Bibingka
A sweet and savory baked rice cake that traditionally features a slice of salted egg and cheese as toppings with butter/margarine, sugar, cheese, or grated coconut as additional options.
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Batter
- 1 cup rice flour
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup sugar
- ¾ cup fresh milk
- ¼ cup water
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 egg
Ingredients for the Toppings
- 1/2 cup grated cheese
- 1/2 cup grated coconut
- 1 egg (salted and cut into 8 to 12 thin slices)
- 2 tbsp butter (melted at room temperature for brushing)
Instructions
- Line the pans with banana leaves cut into circles. The banana leaves should be double the size in diameter of the pans/molds or enough to cover the bottom and sides with a bit of excess. This is because the banana leaves will shrink when heated.
- Cut another batch of banana leaves for the top cover. (Note: Make sure to rinse and pat the banana leaves dry then run each leaf quickly over the fire to make them limb and pliable)
- Once the pans/molds are lined with banana leaves, brush them with butter and set them aside.
- Add the ingredients for the batter into a bowl and mix them all together with a spoon or whisk until the ingredients are well-mixed and the mixture turns smooth. The batter should have a runny consistency.
- Pout the mixture into the pans/molds. Make sure that each pan/mold has no more than half an amount of mixture to give room for when the cake rises. Add 2-3 slices of salted egg on top of each filled pan.
- Arrange the pans on a baking sheet and bake at 200°C/390°F on the middle rack of the oven for 10 minutes. At 10 minutes, remove the sheet from the oven then place the prepared banana sheets brushed with butter on top of each pan/mold with the buttered part facing down.
- Place the pans back in the oven, but this time, on the top rack. If you are using a gas oven, turn on the top heat (grill/broil function). Bake for another 5 minutes or until nicely charred.
- When the cakes are baked, remove them from the oven and brush them with butter on top. Top them with grated cheese and grated coconut and serve them fresh.