| All Filipinos seem to be born with a sweet | | | | Puto |
| tooth, and most of us never really outgrow | | | | |
| it. We're never too old for a candy bar or a | | | | Ingredients: |
| rich filled doughnut. That's why desserts | | | | |
| have always been a big part of Filipino | | | | 2 cups flour |
| cuisine. For many of us, a meal isn't a meal | | | | |
| without something cold and sweet to top it | | | | 1 cup sugar |
| off. It doesn't matter if your meal consists | | | | |
| of rice and dried fish; without dessert, it's | | | | 2 cups milk |
| simply not complete. | | | | |
| | | | 6 tsps baking powder |
| However, our idea of dessert has evolved a | | | | |
| lot through the years. Ask any kid what his | | | | 3 eggs (use only egg whites for a lighter |
| favorite dessert is and he'll most likely say | | | | cake) |
| ice cream, cake, or something not really | | | | |
| Filipino. If you think the same way, maybe | | | | Procedure: Combine all the ingredients except |
| it's time you tried the old favorites and | | | | the egg whites. Mix well and let stand for |
| rediscover Filipino food. Here's a quick | | | | one hour, then fold in the eggs. Pour into |
| guide to local desserts and some Filipino | | | | baking pan or muffin pans and steam for about |
| desserts recipes you can make on your own. | | | | one hour. |
| | | | |
| Rice cakes | | | | Kutsinta |
| | | | |
| With rice as our staple food, it's really no | | | | Ingredients: |
| surprise that we'd turn it into a dessert as | | | | |
| well. In fact, we have more than a dozen | | | | 1 cup rice flour |
| varieties of kakanin, the local term for rice | | | | |
| desserts, most of them sold at practically | | | | 1 tsp lye water |
| every corner. Because they are rice-based, | | | | |
| they are seldom eaten after regular meals | | | | 3 cups water |
| (which already have rice as the main course). | | | | |
| People prefer them for merienda in the late | | | | 2 cups packed brown sugar |
| morning or afternoon. Some of the most | | | | |
| popular Filipino rice cakes are puto, suman, | | | | Procedure: Mix all the ingredients in a bowl; |
| biko, bibingka, and kalamay. | | | | beat well. Half-fill a muffin pan with the |
| | | | batter, then steam covered over 2 inches of |
| Native pastries | | | | water for about 30 minutes. Top with grated |
| | | | coconut. |
| If you're looking for a lighter dessert, | | | | |
| Filipino pastries may be just what you need. | | | | Bibingka |
| Our native pastries cover everything from | | | | |
| small bite-size tarts to tropical fruit pies. | | | | Bibingka is actually an Indian dish |
| They may seem complicated at first glance, | | | | (bebinca), but the Filipino variety is unique |
| but they are actually one of the easiest | | | | because it uses rice flour instead of white. |
| Filipino food recipes. In fact, if you're | | | | It also comes with a variety of toppings such |
| just starting out, pastries make a great | | | | as butter or margarine, cheese, salted eggs, |
| beginner recipe. Start with simple snack | | | | or grated coconuts. Bibingka is a popular |
| tarts such as this one. | | | | snack in the Christmas season, where it is |
| | | | often sold with puto bumbong (same as puto, |
| Easy Caramel Tarts | | | | but cooked in bamboo vessels and flavored |
| | | | with coconut or purple yam)and other Filipino |
| Ingredients: | | | | cooking recipes. It is traditionally cooked |
| | | | in charcoal ovens, which gives it a smoky |
| 1 tbsp flour | | | | flavor. Of course, you can also tweak the |
| | | | recipe and bake it in modern ovens. Here's |
| 1 c milk | | | | how. |
| | | | |
| 1 c golden syrup | | | | Ingredients |
| | | | |
| 1 c brown sugar | | | | 2 c plain flour |
| | | | |
| 1 tbsp white sugar | | | | ¼ c baking powder |
| | | | |
| 1 tbsp butter | | | | ¾ c sugar |
| | | | |
| 2 eggs, separated | | | | 1 ¼ c coconut milk |
| | | | |
| ½ tsp vanilla | | | | 3 eggs, beaten |
| | | | |
| Procedure: Beat the egg whites until stiff, | | | | ½ c Edam cheese, grated |
| then beat in the white sugar. Set aside. In a | | | | |
| saucepan, combine the rest of the ingredients | | | | ½ butter, melted |
| and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. | | | | |
| Pour into baked pastry shells. Top with the | | | | ½ c grated coconut |
| egg white mixture and bake for about 10 | | | | |
| minutes or until the meringue turns brown. | | | | 1 tsp salt |
| | | | |
| Puto and kutsinta | | | | Procedure: Preheat your oven to 375oF. In a |
| | | | bowl, dissolve the sugar in coconut milks and |
| Puto a steamed cake made from rice flour, | | | | add in the eggs. In a separate bow, sift the |
| often topped with cheese or salted eggs. It | | | | flour, add the baking powder and salt, then |
| is often sold with kutsinta, a brown jelly | | | | sift again. Combine with the egg mixture and |
| cake served with grated coconut. The two go | | | | beat well. Pour into prepared pans and bake |
| together because the soft, grainy texture of | | | | for about 15 minutes. Top with cheese and |
| the puto contrasts the tart smoothness of | | | | resume baking for another 20 minutes, |
| kutsinta. Both are among the simplest | | | | brushing with margarine occasionally. Give it |
| Filipino recipes; you can make a batch of | | | | a final brush when done, and serve with |
| each cake in less than two hours. | | | | coconut on the side. |
| | | | |