December 8, 2010

Bibingka Muffins

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Bibingka Muffins


Bibingka, a Philippine rice cake, baked with slices of native white cheese and salted duck eggs is an all-time Filipino favorite merienda (snack) specially the ones from Ferino's and Via Mare restaurants. I remember them so soft, fluffy, and buttery and topped with more butter, a sprinkling of sugar, and freshly grated coconut. These 8-inch cakes are baked on top of small clay ovens filled with live coals and the top of the clay oven is covered with an iron sheet filled with more live coals. It takes just a few minutes to bake them. The cakes can be baked in regular ovens but I find the toaster oven on a very high heat does an excellent job similar to the clay ovens.

A package of store-bought bibingka mix has been waiting for a few weeks now for my attention. I have always made bibingka from scratch with rice flour but sometimes I get lazy and want to have them right away. The thing is, there's really not much difference with the flavor and the amount of time I spent mixing because the packaged bibingka has only baking powder and salt added to the rice flour and maybe preservatives or anti-caking agents and nothing else. I baked half of the mix in muffin cups and the rest in small molds, all lined with cut banana leaves. I didn't have salted duck eggs and topped the muffins with small pieces of kesong puti (farmer's white cheese) which you can substitute with Indian paneer or well-drained and salted cottage cheese. You can also use mild white cheddar cheese or better yet, make some kesong puti. Heck, you can even top the bibingka with chocolate chips, Nutella, or salted caramel and they will still be soft and fluffy and will taste heavenly.

Bibingka
banana leaves, optional
1½ cups rice flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
pinch of salt
¾ cup powdered sugar
4 eggs, beaten until thick and lemon-colored
1½ cups coconut milk
6 tablespoons melted butter
kesong puti (farmer's white cheese), sliced into 1 inch x ¼-inch thick pieces
grated or scraped fresh coconut
butter and sugar, optional

Bibingka muffins
  • Preheat toaster oven to 425°F.
  • Line muffin cups with banana leaves. In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients, except cheese, grated coconut, and optional butter and sugar, until well incorporated. Batter should be runny; add more milk to adjust consistency. Fill the cups half-full. Top with 2 pieces of cheese and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until tops are golden brown.
  • Spread some butter and sprinkle sugar on top, if desired. Top with grated coconut.
Bibingka
soft, fluffy, and buttery

24 comments:

cusinera said...

oggi, you are so xmassy na=) Your Bibingka Muffins looks so good...love the pics, this is another Filipino classic that I haven't tried out yet=)

Sean Grey Hanson said...

Bibingka is part of the Philippines' tradition and it has been for over a thousand years already. They really taste good!

Unknown said...

I love bibingka but I never tired to make them. Maybe this christmas.

Babylit Asido said...

Im soooooooo proud of you classmate. Keep it up.

adorasbox said...

These look fantastic! I have had no success with rice flour but will persevere. Will try your recipe. my husband so loves kakanin.

Annapet said...

Wow, thanks for sharing this! They look fab! Same with Adora, no success with rice flour but always hopeful. In fact I have a new brand to try :-).

Mo said...

Your Bibingka Muffins look sooooo good and you make it look easy....

Mhel said...

Your bibingka really looks yummy! I will definitely try this one :D I stumbled upon your website this afternoon when I was searching for the Croque Monsieur recipe...I'm so glad I did...I was wondering if you ever took Culinary Arts class because your dishes look very professional...You really know what you're doing :) How about your baking skill? It's pretty impressive :) Just curious, hope you don't mind...

Oggi said...

Hi all,
Thanks.

Mhel,
I never went to cooking or baking school. I taught myself by reading tons of books, magazines, cooking shows, food blogs; and several childhood recipes I got help from my sisters and my mom.:)

Mhel said...

That's what I call a real talent :) I know some who took the training but still couldn't cook...I wonder how much time you spend in your kitchen and who gets to eat your creations?

Anonymous said...

Hi oggi, should i hand mix the batter or use a mixer?. Also, should i mix the batter until smooth? Or until just combined? With lumps on the batter. Thanks.

Oggi said...

Hand mixing with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon will do the job well. Mix the dough until free from lumps.

Anonymous said...

Hi oggi, what kind of rice flour did you used? Just rice flour or the glutinous rice flour? Thanks.

househunter said...

Hi, I tried this today. They taste good but they came out flat, not domy like the one in the picture. They didnt come out fluffy either. I thiickened my eggs as directed and when I mixed up all the other ingredients, batter started out very thick, so I added milk (coconut and regular milk)still it didnt seem to be runny at all. I added about half a cup more. I didnt want to add any more cause I was afraid it might change the whole thing. How much more milk shoiuld I have added? Until runny? The consistency came out to be like more of puto puti, rubbery, but tasted really nice. What did I do wrong?

Oggi said...

Househunter
I don't know what happened. You can try again with a newly bought baking powder. To test if the one you used is still active, mix a teaspoon with a teaspoon of water. It should bubble up.

Unknown said...

Is the picture a product feom the bibingka mix or from your recipe? Thanks

Oggi said...

Unknown
Yes

jenn said...

house hunter asked if the picture was the outcome of the bibingka mis or yours? and you said YES! lol so which is which

Oggi said...

The post is talking about the mix and how I baked them as pictured. Self explanatory.

Anonymous said...

Hi what is a good replacement for kesong puti? Just in case I don't find it here in our local grocery store.

Oggi said...

Anonymous @ 7/9/17
You can use drained and lightly salted cottage cheese or cheddar cheese.

Anonymous said...

how many muffins does this recipe make

Anonymous said...

These look yummy! I want to make them but not sure if you used the glutinous rice flour (mochiko) or just a regular non-glutinous rice flour?

Oggi said...

Anonymous @ 7/15/18
Regular non-glutinous rice flour.

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