot of cherished moments –– of warmth, and spending time with loved ones. Food is memory, and by cooking it effectively, bibingka can bring back some of our best ones.
The traditional bibingka recipe may seem quite daunting at first; after all, who just has clay pots or Bibingka ovens just lying around at home? But this bibingka recipe is simple and can be made in any typical household kitchen. All you need are some ordinary cake pans and a kitchen oven. And with rice flour instead of regular galapong, you’ll have your own bibingka in no time!
Bibingkahan
Bibingka is a type of rice cake native to the Philippines. It goes without saying that we Filipinos love rice. We have it with almost every meal, and dessert is no exception. This is why kakanin has become such a popular Filipino merienda. A combination of the words kanin (rice) and kain (eat), kakanin refers to a group of glutinous rice cakes Filipinos know and love.
And there are so many ways you can enjoy bibingka! Here are just some of my other recipes that put a twist on the popular treat:
- If you’re more of a biko or suman fan, perhaps this bibingkang malagkit recipe will be more to your liking. Personally, I think this recipe is more of a modified biko. Its sticky texture may be difficult to work with at first, but you’ll end up with a delicious treat in the end.
- Royal bibingka is a type of bibingka from the Ilocos region. This one tastes a little bit more like a mix between cassava cake and espasol. Still, its chewy texture and sweet taste pairs great with a hot cup of coffee or cocoa.
- And if you want the original bibingka but in more bite-sized goodness? My bibingka muffin recipe gives you all the tastiness bibingka has to offer, but in cupcake sizes.
Whatever type of bibingka you prefer, any of the recipes mentioned can make it easy for you to enjoy them! What type of bibingka –– or even kakanin –– is your favorite?
How to cook bibingka
The first step to cooking bibingka is to preheat your oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine your dry ingredients together in one bowl: rice flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix them well, and set them aside.
Now it’s time to cream your butter. Creaming refers to the process of making a soft fat light and fluffy. To do this, beat your butter with a whisk while gradually adding in sugar. This gives your butter a creamier, almost whipped cream-like texture. The sweet smell of butter and sugar is impossible to resist!
Crack your 3 pieces of raw egg and whisk again, until you’ve incorporated all of the ingredients. Once done, it’s now time to combine them with your dry ingredients; add them to the same bowl, and keep mixing. Then, pour in your coconut milk and fresh milk. You need 1 cup of the former, while just ¼ cup of fresh milk will do. Whisk all of your ingredients together for a minute or two more.
It’s now time to prepare your bibingka for its first round in the oven. Arrange your pre-cut banana leaf on a cake or baking pan. The leaf should be wide enough to cover not only the bottom of the pan, but also the sides. Pour the mixture onto the leaf-coated pan and put it in the oven, letting it bake for 15 minutes.
Once your timer is up, remove your bibingka from the oven. Doesn’t that smell absolutely delicious? The use of a banana leaf also lends to the fragrant aroma. But at this point your bibingka isn’t quite ready to be eaten yet. Top your rice cake with sliced salted egg and grated cheese. At this point in time, your oven should still be kept on –– you’ll still need to use it!
With its new coat of toppings, put the bibingka back in the oven. Let it bake for another 15 to 20 minutes –– or, wait until the top of your rice cake turns a medium brown. Whichever comes first, remove it from the oven afterwards and let it cool.
Brush your bibingka with butter and sprinkle sugar on top. If you’re more of a coconut fan, you can opt to top it with that instead of sugar. And just like that, your bibingka is ready to be enjoyed!
Let us know what you think!
Bibingka Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice flour
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 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
- 1/4 cup grated coconut
- 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 top with grated coconut.
- Serve. Share and enjoy!
plouis says
Is there a special type of oven for baking bibingka or we can use the conventional kitchen ovens? I saw bibingka outlets use a certain 3-layer oven.
bryan says
do you have recipe for the Cebu (Visayan) kind of Bibingka??? They use rice flour ..not malagkit rice flour!
tnx in advance
Vanjo Merano says
Bryan, I can certainly whip one up for you soon. Let me see what I can do about it; I might need some time in my test kitchen to produce a good version, but I will assure you that will be worth the wait.
natzsm says
Have you tried using the glutinous rice flour with this recipe so as to be closer to the original and more traditional bibinka?
Vanjo Merano says
Natz, I have another recipe for bibingka using glutinous rice flour. There are a few differences in terms of amount of ingredients and timing. I will post the recipe soon.
Emelda de Leon says
All your recipes are really good. I tried some. I want to try your COL SLAW RECIPE but i want to ask you if i can cut the cabbage in advance but i’m afraid it will become black. Can u give me some advice how it will retain the freshness . Thanks and more power to you.
Jo Berueda says
Thank you very much for your recipe!
More power to you!
Alma says
Can the coconut milk be of a canned variety? Thanks!
Vanjo Merano says
You can use canned coconut milk.
Charisma Piñera says
Thanks for your recipe. I tried it and so yummy! I used paper cups instead of banana leaf and 2 eggs instead of 3 but it still good.
Vanjo Merano says
You are welcome, Charisma.
Joanna Alvarado says
Love all your recipes esp. the desserts. I’m starting a small cake business and I’m looking for Ube Macapuno Cake recipe…. please share if you have it :)……was never a bibingka fun because of the texture but this bibingka recipe is delicious!!!!
trish says
Thanks sa mga recipe ! Although I was born and raised here in the US, I did spend 5 years when iI was around 5 and was taught the language by a tutor that my dad had hired specifically for me to learn. My father himself was a well-known executive chef at the Hilton Hotel in Palm Springs California during his times. I learned my talent of cooking by observation and have been requested numerously to cater to both Filipino parties and American ones as I do have excellent cooking skills..not really bragging hehe! A lot of people are surprised when they find out that I can fluently speak the language and can cook most Filipino foods better than full-blooded Filipinos that were raised in PI. My mother is of Irish-French decent so I most commonly mistaken for either being Hispanic or Native American (Indian) but I am light-skinned. But anyway, before I end up telling a short novel, I just wanted to let you know that I am truly excited to have found your website as I have been searching for some time now for an online site that had LOTS of down to earth Filipino recipes. Other websites that I have came across showed mostly only traditional ,basic recipes and not like your website that has a lot to look over! Im excited to browse thru some more and then get started in the kitchen 🙂 Thank you so much!
Vanjo Merano says
Jan, you can get packaged rice flour in grocery stores.
Janette says
I tried this recipe today and I was so happy with the result. It tastes so good! Thanks for this recipe!!!
Clark Pelaez says
Hi!
Thank you for having this website. Indeed it is very informative. As a matter of fact I am using your site as one of my referrals.
Although after going thru your article of the Bibingka and doing a research on bread and cakes, it would be proper to call the bibingka a rice bread rather than rice cake. The reason is that a cake is normaly turned upside down and bread is not. As in the case of the Bibingka.
None the less, keep up the good work.
Very truly yours,
Clark
Regineck says
Hello po kuya! How ’bout merengue? wla po kc sa list nyo eh.
arlena says
Good day Kuya! It was really nice watching your show.I’ve tried it and it was really looks closest thing to our street bibingka we had in the philippines. At least dito sa jeddah saudi kapag pasko at new year na di kami makauwi ng pinas,we still can eat puto bungbong and bibingka, then hot tea parang nasa pinas na rin kami habang ka webcam aming pamilya.THANK YOU AND MORE POWER!!!
sharmaine says
could someone tell me where bibingka originated?specifically in what province?
tnx!
Juv says
Easy to follow and taste better than aling melly’s Filipino bakery in Canada. Thanks very much, how about sapin sapin recipe?
Gener says
Hello as of this writing I just put the grated cheese and salted eggs. Ang napansin ko lang natuyo yung dahon ng saging. I must suggest to brush it with canola oil or butter para hindi matuyo yung dahon.
Can’t wait for the result though … I tweaked/adjuct it a little bit.
Thank you so much for this easy to follow instructional video recipes.
God bless you and your family.
cora browning says
Thank you for all the lovely recepies that you have been sharing now i can make them without ringing my mum in the US for recepies i cannot remember…
Please keep on sharing your yummy recepies..
God bless and thank you again.
boy sato says
sir i would like to know the alternative of banana leaves? its so hard to find here.
phen says
can i used glutinous rice flour as a substitute for the rice flour? i
i really like all ur recipe….Godbless