Puto (Steamed Rice Cake)

Colored Puto

Puto is a steamed rice cake in the Philippines.   It is served as a snack, dessert or as an accompaniment to another meal such as stews or noodle dish.  Puto is traditionally made with galapong (dough made from uncooked rice that was soaked overnight, drained and ground.)  The dough is mixed with coconut milk or milk and sugar and flavored with anise or lihiya (wood ash lye.)  The mix is then steamed producing a soft, moist cake with a uniform grain.  It is neither sticky nor dry and crumbly.

Puto with cheese topping

Traditionally it is steamed in putuhan, a large steamer with rings made of either soldered sheets of metal or thin strips of bent bamboo enclosing a flat bamboo. It has a large conical cover to allow the condensing steam to drip along the perimeter of the steaming tray and not on the cake.  Nowadays the ingredients for puto are so convenient and easy to find.  With rice flour and canned coconut milk, it's so easy to make!

Puto with salted egg topping

Puto comes in many shapes and forms.  It is traditionally prepared as a whole cake and not on individual molds.  It is then cut in individual serving portions before serving.  It has a greenish hue from the use of Pandan leaves and banana leaves that lined the steaming tray.  It is usually topped with grated coconut or native cheese or salted egg. Following are some of the variants of puto:

• Puto bumbong - a popular Christmas delicacy in the Philippines;  made with deep purple sticky rice that is soaked in saltwater overnight then poured in individual bumbong (bamboo tube) and then steamed.  
• Puto kutsinta - moist and chewy rice cake made with lye.  The color ranges from reddish brown, orange to yellow. 
• Puto maya - a purple puto that is flavored with ginger.
• Puto pao - puto with sweet meat filling
• Puto lanson - a foamy puto made with grated cassava

I made puto for Easter so I added a little bit of color in the puto mixture. Some I left uncolored, some I added toppings of cheese and salted egg.  Instead of serving deviled eggs or colored eggs, I served colorful puto and it was a big hit for my kids! I used plastic sauce cups for molding the puto.  I have a tiny steaming tray so for every 10 minutes I can only steam six.

Puto

Prep Time: 60 minutes

Cooking Time: 80 minutes (10 minutes/batch)

Yield: 48 pieces (1 3/4-inch diameter)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups rice flour, sifted
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 2 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 14 ounces coconut milk (or 2 cups freshly squeezed coconut milk)
• 2 cups fresh milk
• 2 eggs (optional)
• food colors (red, blue, green & yellow), optional
• melted butter or vegetable oil for greasing the molds
• optional toppings (bits of cheddar cheese or feta cheese, salted egg)
  

Procedure:

1. Combine all dry ingredients (first five) in a large mixing bowl. Mix well.
2. Combine milk, coconut milk and eggs in a separate bowl. Mix well.
3. Pour the liquid mixture to the dry mixture.  Whisk together until smooth.  Cover bowl with cling wrap and chill the batter in the refrigerator for 45 minutes. 
4. Grease the puto molds. (I used 48 plastic sauce cups.)
5. If adding color to the puto: Divide the batter equally into 6 different bowls about 1 cup each. Leave the sixth cup uncolored so you have plain white batter. Follow the color guide below per 1 cup of batter:

• pastel pink:  2 drops of red 
• pastel orange: 1 drop of red + 1 drop of yellow
• pastel yellow: 2 drops of yellow
• pastel green: 2 drops of green
• light purple: 1 drop of blue + 1 drop of red

6. Boil water in the pan for steaming. Pour about 1 tablespoon in each mold.

7. If using toppings: Place a bit of the topping of choice on top of the batter.

8. Steam each batch for 15-20 minutes while checking the steaming tray's lid from time to time for condensation. Make sure condensation doesn't drip on the cake.

9. Remove from the steaming tray. Cool for 5 minutes. Remove each puto from the mold and serve.

Leche Flan (Creme Caramel)

Leche flan or creme caramel is the queen of all desserts in the Philippines.   It is a decadent smooth custard made from eggyolk and milk and topped with soft caramel. The difference between leche flan and creme brulee is the consistency of the caramel, the latter has a toasted caramel top.

The recipe that I will share is from my Aunt Lovina, my mom's elder sister. I believe this is the recipe that was passed on from my great grandmother to my grandmother.  I think Aunt Lovina makes the best leche flan!

Ingredients:

• 20 pieces egg yolk
• 2 cups condensed milk
• 1 1/2 cups or 24 ounces evaporated milk
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups granulated sugar

Procedures:

1. Beat the egg yolk in a mixing bowl using a hand mixer or electric beater.
2. Mix in the condensed milk, evaporated milk and vanilla extract thoroughly. Set the mixture aside.
3. Heat the llanera or tin or aluminum mold over low heat. Spread the sugar on the mold. When the sugar has caramelized or has turned light brown in color, remove from heat and set aside for about 5 minutes.
4. Pour the custard mixture in the mold and cover with tin foil.
5. Steam for about 30 minutes. Insert a knife into the middle part to check for doneness. If it comes out clean, the custard is cooked.
6. Refrigerate before serving.

Variations:

• Coffee or rhum can be added to the caramel for a more interesting flavor.
• Vanilla can also be substituted with lemon extract.

Maja Blanca (Coconut Pudding)

Maja Blanca is a Filipino dessert made from coconut milk, cornstarch, and sugar. This luscious dish is also called Coconut Pudding.  The original Maja Blanca does not include corn, coconut meat and milk. In this recipe, I added whole sweet kernel corn, young coconut meat and milk just like how my mom preapares her maja blanca. 


Growing up as a kid in my maternal grandparents' house, I have had a lot of maja blanca during Christmas, fiesta and even on ordinary days when my grandma's cravings for sweet and native delicacies attack.  I admit, just like my mom and my grandma, I have a sweet tooth.  My maja blanca does not come topped with toasted mature coconut meat because I don't eat it. Latik is another topping used when serving maja blanca.  Latik refers to the coconut milk residue left when coconut milk is cooked until it turns to oil. 


Ingredients:

• 4 cups coconut milk
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 15 ounces whole sweet kernel corn (optional)
• 1/2 cup grated young coconut meat / buko (optional)
• 3/4 cup cornstarch
• 3/4 cup fresh milk or water
• 5 tbsp toasted grated mature coconut meat or latik (if available)

Procedure:

1. Heat the coconut milk in a pot and bring to a boil.  Add the sugar, whole sweet kernel corn and young coconut meat then stir until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.  Simmer for 8 minutes.
2. Combine the fresh milk / water and cornstarch then whisk until the cornstarch is diluted.  Slowly pour the mixture in the cooking pot and stir thoroughly. Allow to cook while stirring until the mixture reaches desired thickness. (about 3-5 minutes)
3. Pour the mixture in a greased serving tray then arrange and flatten the top using greased spatula.  Allow to cool at room temperature.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
4. Garnish with toasted grated coconut (or latik if available.)  Serve chilled.

Here's how to make toasted grated mature coconut meat:

1. Squeeze the coconut milk from the coconut meat. 
2. Heat pan and pour in the grated mature coconut meat over medium heat. 
3. Stir the coconut meat until most of the liquid evaporate. Continue stirring until it becomes toasted.  The color should become light brown and the texture crisp.