How to Make Bibingka (Butter Mochi)

Bibingka (a.k.a. butter mochi) is a traditional food usually eaten during Christmas time in the Philippines. This snack is usually sold outside of churches during the nine-day novena for worshipers to eat for breakfast. This recipe has been adapted in my family and enjoyed, and I hope to be able to share it with others.

This is for all those aspiring bibingka makers who want to make a delicious, satisfying breakfast, snack, or dessert.

As an aspiring bibingka maker, you know how to operate a hand mixer, conventional oven and stove, can opener, how to mix things, and how to open a milk bottle. Perhaps you want to impress your friends, "frenemies", associates, family, and at the same time, blow their taste buds away with a delectable, yet authentic, Philippine concoction.

I’ll guide you through the needed ingredients and tools, initial set up of cooking appliances, directions on how to mix and prepare different ingredients, sequential order of organizing ingredients into different stages, baking directions, and suggestions.

I intend for you aspiring bibingka makers to use these recipe instructions to ultimately eat bibingka, but if you feel so inclined as to use bibingka to make gelatinous buildings, then by all means, power to you. I hope you take pictures of any and all architectural feats using glutinous rice flour breakfast food.

Step 1: Needed Ingredients

Dry ingredients

1 pound (16 oz) of glutinous rice flour

2-2 ½ cups sugar (depending on how sweet you would like)

1 tsp baking powder

Wet Ingredients

1 can coconut milk (higher the fat content the better)

1 ½ cups of coconut milk, whole milk, or almond milk

5 eggs

½ cup butter or margarine (best is Land O’ Lakes brand)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Step 2: Needed Tools

Conventional oven and stove (or microwave)

9x13 inch glass or metal pan

Measuring cups

Teaspoon measuring tool

Can opener

1 large mixing bowl

1 cereal bowl

1 medium sized saucepan (or microwavable container that can hold at least 3 cups of liquid)

Electric hand mixer

Large spoon or silicone spatula

Fork or whisk

Step 3: Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.

Prepare a 9x13 glass or metal pan.

A metal pan gives crispy edges, so it’s best not to grease pan, but if your pan isn’t that great you may have to do so.

Step 4: Mix Wet Ingredients

Place sugar, 1 can coconut milk, 1 ½ cups of coconut milk, whole milk, or almond milk, ½ cup butter or margarine, and 1 tsp vanilla extract into the medium sized saucepan or microwaveable container.

Step 5: Warm Up the Wet Ingredients

Heat the ingredients until the butter is melted.

Stir occasionally to make sure the mixture doesn’t burn.

Keep mixture warm by leaving simmering on the stove, or reheat by microwave for 30 seconds when you reach Step 6.

Make sure that it doesn't boil over!

Step 6: Prepare Dry Ingredients

Put 1 pound of glutinous rice flour and 1 tsp baking powder into a large mixing bowl and mix together with a large spoon or silicone spatula.

Step 7: Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients

Take liquid mixture and gradually pour into large mixing bowl with the rice flour and baking powder.

Mix well using the electric hand mixer.

Use the large spoon or silicone spatula to scrape the sides occasionally to make sure all of the dry powder is mixed well.

Step 8: Beat the Eggs

Beat 5 eggs in a cereal bowl using a fork or whisk.

Be sure to wash your hands after handling eggs!

Step 9: Add Eggs to Mixture

Use hand mixer to mix eggs into the large mixing bowl until the whole mixture is smooth.

Make sure the mixture doesn’t have any lumps.

Step 10: Pour Into Pan

Pour mixture into 9x13 pan.

Use the large spoon or silicone spatula to scrape the excess mixture into the pan.

Step 11: Put Into Oven and Bake

Place pan in oven and bake for 30 minutes.

Be sure to wear an oven glove to avoid getting burnt!

Step 12: Check and Rotate

After 30 minutes, the mixture should smell sweet and be a light yellow color.

Be sure to wear an oven glove to avoid getting burnt!

Rotate the pan 180 degrees in the oven and place back in for another 30 minutes.

Step 13: Finish Baking

Take out the finished bibingka.

Step 14: Suggestions on Enjoyment

Eat it right away, let it rest on the counter, or put it in the refrigerator. It really depends on how chewy you would like it to be.

Serve plain, with vanilla ice cream, with toasted coconut flakes, or broil with a layer of sweetened condensed milk.

The traditional way has cassava or shredded coconut mixed into the batter. Enjoy!