Bibingka (Coconut Rice Cake)

This coconut rice cake is so tender, moist, delicious and with the perfect crumbs, you won’t believe you’re eating a cake that’s actually completely gluten-free! This Bibingka is so insanely good it can rival any regular wheat cake in taste and texture. Bibingka is often served warmed up with some butter on top and enjoyed with coffee either in the morning or mid-afternoon. It’s delicious as a plain cake for everyday consumption, but for special occasions, it’s topped with extra cheese and some salted duck eggs, too.

 

Bibingka (Coconut Rice Cakes)

 

Our cookbook – RICE. NOODLES. YUM. (Everyone’s Favorite Southeast Asian Dishes) is officially one month old today! It was published exactly 30 days ago, on June 11, 2019. To celebrate, I thought we’d share a free recipe from our cookbook. We consulted our friends on Facebook and asked them which recipe they wanted to see for this blog post.

This is what they chose – Bibingka (Coconut Rice Cake) and what a good choice this is indeed! This coconut rice cake is so tender, moist, delicious and with the perfect crumbs, you won’t believe you’re eating a cake that’s actually completely gluten-free! This Bibingka is so insanely good it can rival any regular wheat cake in taste and texture. It’s that good!

Before we proceed though, let me just tell you that you can order our cookbook on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-a-Million, IndieBound and anywhere books are sold.

You can certainly order it from anywhere, pretty much, as it is both in kindle (e-book) format and on paperback. It’s available for online ordering so purchasing a copy is as easy as a touch of a button. You can simply click the photo and order via Amazon, too.

 

Rice. Noodles. Yum. Cookbook

 

Anyway, I just wanted to show you the kind of recipes you can find in the book. The photo below is what I used when I asked our friends from FB what they wanted to see on the blog. They are all delicious!!!

 

Rice. Noodles. Yum. Cookbook

 

Are you excited yet? Make sure to pin the recipe to save it!

 

Bibingka (Coconut Rice Cake)

Manila Spoon
This coconut rice cake is so tender, moist, delicious and with the perfect crumbs, you won’t believe you’re eating a cake that’s actually completely gluten-free! This Bibingka is so insanely good it can rival any regular wheat cake in taste and texture.
4.74 from 19 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine Filipino
Servings 8

Equipment

  • Pie Pan or Mini Tart Pans

Ingredients
 

  • 8 (7-inch [17.5-cm]) banana leaves (optional, see Note), softened
  • 2 cups (230 g) cups (230 g) rice flour, firmly packed
  • 2 tbsp (28 g) baking powder
  • 1⁄2 tsp salt
  • 4 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 1⁄4 cups (250 g) sugar
  • 1 (13.5-oz [400-ml]) can coconut milk
  • 2 tbsp (28 g) unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions
 

  • Prepare eight mini pie or tart pans by lining each with softened banana leaves that hang over the edge of the pans. The banana leaves are optional but the cake is traditionally baked in them as they add aroma and a subtle sweetness to the cake. If you cannot find banana leaves, line the pans with parchment paper instead. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190oC).
  • Sift together the rice flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Beat the eggs in a bowl. Add the sugar, coconut milk, melted butter and vanilla extract. Mix well.
  • Slowly add the flour mixture to the egg mixture, mixing the batter continuously as you do so. Whisk until the batter is completely smooth and has achieved a pourable consistency.
  • Divide the batter evenly between the eight prepared pans. Bake for 18 to 23 minutes or until a tester inserted in the middle of each cake comes out clean. Leave in the pans for 10 minutes then remove from the pans and transfer to a rack to cool completely. Serve warm or at room temperature, with coffee.

Notes

The Bibingka may also be baked in two pie pans or in muffin tins lined with banana leaves or parchment paper. If baking this muffin-style or cupcake style, do not overfill your muffin pans because these cakes expand a lot so do not go over 2/3s full. If using shallow muffin tins, better to divide the batter between 16-18 muffins than 12 because the batter may overflow.
Banana leaves can be purchased frozen from Asian stores. Defrost first then clean the banana leaves by wiping them with moistened paper towels. To soften the banana leaves, simply run each leaf over a flame or over an electric stovetop. Heat until the leaves are deep green all over.
Keyword Bibingka, Coconut Rice Cake, Filipino Food
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Last updated on January 16th, 2021 at 11:01 pm

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35 Comments

  1. Shadi Hasanzadenemati
    July 13, 2019 / 9:27 am

    5 stars
    I made your recipe for a gathering the other day and everyone kept asking for the recipe. It was totally a hit!

    • abigail
      Author
      July 13, 2019 / 11:31 am

      So glad you enjoyed it! This is delicious indeed!

  2. Dara Michalski
    July 13, 2019 / 10:15 am

    5 stars
    Everyone has to try this, it’s divine!

    • abigail
      Author
      July 13, 2019 / 11:31 am

      That is so true! Thanks!

  3. July 13, 2019 / 11:12 pm

    5 stars
    Yum! I loved this cake, so nice to change it up with coconut milk, absolutely delicious!

  4. July 14, 2019 / 12:00 am

    5 stars
    Congrats on your book! So excited to try this and many other recipes 🙂

  5. July 14, 2019 / 12:26 am

    5 stars
    These look so yummy and fluffy! I cannot wait to try this delicious treat! I’ve never had bibingka but you had me at coconut! Thanks for this recipe!

  6. July 14, 2019 / 12:43 am

    5 stars
    Happy 1 month to the cookbook! Amazing – just like this recipe. It was a huge hit with my family!

  7. Dannii
    July 14, 2019 / 1:25 am

    5 stars
    I love anything with coconut and these look delicious.

  8. Pam
    August 11, 2019 / 3:22 pm

    It’s says you can use 2 pie plates or muffin tins, what temperature & how long to cook if using these methods?

    • abigail
      Author
      August 16, 2019 / 9:31 am

      I would check at 30-35 minutes for the 2 pie plates and maybe check at 18 minutes for the muffins. Make sure the tester comes out clean and it springs back (just like a baked cake) when you lightly press it to ensure they’re cooked properly.

  9. Roxana Rock
    November 20, 2019 / 6:50 pm

    Hi

    Could I substitute the sugar with honey? Or even omit the sugar completely ?

    • abigail
      Author
      November 21, 2019 / 11:08 pm

      I have never made this with honey and I don’t think anyone in the Philippines would have because it won’t be bibingka anymore and this is meant to be sweet as it’s a rice cake so if you remove sugar, sorry, it won’t be nice. But you can certainly try either lessening the sugar or sub honey, may be worth it and if your successful do let us know. Thank you!

  10. Irina
    June 8, 2020 / 6:18 pm

    5 stars
    Oh, I love these baked cuties! I just need to purchase banana leaves, and I will bake using my favorite muffin pan. The recipe is interesting for sure 🙂

  11. Jill
    June 8, 2020 / 6:47 pm

    Looks like a book I’d like to check out. I love rice – but haven’t explored much with rice noodles or baking with rice flour.

  12. Nart at Cooking with Nart
    June 8, 2020 / 7:29 pm

    5 stars
    I tried this recipe and it was so good. I love all things coconut. Highly recommend this recipe and will be making it again.

  13. Kushigalu
    June 8, 2020 / 7:49 pm

    What a flavorful gluten free cake this is. Coconut lover and can’t wait to try this out!

  14. Taylor Kiser
    June 8, 2020 / 9:48 pm

    5 stars
    What a delicious treat! Can’t wait to make this!

  15. Sophie Goel
    June 8, 2020 / 10:24 pm

    5 stars
    Love the simplicity of this cake! Will definitely be making soon. Bonus it’s gluten-free too!

  16. Maricar I.
    July 9, 2020 / 2:21 pm

    I love this recipe! Absolutely delicious! I added sliced salted egg just before it firmed up, plus sugar and cheese as topping at the end. Thank you for this recipe!

    • abigail
      Author
      July 9, 2020 / 4:42 pm

      Oh so glad you enjoyed it! What a yummy idea and I should do that soon, too! Thank you so much Maricar for letting us know.

  17. Rowena
    December 16, 2020 / 6:52 pm

    5 stars
    Thank you for sharing this receipe. This bibingka recipe is so delicious and my fren order this to me. They absolutely loves the bibingka, i been making this to make extra income specifically im only work as a partime mom. Thank you

  18. Joy
    January 18, 2021 / 1:41 pm

    I will definitely try this recipe. Thank you.

    Joy

    • abigail
      Author
      January 22, 2021 / 8:57 am

      Hope you enjoy it. Do let us know. Thanks!

  19. Carmen
    January 23, 2021 / 3:18 pm

    Can Rice Flour be substituted with coconut flour?

    • abigail
      Author
      January 23, 2021 / 4:43 pm

      I haven’t tried it because it’s traditionally done with only rice flour and coconut flour is totally different and may not require the exact same amount. But if you do, let us know how it works. Thanks.

  20. Danica
    May 21, 2021 / 9:24 am

    If I were to bake this in cake pans what sizes would you recommend? 🙂

    • abigail
      Author
      May 22, 2021 / 11:06 am

      You can use 2 pie pans – they’re not meant to be thick or tall like regular cakes so pie pans are excellent to use – 9-inch should be fine.

  21. imelda
    September 8, 2021 / 9:12 am

    I made the mistake of using glutinous rice the first time. Of course, it did not turn out fluffy but sticky, like kutsinta. But it was quite delicious (especially after I got over the fact that I was aiming for bibingka to begin with).

  22. K
    October 29, 2021 / 3:27 pm

    Can these be frozen?

    • abigail
      Author
      November 1, 2021 / 2:27 pm

      Yes, make sure it’s completely cooled down first then wrap tightly with plastic wrap and place in freezer-friendly airtight container. Simply thaw and heat to defrost.

  23. Jenny
    June 27, 2022 / 9:13 am

    I was wondering. Does it need that much baking powder? Looks delicious and I want to make it Thank you for sharing this recipe.

    • abigail
      Author
      July 12, 2022 / 10:48 am

      Yes.

  24. Donna Anderson
    March 7, 2023 / 2:27 pm

    Curiosity got to me so I made these, they are delicious. I put lemon curd on top when they were done. Thank you. Amazing!!!

    • abigail
      Author
      March 7, 2023 / 9:29 pm

      So glad you enjoyed the rice cakes! Yay! Love the idea of the lemon curd!!!

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