Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Bibingka Cake with a Twang

Imported from my old website...

This is my entry for this month's LP theme "Distinctly Pinoy with a TWANG" hosted by ces.

UPDATE:
This cake was featured in GMA-7's 100% Pinoy for the segment on Fusion Dessert.

Here's the video for the said segment. Notice that the website being read by ChefKC for the recipe is this very same webpagefrom my old website with the photos down below.


Presenting, the BIBINGKA CAKE with a TWANG!




I had been wanting to try to make bibingka and found several recipes for them. While the most traditional would call for live charcoals above and under the batter, which resulted in toasted surface, I wanted a "tamed" version (for the sake of my intended tasters, my husband and in-laws). I found a recipe which seemed promising, and the original recipe can be found here.

When I first made them, I modified the recipe, wanting more of a Filipino taste to it by using 1 cup coconut cream and 1 cup milk instead of the 2 cups of milk called for in the recipe, then I added small squares of sliced white cheese on top during the last 5 minutes of baking. I offered one to one of my Pinay friends (I poured into three 8-inch round pans), and several slices to my MIL. We all loved this plain (as in no frosting) bibingka, although my MIL was intrigued by the cheese (she could not identify it and had to ask me what it was!). I loved the smooth texture albeit its heaviness, and the longer it sat in the fridge (less than 1 week, that is), the better it tasted!

BUT, I wanted to experiment more, hoping to offer some sort of an Americanized bibingka cake that I could offer to guests during my birthday (I try not to offer experiments on Pinoy dishes/foods during birthday celebs of my kids or hubby, as they usually have preferences that I try to stick to). Since I have observed that, in contrast to my inkling towards sponge cakes, my in-laws and hubby prefer the crumbly cake (which, to me, sort of represent a cake that is at least one day old). So for that, I thought of experimenting with the bibingka recipe using the ordinary rice flour instead of the sweet rice flour (I figured it would result to crumbly texture, because that's what I have observed with siopao , puto, and bibingka if made with rice flour as opposed to the ordinary flour.)

So my final recipe for the batter was as below, which I poured into two 9-inch round pans:

Ingredients:
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup premium coconut cream (Thai)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cup rice flour
2 tablespoons baking powder

Procedure:
Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Cream the butter and sugar well (around 5 minutes on medium speed). Slow down the speed and add eggs one at a time.


Meanwhile, mix flour and baking powder. Mix the milk and coconut cream. Add this to the egg-cream mixture, alternating with the dry ingredients a little at a time. Add the vanilla and stir. Pour into two 9-inch round pans. Bake immediately for 35-45 minutes (keep checking!)

Since this is a fusion of Filipino and American cuisine, I did not use banana leaves (I do not have them anyway!) nor charcoal, but used the oven instead.





To make it more Americanized, I prepared JMom's

SEVEN MINUTE FROSTING
1-1/2 Cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 egg whites
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Mix sugar, cream of tartar, salt, egg whites, and water in a pot or bowl over simmering water. Beat steadily over low heat with an electric hand mixer until the frosting stands in peaks, about 5-7 minutes, no more. (Overcooking will make your frosting brittle upon cooling). Remove from heat and continue to beat until thick enough to spread. Add the vanilla before spreading.

(I asked my stepd to taste the frosting, and her reaction was, "Hey, I know this! This is Fluff!" It indeed tasted like Fluff, only not sticky, and the sheen was superb! It is less sweet, too.)

As an additional Pinoy touch, I used sweetened macapuno as filling in between the two layers of cake. I actually mixed it with the 7-min frosting, which turned out to be a disastrous mistake as it made the filling runny, so that when I placed the top layer of cake, it squeezed out most of the filling. Next time, I will use just the macapuno as filling, and the frosting will be used exclusively to cover the whole cake.

I used some sprinkles to make it colorful.

Quite reluctantly, I offered it as dessert to hubby, and HE LIKED IT! I asked his opinion on whether it would be enjoyed by the others in his family as well. DEFINITELY! The next day my MIL came to give me brocolli, and I gave her two slices of the cake to bring home and share with FIL. They loved it!

I will definitely serve this on my birthday in December.

I bet this will also be a big welcome as cupcakes for school functions.

16 comments:

ces said...

definitely a big welcome! great great recipe!truly indigenous! wish i could have a bite! thanks for the entry manang! bravo!!!

JMom said...

sa wakas, nakapasok din ako sa blog mo, manang :) there might be something wrong with your coding, check mo manang, in case you're wondering why your readership is down. Either ang tagal mag-load or it doesn't load at all.

I'm glad the frosting worked well for you; your sD is right, it is called fluff down here too :) another name I found for it is marshmallow fluff. That is truly fusion cooking. Great idea making bibinka into a cake with frosting!

maemae226 said...

Hi, Manang. Thank you for posting this recipe. I have been trying to find a bibingka recipe like this. Everything I have been reading is more like kalamay. My mother and I tried the golden bibingka recipe in Aling Charing's book and that was a failure. I have not tried this, but am very excited to do so. I will post once I have done so.

Manang said...

hi maemae,

My personal preference would be the first one I made with sweet sticky rice flour, but that is not like the bibingka I used to enjoy in PI (just to warn you; you might prefer the non-sticky rice flour. My friend Fe brought one whole 8-in round, and her son liked it so well.

Julie said...

Both of your cakes look delicious. I was looking for binbingka recipes to serve at a Filipino dinner party I'm hosting Sunday, and I love your variation, as I'm not sure how my guests would react to traditional bibingka. I can't wait to try this! Also, you posted it on July 18--my birthday! What a fun coincidence.

Julie said...

I made the Americanized version for my Filipino Food party on Sunday night, and everyone loved them and wanted to take the leftovers home! It was a hit, and I'm planning to make some to bring to my mom when I visit my parents in California for Thanksgiving. Thanks again for sharing the recipe!

u8mypinkcookies said...

parang masarap ah! :D

Bits said...

Hi manang! I'm going to try this recipe for my food tech class on Tuesday. since I got your ensaymada recipe, I've been checking your site for more recipes! I'll let you know how it turns out :)

joy said...

hi manang! i made this today! ang sarap po! thank you sa masasarap nyo pong recipes :) God bless you and your family po :)

Mitzi said...

Hi Manang,
I made this two days ago using sweet sticky rice flour and laid the mixture on banana leaves (na dala pa ng husband ko from the Philippines) over the baking pan, and no frosting. What can I say? Oh my! We love, love it in our household out here in quaint New Mexico!

Luz said...

Hi Manang,
Did you try this with sweet rice flour too?Thanks.

Manang said...

Hi Mitzi,
Thanks for the feedback! Galing naman, me banana leaves pa talaga!

Luz,
My first try was using all sweet rice flour instead of the regular rice flour (see my pic above with just cheese topping, and the note under that). I only made the cake with regular rice so the cake would be crumbly (like how hubby and in-laws prefer their cakes), but I definitely love and prefer the smooth and heavy texture of the sweet sticky rice bibingka cake. In fact, I have made these also without topping, in smaller loaf pans for merienda/coffee cake purposes. My sons love them too.

Luz said...

So, your Ingredients for Sweet rice flour , is the same for rice flour only? I want to try the sweet rice flour first,I cannot open the link to open the original recipe from above.Please advise.

Luz said...

Never ending thank you ,because of you I learned
a lot of tips on baking,I'm proud that I found your website since 2007,I will not forget the year because I kept the Special Ensaymada Recipe
that you have sent me by mail before you release
it to your website.Since then.. mostly everyday I
checked if you have a new recipe and whenever I have a chance I will always bake, especially your Spanish bread is my family's favorite:) Kahit na maraming Filipino bake shop dito sa San Diego iba pa rin yun homemade.

Manang said...

Hi Luz,
That was the most heartwarming comment I have ever received! Thanks a bunch!
I agree with you, iba pa rin ang homemade. Now I am thankful na walang Pinoy bakeshop dito, which forced me to learn to bake and recreate tinapays. Blessing in disguise talaga. I have been very satisfied with the rolls I have come up with, so far. Ako rin, nasa learning process...continuously, and I guess that is the reason why I am able to take notes, and point out mistakes here. I post pointers and tips as I learn them. SIguro if I had already been baking even before learning to blog, baka I would not be so detailed sa tips. Kumbaga makakalimutan ko na kung pano maging newbie.

Luz said...

Kaya nga believe ako sa iyo,matiyaga ka at you're
giving us all the tips,kaya sa lahat ng rolls or bread na nagawa ko na from your recipes, I am always satisfied sa outcome walang nasasayang talaga you know what I mean... ubos lagi:)

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