Filipinos are known for their love of food. At any event or gathering, there is always food to be served. In fact, a typical Filipino would eat four to five meals per day. The only thing Filipinos love more than eating is offering food. It is very common to hear someone ask, "Have you eaten?", or say, "Let's eat!" and then actually offer a portion of the meal that they are having.
Generosity and hospitability have always been part of the Filipino heritage. Some may say that their culture is as sweet as their sweet tooth—and that’s just about true! There are a lot of sweet baked goods that Filipinos love to snack on, with some pretty easy to bake even at home. We list down a few below for you to follow. Kain na!
Pandesal
Every Filipino home smell of one thing every morning—pandesal, a staple breakfast food that can be paired with almost anything! Jam, cheese, corned beef—you name it! Here’s a simple recipe you can follow to make your mornings even better:
● Stir two cups of warm water, two teaspoons of active dry yeast, and one teaspoon sugar in a bowl until fully dissolved. Then set it aside for about 10 minutes.
● In a different bowl, stir 2/3 cup of granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of canola oil until they combine. Then add two teaspoons of salt, your yeast mixture, and one cup of flour. Gradually combine your 1/2 cup of flour as you combine these ingredients.
● When the dough is sticking and pulling together in a ball, then transfer it on a lightly floured surface and start kneading until smooth and elastic.
● Put one tablespoon of dough in a bowl and put your dough in it ensuring that the whole dough is coated. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise until it doubles in size.
● Turn the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. Divide the dough into 32 pieces and shape each piece into something like an egg and place it on a lightly greased baking sheet within a quarter-inch apart.
● Cover it again with a damp cloth and let it rise.
● Preheat your oven up to 375F. Sprinkle some breadcrumbs on top and let it bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
Bibingka
Another popular pastry that most Filipinos love is bibingka, a type of rice cake that is traditionally cooked in clay pots lined with leaves, but can also be baked in an oven. This pastry is usually served in most fiestas and especially during the holiday seasons. The best thing about this is it's quick prep and baking time! Here’s how:
● Combine three cups of rice flour, five 1/2 tablespoons of baking powder, one teaspoon of salt and one cup of brown sugar in a large bowl and whisk them together.
● In a separate bowl, put three eggs, one 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and three cups of coconut milk and whisk them together.
● Put the flour mixture over the coconut milk mixture and fold with a whisk until it becomes smooth and free of lumps.
● Line a baking pan with banana leaf and pour the batter. Then top it off with sliced salted eggs and cheese.
● Preheat the oven at 400F and bake for 30 minutes.
Buko Pie
Every time someone goes out of town, there is one local treat that is so popular with Filipinos that it has become the default pasalubong—the buko pie. Unfortunately, due to the community quarantine, travels are restricted, but fret not! We’ve prepared a recipe for you so you can enjoy your buko pie from home:
● Put three cups of sifted flour and one teaspoon of salt in a bowl.
● Then add 3/4 cups of chilled lard and cut in with a knife until they look like small peas. Make sure they're not too small so the crust wouldn't be crumbly.
● On a different bowl, put six tablespoons of cold water and add two tablespoons of lemon juice. Then sprinkle this around your flour mixture while tossing lightly to form a ball.
● Let it chill for a while. Then divide it into two equal parts, one for the bottom and one for the top crust.
● Take one part and place it on a floured surface and roll it out thinly. Gently place this on a 28x4 pie pan. Make sure to give an extra inch allowance over the edges. Then refrigerate for an hour.
● Take the other part and roll it into a circle similar to the first one. Place this on a parchment paper and roll it together into a cylinder and refrigerate for an hour.
● On a different bowl, dissolve 1/3 cup of cornstarch in 1/2 cup of coconut water and set aside.
● On a saucepan over medium-low heat, combine 1/2 cup of all-purpose cream and 3/4 cup sugar and let it simmer until sugar is completely dissolved.
● Add the coconut meat to the saucepan and slowly add the coconut water with cornstarch while stirring regularly. Cook and stir for 3-5 minutes until it thickens. Then remove from heat and allow it to completely cool.
● Pour the filling into the pie crust making sure that it gets distributed evenly.
● Unroll the second pie crust and cover the top of the pie. Cut the excess edges and pinch the sides to seal it. Then poke holes on top of the crust to create vents.
● Preheat the oven at 425F for 10 minutes.
● Remove the pie and let it cool. On a different bowl, whisk together one egg and one tablespoon of milk. Then use this eggwash to brush the top of the pie.
● Preheat the oven to 350F and bake it for 30-40 minutes. Take the pie out and allow it to cool before slicing.
Ensaymada
Aside from pandesal, another pastry rules every Filipino bakery—the ensaymada. It's the iconic afternoon snack that is best paired with coffee. Given that the quarantine might limit operations of your neighborhood bakery, here’s how you and your family can enjoy fresh, hot ensaymada at your own home:
● In a small bowl, add half a cup of water, one package of active dry yeast and one teaspoon of sugar. Mix these until it dissolves, then set it aside and let it stand until it becomes bubbly.
● On a medium-sized sauce pan over medium heat, warm a half cup of milk until it bubbles along the edges. Turn off the heat and add 1/4 cup of sugar, one teaspoon of salt and 1/4 cup of butter. Mix them until they dissolve thoroughly. Then set this aside until lukewarm.
● In a large bowl, combine your yeast mixture, your milk mixture, two large eggs and ½ cups of flour. Stir well and add half a cup of flour five more times while stirring. Wait until it is combined thoroughly before adding the flour.
● When the dough is pulling and sticking together in a ball, then transfer it to a lightly floured surface and start kneading for eight to ten minutes until it is smooth and elastic.
● In a large bowl, put one tablespoon of canola oil and add your dough. Make sure that the dough is fully coated with the oil. Then cover it with a damp cloth and let it rise in a warm place for about an hour until it doubles in size.
● When your dough is ready, place it on a lightly floured surface and roll it out gently. Divide the dough into 12 pieces and flatten each to around a 4x6 rectangle.
● Brush each piece with melted butter and sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Then roll each one up tightly and pinch the edges to seal. Roll each one in itself like a spiral and place each one on your ensaymada moulds. You can get these moulds at any baking store at any SM Supermalls. Brush the top of each dough with butter again and cover with a damp cloth and let it rise for another 30 minutes.
● Preheat your oven to 375F and bake for 20 minutes until it's golden brown. It mustn't be over baked. Let it cool in the mould before adding the toppings.
● While it's warm, brush it again with melted butter then dip in a bowl of granulated sugar. sprinkle some cheddar cheese on top and you're good to enjoy warm, homemade ensaymada.
Ube (Pandesal)
Ube has always been an all-time favorite dessert for Filipinos. Its taste is so iconic that it is infused in a variety of other dishes as a flavor of its own. Recently, there has been a craze throughout the country for a certain pastry. It is a combination of two of the most popular food for Filipinos - the ube cheese pandesal. Here's how you can make your own batch at home.
● Use a pan that you can add water and have a medium-sized ube completely submerged in it. Let it boil until it is soft enough to mash. Use a fork to test if it's mashable.
● Peel the ube and use a fork or potato masher to start mashing it. We will need at least half a cup of mashed ube.
● If you are using prepared ube halaya, just use half a cup of the jam and add four tablespoons of sugar. If you're using ube powder, mix 1/4 cup of ube powder in a 3/4 cup of hot water until it is smooth.
● On a mixing bowl, add 1/4 cup of warm water at 105F to 110F, two and 1/4 teaspoons of active dry yeast and one tablespoon of sugar. Mix well and let it stand for five minutes until it is foamy.
● Add three tablespoons of softened butter, two eggs that are lightly beaten, five tablespoons of sugar, 1/4 of warm milk, half a cup of mashed ube and one teaspoon of salt. Then stir the ingredients until combined well.
● Add three cups of flour, one at a time, while constantly stirring the mixture. When the dough is starting to form into a shaggy mass, add one to three tablespoons of flour and mix until the dough comes together in the center of the bowl.
● Lightly grease a flat surface of kneading board and turn the dough out. This will be sticky because of the ube, so to make kneading easier and keep the texture soft, use oil instead of flour. But do not overdo it because oversaturating the dough with oil will keep it from rising. Keep kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic.
● In a bowl, add one tablespoon of canola oil and place the dough inside. Make sure that all the surface of the dough is coated with oil. Cover it with a damp cloth and let it rise one and a half to two hours or until it has doubled in size.
● Gently deflate the dough and form into a 20 to 22-inch log. Cut the log vertically in half and then cut each half into seven equal portions. This should give you a total of 14 even portions.
● Flatten each portion and place Velvetta cheese or any quick melt cheese in the middle. Fold the dough and roll it into a ball. Then tuck the ends under to seal.
● Roll the dough in bread crumbs and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Make sure to give enough space to let them rise to its fullest. Cover this with a clean cloth and let it rise for 40 to 60 minutes or until they have doubled in size.
● Preheat the oven to 350F and bake for about 20-23 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool before serving. Note that the cheese filling will be extremely hot so make sure to cool them down properly.
Is your mouth watering already? Head over to any of the SM Supermalls near you to get the ingredients and materials you need. You can get the ingredients at any SM Supermarket. For your baking supplies, SM Supermalls has stores like Piece of Cake, All About Baking and Wonderbake. If you need an oven to start baking, then walk over to any SM Appliance Center where they offer various options for the perfect oven for your kitchen. So this coming June 12, celebrate the Philippine Independence Day with us by baking one of these delicious Filipino baked goods.
Pandesal
Every Filipino home smell of one thing every morning—pandesal, a staple breakfast food that can be paired with almost anything! Jam, cheese, corned beef—you name it! Here’s a simple recipe you can follow to make your mornings even better:
● Stir two cups of warm water, two teaspoons of active dry yeast, and one teaspoon sugar in a bowl until fully dissolved. Then set it aside for about 10 minutes.
● In a different bowl, stir 2/3 cup of granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of canola oil until they combine. Then add two teaspoons of salt, your yeast mixture, and one cup of flour. Gradually combine your 1/2 cup of flour as you combine these ingredients.
● When the dough is sticking and pulling together in a ball, then transfer it on a lightly floured surface and start kneading until smooth and elastic.
● Put one tablespoon of dough in a bowl and put your dough in it ensuring that the whole dough is coated. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise until it doubles in size.
● Turn the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. Divide the dough into 32 pieces and shape each piece into something like an egg and place it on a lightly greased baking sheet within a quarter-inch apart.
● Cover it again with a damp cloth and let it rise.
● Preheat your oven up to 375F. Sprinkle some breadcrumbs on top and let it bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
