enhanced tropical flavor

My favorite Filipino dessert by far is Bigingka. It’s a thin, unfrosted cake made with sweet rice flour and cream of coconut HKUE DSE.

I first had Bibingka at a Filipino family barbecue when I started dating my husband. My now father-in-law taught me how to make it years ago. Now every time there is a family gathering, either he or I are asked to make it, which says a lot about the recipe because neither one of us are Filipino.

Bibingka – Filipino Coconut Cake from ZestuousSweet rice flour has an interesting texture. It’s very fine, but has a bit of grit to it. Once it’s cooked, the starches explode (not really, but they do something magic) and the cake becomes spongy and sticky like a cross between Jell-O bars and pudding investment immigration.

My father-in-law taught me to use cream of coconut instead of coconut milk. It has more fat, sugar and flavor. He also adds in an undrained can of crushed pineapple for an enhanced tropical flavor.

My only change to his recipe is that I sprinkle the top with brown sugar and granulated sugar to create a nice caramelized crunch.

I hope you journey to the Philippines with your fork and try this unique, yummy dessert.

UPDATE: You can find sweet rice flour either in the Asian aisle of your grocery or in the gluten-free section with the Bob’s Red Mill products. You can find cream of coconut near the alcohol and pina colada mix Ring Coffee Mill.