• Combine your melted butter, sugar, egg, egg yolk, and coconut milk in a bowl.
NOTE: Please make sure your butter is not scalding hot, or else you will cook your eggs lol.
• Add in your dry ingredients and make sure everything is smooth and well combined.
Unlike when you use all-purpose flour, rice flour and glutinous rice flour do not develop gluten, hence the risk of overmixing is non-existent! So girl, mix away!

Preparation before baking

Prep your banana leaf by wiping it with a slightly damp cloth to remove any residue. You can put it over a flame if you have a gas oven, but if not (like me), you can broil each side for 1 minute at 350°F. This will help make your banana leaf more pliable.
Line your tins with a banana leaf (a total of five) and preheat your oven to 400°F.

Baking the Bibingka

• In your tins lined with banana leaf, put in about 1-2 tbsp of your grated cheese, depending on how cheesy you want it to be, and a slice of salted duck egg.
TIP: You can grate your cheese in advance and place it in the freezer before putting it in your tins. This will help slow down the melting of your cheese, so with every bite, you will have little cheese bits. You can also just cut your cheese into small cubes instead of grating it!
• Pour in your bibingka mixture almost to the top of your tin. You can fill it halfway, give it a little tap, then continue to fill it to the top.
You can put your tins in a baking pan so it’s easier to pull them in and out of the oven.
• Bake it for 13-15 minutes, or until the edges are set and the middle is still a bit jiggly. This will also brown the top a bit.
• Place a small slice of cheese over the top, then broil it for 2–3 minutes, or until the top is slightly toasted and the cheese is slightly melted.
• Brush the top with more butter and sprinkle with sugar (if you like it sweeter).
• Let it cool slightly and enjoy! You can top it off with niyog (freshly shredded coconut) and/or more cheese, and feel the spirit of Christmas take over!