I am not an expert when it comes to making kakanin. I rely a lot of my knowledge from my Food Preparation class back in college. The most basic of which is How to Extract Coconut Cream. However, there are packs of coconut cream that I’ve tested out for maja blanca. Sapin-sapin is a number one request from most of my readers and it took me quite a while to test this recipe but finally here it is. Remember , we will be making 3 layers.

5 cups Coconut Cream (How to Extract Coconut Cream) From 2 Coconuts
2 cups rice flour
2 cups white sugar
1/4 teaspoon powdered aniseed
1/2 kilo ube
Red Food Color
latik (How to Prepare Latik)

Bamboo steamer
Big Pan or steamer

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Posted: August 1st, 2010 under Recipes, kakanin.
Comments: 1

Kutsinta will forever have special place in my heart. It was the first product that inspired my mom’s Sally’s Bake Shop in 1966. She had seen mothers buying kutsinta after a movie. An idea soon hit her. Why not make my own kutsinta? Here is a kutsinta recipe similar to mom’s.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups rice flour (substitute with all-purpose flour)

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 cups water

1 teaspoon white lihia or lye (or potassium carbonate solution)

1/4 teaspoon yellow coloring

2 tablespoons white sugar

Topping: freshly grated coconut or cheese

Directions

1. Caramelize the white sugar with one cup water in a saucepan. Cool.

2. Once the mixture in number 1 is cooled, add the rest of the ingredients except toppings. Mix well and strain the ingredients using a strainer.

3. Prepare muffin pans by brushing with butter.

4. Steam for 20 to 30 minutes or or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

5. Add more water to the steamer if needed.

6. Just before the kutsinta is cooked, add grated cheese on the top (optional)

7. Remove from the muffin pans and serve with freshly grated coconut.

Posted: July 25th, 2010 under Recipes, kakanin, kakanin, suman, native rice cakes.
Comments: 5

What do you associate puto with? When pork was still part of my diet, I associated puto with diniguan. I dunk the puto on the thick sauce, then eat it together with the pork pieces. Another puto memory is pairing it with hot chocolate drink. Puto is a great pairing food with many of our Filipino dishes. Puto is very easy to make. You can even use all-purpose flour instead of rice flour if one cannot find the latter. In this recipe, we will use all-purpose flour

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour (or better yet rice flour)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups thick coconut cream (the first press. See How to Extract Coconut Cream or you can use coconut powder and follow instructions to make thick cream)
1 teaspoon aniseed

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Posted: May 19th, 2010 under Recipes, kakanin.
Comments: 5

Preparing Suman sa Ibus is so easy. It’s the wrapping of the rice mixture which takes so much time. Yet it is all worth it. How I love the mild flavor of the suman. The delightful combination with ripe yellow mangoes and hot tsokolate is heavenly.

Ingredients

4 cups sticky rice or malagkit
3 cups thick coconut cream (here’s how to prepare Thick Coconut Cream)
1 Tablespoon salt

Tube-like containers made of young coconut leaves shaped into cylinders about 3 centimeters in diameter and 10 centimeters long. I can’t explain how to prepare the ibus for the suman but here is how to prepare from this blog

1. Fold the end of the buri leaf by 1 ½ inches.
2. Fold the bottom edge into a triangle.
3. Start rolling up the buri leaf in an
overlapping manner.
4. Roll up the buri to make a tube.

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Posted: May 5th, 2010 under Recipes, kakanin, kakanin, suman, native rice cakes.
Comments: 2

Just looking at the photos makes me want to eat more kilawin or kinilaw na isda. Once can use either tuna or lapu-lapu fillets to make this dish. I always associate the Kinilaw with a beach outing. Preparing dishes with vinegar ensures there is little chance of food spoilage. The fish is “cooked” using vinegar as the meat turnes opaque in color. Though kinilaw may not be as popular as adobo, it certainly has a one-of-a-kind taste that many Pinoys abroad crave for.

In Philippine Food and Life (released by Anvil Publishing in 1992), Gilda Cordero-Fernando narrates of an Ilokano group who, during the Spanish period, were part of the crew English navigator Thomas Cavendish’s ship. Right after the sailors threw all the intestines of a goat into the sea, the Ilokano assistants dived into the sea for their kilawin — dipped or cooked in bile sauce or broth. The chronicler, who was ignorant of what the Pinoys were preparing, described the dish as “a disgusting mess.”

Not only goats, which is believed to be a good source of protein and calcium, however, may be made into kilawin. Beef, carabeef, fish, shelfish, including octopus are also popular options.

(Sources: Alegre, Edilberto N. and Fernandez, Doreen G. “Kinilaw: A Philippine Cuisine of Freshness.” Bookmark Inc.,1991;Cordero, Gilda Fernando. “Philippine Food and Life.” Pasig City: Anvil Publishing, 1992)

Kilawin na isda is so easy to prepare too.

Here are the ingredients:

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Posted: January 16th, 2010 under Asian Cuisine, Filipino Food, Recipes, Seafood, kakanin.
Comments: 11

I first learned how to cook suman from Prof. Matilde Guzman Food Preparation class. I love the combination of mongo and coconut-flavored sweet sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves.

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

1 cup malagkit (glutinous rice)
1 cup mongo
1-1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cups coco milk
coco cream from 1 grated coconut

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Posted: January 6th, 2010 under Recipes, kakanin.
Comments: 5

My memories of Suman Luya dates back to Christmas Eve and my mother. She would cook the sticky rice in a big kawali in the dirty kitchen. Suman Luya is extremely smooth tasting with the right amount of sweetness. It’s perfect for hot chocolate drink during the noche buena. The taste in itself reminds me of Christmas in Cebu.

Here is the recipe of Suman Luya (Suman Flavored with Ginger) or you can buy Suman Luya from this entry Where to Buy Suman in Manila

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Posted: December 24th, 2009 under Recipes, kakanin.
Comments: 5

Even if you’re located in the US, you can still make Cassava Cake. Just buy the ingredients at the Filipino Store. This cassava cake recipe is from my sister in San Francisco. It’s been tested and eaten with gusto by her family.

Ingredients:

2 packages grated cassava
1 can coconut milk
1 bottle macapuno strips
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 can condensed milk

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Posted: July 3rd, 2009 under Filipino Delicacies, Recipes, kakanin, kakanin, suman, native rice cakes.
Comments: 37

My friend from the USA sent me this recipe on how she makes cassava cake. When I saw that she used frozen cassava, I was surprised. It’s been awhile since I’ve gone to a Filipino grocery in the states. I am sure a lot of Filipinos can still come up with our native delicacies as long as the Filipino stores carry these ingredients. So here is her recipe:

2 packs frozen cassava

2 packs frozen buko

2 eggs

2 cups sugar 2 cans (16 0z) coconut milk

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/4 cup melted butter

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Posted: January 6th, 2009 under Recipes, kakanin, kakanin, suman, native rice cakes.
Comments: 4

There is nothing like freshly baked puto right out of your steamer I always thought puto has to be made always with rice flour. The best texture and taste is using rice flour but I am sure some of my readers overseas appreciate a puto recipe without using rice flour but instead just the plain all-purpose flour. However, you can use rice flour if you can grind some.

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Posted: September 1st, 2008 under Recipes, kakanin.
Comments: 16

My Principles in Food Preparation teacher in UP Diliman was the late Matilde P. Guzman. My sister and I, as well as her notable graduates such as Sylvia Reynoso-Gala and Nora Daza, all benefited from the basic food principles that she taught us.

Studying her manual, “Principles of Cooking,” was my life-line. I found a blog entry about Mrs. Guzman during her early days — and looking at the photos reminded me of Mom’s life in UP Diliman.

Remember that Coconut milk or cream can be used undiluted or diluted thick or thin by adding hot water to fresh grated coconut meat. The quantity of the cream extracted by a coconut depends on its size, and on the ripeness of the coconut meat.

As a rule, 1/2 cup undiluted cream can be obtained from a large mature coconut . It will also yield about 300 grams meat.

300 grams meat yields 4 cups grated coconut.

4 cups coconut yields 1/2 cup undiluted cream.

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Posted: January 15th, 2008 under Baking Tips, Recipes, desserts, kakanin.
Comments: 3

A lot of you have been asking for kakanin recipes. I’ve been slowly adding recipes to this site so watch out for it.

In the meantime…

You can find the kakanin recipes in this Kakanin Recipe Category. I ‘ve also found great tasting kakanin recipes from Pinoy Merienda Site. Here are a few Bibingka recipes.

Just go over to their Kakanin Recipes

Posted: December 30th, 2007 under Recipes, kakanin.
Comments: 2