Bibingka
Rice-flour and coconut-milk cake baked in banana-leaf-lined tins, topped with salted egg and white cheese, brushed with butter. The Christmas cake of Simbang Gabi.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Rest
- None
- Total
- 55 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Bibingka is a rice-flour cake made with coconut milk, eggs and sugar, baked in a tin lined with banana leaf and topped with sliced salted duck egg and white cheese. Out of the oven it is brushed with butter and scattered with sugar and grated coconut. The banana leaf is not decoration: it scents the base and stops it sticking. This version uses an ordinary oven and a quick grill at the end to char the top. Traditional bibingka is cooked in a clay pot with charcoal below and live coals on the lid, which gives a smokier, more scorched cake than any oven can.
What you'll need
12 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
- Batter
- Lining
- Topping
Ingredients
Batter
- Rice flour250 g
- Baking powder15 ml
- Salt1 pinch
- Sugar150 g
- Egg3
- Coconut milk400 ml
- Butter, melted; 40 g for the batter, the rest for the leaves and the top60 g
Lining
- Banana leaves, large, thawed if frozen, for lining2 sheet
Topping
- Salted duck egg, cooked, peeled and sliced2
- Melting cheese, kesong puti or a mild white cheese, sliced; grated processed cheese is the modern habit60 g
- Sugar, to sprinkle30 ml
- Grated coconut, fresh or frozen, to serve50 g
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Heat the oven to 190°C. Wipe the banana leaves and pass them quickly over a gas flame, or dip them in hot water, until glossy and pliable. Cut rounds to line six 12 cm tins or one 23 cm tin, and brush the leaves with a little of the melted butter.
10 min
Tip: Softening the leaves stops them cracking and brings out their smell.
Step 2
Mix the rice flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl whisk the eggs and sugar until pale, then whisk in the coconut milk and 40 g of the melted butter. Stir in the dry mix until smooth.
8 min
Step 3
Pour the batter into the lined tins, filling them about two-thirds, and set them on a baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes, until the tops are just set.
15 min190°C
Step 4
Lay slices of salted egg and cheese on top and bake 10 to 15 minutes more, until risen and golden and a skewer in the centre comes out clean; one large tin needs about 10 minutes longer. Finish under a hot grill for 2 minutes to char the top in spots.
17 min190°C
Step 5
Brush with the rest of the butter, sprinkle with sugar, and serve warm with grated coconut on top or alongside.
3 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 512 kcal
- Protein
- 11.1 g
- Carbs
- 46.5 g
- Fat
- 32.6 g
- Saturated fat
- 23.2 g
- Fibre
- 2.9 g
- Sugar
- 32.3 g
- Sodium
- 611 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Eggs
- Milk
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.
Substitutions
Salted duck egg → A saltier cheese, such as feta
The salt against the sweet cake is the point. Without the egg, let the cheese carry it.
Tips
- Frozen banana leaves from Asian grocers work well. Thaw them and wipe them dry.
- Filipino shops sell salted duck eggs cooked, usually dyed red. Chinese shops also sell them raw in a coat of salted clay or ash; rinse those and boil them for about 10 minutes first.
- Eat it warm. Cold bibingka firms up; 20 seconds in the microwave brings it back.
History & culture
Bibingka means Christmas. During Simbang Gabi, the nine dawn masses before Christmas, vendors outside churches cook it to order over charcoal, and families eat it warm after mass with puto bumbong and hot salabat, ginger tea. It is sold all year now, but the smell of banana leaf over coals still means December.
Rice cakes are older than any colonial arrival, and bibingka has relatives across Southeast Asia, including the Indonesian and Malaysian bingka. The word may share a root with Goan bebinca, though nobody has settled it. The salted egg and cheese on top are later additions, probably from the Chinese and Spanish kitchens of Manila.
Modern adaptation — Traditional bibingka is baked in a clay pot or terracotta mould set over charcoal, with a metal lid holding more live coals, so the cake cooks from above and below and comes out smoky and scorched on both faces. The older batter is galapong, soaked rice ground wet and left to ferment slightly; rice flour and baking powder are the quick modern route. The oven-and-grill method gets the texture close but not the smoke.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Bibingka take?
55 min all in — 20 min prep, 35 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 6 cakes. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Eggs, Milk. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian, Gluten-free.
8 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Oven, Mixing bowl, Baking tray.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1 pinch.
How much sugar?
150 g of Sugar.
How much sugar?
2 tbsp (to sprinkle) of Sugar.
What can I use instead?
Salted duck egg → A saltier cheese, such as feta. The salt against the sweet cake is the point. Without the egg, let the cheese carry it.
Any tips from this recipe?
Frozen banana leaves from Asian grocers work well. Thaw them and wipe them dry. Filipino shops sell salted duck eggs cooked, usually dyed red. Chinese shops also sell them raw in a coat of salted clay or ash; rinse those and boil them for about 10 minutes first. Eat it warm. Cold bibingka firms up; 20 seconds in the microwave brings it back.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
Similar dishes
Cassava Cake
Cassava Cake from Cayman Islands.
Easy
Leche flan
Dense, silky Filipino caramel custard made with egg yolks, condensed and evaporated milk, steamed gently in an oval llanera tin and chilled overnight.
Easy
Seri muka kuih
Seri muka kuih from Malaysia.
Medium
Ube halaya
Purple yam jam — the 2026 bakery colour, cooked down with milk and sugar until it is a spread and a personality.
Easy