Bibingka espesyal or Bibingka Royale or simply just bibingka to many, is very popular during Christmas season. It’s like a pancake with cheese and salted egg, sugar and grated fresh coconut topping-if only it’s as easy as pancake to make at home. Bibingka is a special rice cake made of rice dough called galapong (it’s rice that’s soaked overnight and ground finely), coconut milk and eggs; it is cooked in a special clay stove that is covered with a sheet of tin filled with burning coals which like most people, I do not have…no wonder my bibingka galapong failed. 🙁
This is my first successful bibingka after several tries with different recipes. I found this recipe from a Filipino cookbook that I borrowed from my SIL. The recipe turned out really good, it tastes great, it’s soft and fluffy; although in my honest opinion it’s not (yet) as yummy as the real bibingka. It could be because I did not put enough cheese (or the right kind of cheese- it should have been kesong puti) and I skipped the fresh grated coconut (I didn’t have any)…maybe. The recipe uses flour-cake flour; next time I’ll try if rice flour will work. I will be making this again, definitely ..in December most especially 🙂
I made this last night because I thought my daughter needed to bring Filipino food to school for their Linggo ng Wika (Filipino Cultural Week) celebration then she told me in the morning that this year, they were not told to bring any food..hah, after all my hard work..actually, I’m glad she said that because there’s hardly any bibingka left – my husband and I ate most of it while watching movie last night. 🙂
Bibingka
beat sugar and egg yolks until light in color
fast forward to this.. fold in the beaten egg whites after adding the coconut milk and flour mixture to the yolks
pour into a banana leaf-lined pan; top with salted eggs and cheese
bake..brush with butter, sprinkle with sugar. Serve with tea, coffee or hot cocoa..ginger tea (salabat) is perfect if you have some
Bibingka Espesyal (Bibingka Royale)
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs separated
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 2/3 cup coconut milk fresh or from can
- 1 cup cake flour sifted
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- pinch of salt
- Topping:
- grated cheese
- salted egg sliced
- grated fresh coconut
- melted butter
- banana leaves optional
Instructions
- Line two 8-9 inch square or round pan with banana leaf, if using ( wipe and wilt the leaves over medium fire, cut into square or circle that will fit into whatever pan you're using).
- In a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In the bowl of your mixer, combine egg yolks and brown sugar together and beat until light in color. Add half of the flour mixture, beat well then the coconut milk , then the remaining flour mixture.
- In another bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold whites into flour mixture/batter, careful not to knock the air out. Top with slices of salted egg and cheese. Divide batter into 2 and pour into prepared pans.
- Bake for about 10-15 minutes; take out from the oven, brush with melted butter and sprinkle granulated sugar on top then return cake to the oven and bake some more until the top is browned.
- Serve warm with fresh grated coconut and a cup of tea..Enjoy! 🙂
♥ Have a nice day!! GOD Bless!! ♥