Aling Kika’s Bibingka Recipe (Bibingka biko)
Recreate Aling Kika’s famous Cainta bibingka biko at home with chewy glutinous rice and a rich, sweet coconut caramel latik topping.
Ingredients
Rice Cake
- 1 ½ cup glutinous rice (325 g)
- 1⅔ cup water (400 ml)
- ⅔ cup coconut milk (160 ml)
- ⅛ cup granulated sugar (30 g)
- ⅛ tsp salt
Latik
- 3 cups coconut cream (700 ml)
- ½ cup brown sugar (100 g)
- ¼ tsp salt
Other
- 1 banana leaf but you can use parchment paper
Instructions
- Cooking Rice in a Rice Cooker: Wash your rice two to three times, then add the water and cook it in the rice cooker using the same setting as white rice. If your rice cooker has a sticky rice setting, you can choose that option instead!
- (OPTIONAL) Cooking Glutinous Rice in a Pot: I suggest cooking your rice over medium heat with the lid on. Once it boils, give it a little stir and lower the heat. Cover it with the lid again, but leave a small gap to let the steam escape. Cook until the water evaporates. Once it's done, remove it from the heat, fluff it one last time, then cover it completely and let it cool.
- Once your rice is cooked, fluff it with a spatula and let it cool completely.
- In a pan, add your coconut milk, sugar, and salt, then cook over medium heat until the sugar is fully dissolved.
- Once your coconut milk starts to simmer gently, add the rice and fold it into the mixture. Keep folding until the rice has completely absorbed the coconut milk and forms one big clump.
- Prep your cake pan by lining it with banana leaves, then add the rice and spread it evenly across the pan. Set it aside while you prepare the latik topping.
- Latik: Pour your brown sugar into a pan and spread it evenly. Turn the heat to low and let it melt without stirring. Once you see it starting to melt at the bottom, gently move it around with a spatula until all the sugar has dissolved.
- Once the sugar has melted, slowly pour in your coconut cream while stirring continuously. Keep mixing as you gradually add the rest of the coconut cream.
- Add the salt and continue cooking until the mixture thickens, making sure to stir continuously so the bottom doesn’t burn. Again, ONLY cook over low heat. It will take more than 10 minutes for the mixture to start thickening.
- You will notice the oil starting to separate as the mixture thickens. Continue cooking until it starts to curdle. If it’s still smooth, just keep stirring.
- Once it reaches your desired consistency, let it cool slightly, then spread it over your rice.
- Broil it for 7-9 minutes to lightly brown the top, then let it cool before serving. We’re finally done!
- Slice it into small rectangles and enjoy your homemade Aling Kika’s bibingka copycat! Now you can skip the long lines and enjoy it wherever you go!
Glutinous rice will still look murky even after washing because of its high starch content, which is what gives it that chewy texture. Giving it an initial wash helps remove any debris, so don’t stress if the water is still cloudy after a few washes.
This helps prevent your rice from becoming mushy as it settles and cools. The rice will have time to absorb the remaining liquid rather than continuing to cook!
Be careful not to burn the sugar, as this will affect the taste of your latik. The key is to use low heat and gently move the sugar around to prevent the bottom from burning.
WARNING: There will be a lot of mixing during this part, so patience is truly the key. I almost lost mine, but I got you!
What if the sugar hardens? That’s okay! Just keep mixing until it melts.
Note: It took me 1 hour and 15 minutes to achieve the consistency I wanted, so this is truly a labour of love! By the first hour, you’ll notice that it starts to become gelatin-like, but you still want to keep mixing.
Note: I have tested this recipe with different canned coconut creams, and I noticed that some release more oil than others because of guar gum, which helps prevent the fat from separating from the coconut cream. You might want to take this into account. If your coconut cream releases a lot of oil, I suggest removing some of it. However, my preference is to use coconut cream with guar gum because it best captures the consistency of Aling Kika’s bibingka!