Bibingka — rice cake baked in banana leaf

i. Origin & history

Bibingka is canonical Filipino Christmas food, sold from street stalls outside churches during the nine-day pre-Christmas Simbang Gabi dawn-mass tradition. The salted-egg topping is iconic.

ii. Ingredients

Makes 8 servings · scroll the side panel to adjust

• 300 g rice flour
• 200 g sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• Pinch salt
• 4 eggs
• 250 ml coconut milk
• 100 g unsalted butter, melted
• Banana leaves to line the tin
• 2 salted egg yolks, sliced
• 60 g fresh white cheese (queso de bola), grated
• 30 g unsalted butter, melted (to glaze)
• 2 tbsp grated coconut
• 2 tbsp sugar

iii. Method

1. Heat oven to 200 °C. Line a 22 cm round tin with banana leaves (soften by passing over a flame).
2. Whisk rice flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat in eggs, coconut milk and melted butter to a thick batter.
3. Pour into the lined tin. Bake 20 min — the surface should set.
4. Top with salted egg slices and cheese. Bake another 15 min until golden.
5. Brush with melted butter; scatter coconut and sugar. Eat warm.

iv. Tips & common mistakes

• Use the freshest ingredients you can. The recipe relies on them.
• Read the method through first. Several steps must be ready in advance.
• Season patiently. Sweetness and salt are tuned at the end, not the start.

v. Variations

Bibingka galapong uses fermented rice batter. Bibingka malagkit uses glutinous rice and is denser. Modern bibingka sometimes includes ube or chocolate.

vii. More from Filipino

• Sapin-Sapin — Filipino layered rice cake
• Puto — Filipino steamed rice cupcakes
• Kutsinta — Filipino chewy rice cakes
• Kue Apem — Indonesian yeasted rice cupcakes
• Serabi — Indonesian coconut pancakes
• Taho — Filipino tofu pudding