Easy Bibingka Recipe: Filipino Rice Cake (no eggs, no coconut)

These bibingka bites have been an intrinsic part of growing up with a Filipino mother. With their sticky, chewy texture and sweet buttery flavor that melts on your tongue, they deliver the kind of sweet satisfaction that only a Filipino dessert can achieve.

We would always have these rice cakes at family gatherings, where they were my Aunt Cecil's signature dish. For years, my sister and I tried to get the recipe from her, but she had no written recipe! She just measured ingredients by "feeling" - oh dear. So after years of trial and error, we cracked her recipe, and I added some of my personal touches to it - which I think make it even better.

Not Your Typical Bibingka Recipe

I found plenty of bibingka recipes online, but they were different from our family recipe. My mom's family is from San Carlos City, Pangasinan, where they lived until the 1970s when my mother and her siblings moved to London, so this might be a regional variation.

This recipe is made without coconut and without eggs. It has a deliciously chewy texture with a slightly crunchy, caramelized top. If you ask me, this is the best bibingka recipe! (Of course, it's my family's recipe, so I am a little biased.) So let's try my homemade bibingka recipe!

Ingredients You'll need

For the detailed instructions and exact measurements, please jump to the printable recipe card

This is a simple recipe with just a few ingredients. Glutinous rice flour is easily found at any Asian supermarket. The banana leaves are optional, but they add an extra glorious, fragrant aroma to the cake. You'll find them in the freezer section of the asian supermarket, and they keep for a long time.

For the bibingka batter, you'll need glutinous rice flour, sugar, vanilla extract (affiliate link), and melted butter. The optional ingredient that I believe makes all the difference is a large banana leaf to line your baking tray with. When baking the rice cake on the banana leaf, the cake absorbs the deliciously smoky banana flavor, giving it a deep, exotic taste.

The second ingredient adaptation I borrowed from my cousin Michelle's bibingka recipe is sprinkling brown sugar on top just 10 minutes before the cake is ready. This gives the bibingka a beautiful caramelized crunch that perfectly contrasts the soft, chewy interior.

How to make Bibingka

All you'll need is a large bowl, a wooden spoon, and a baking pan. Mine was 8" x 8" (20 x20 cm). The bibingka is cooked in a standard oven.

How to serve these glutinous rice cakes

My aunt slices this slab of sticky-sweet rice cake into bite-sized squares (yes, she uses scissors for this!) and then arranges them on a plate. If you have any banana leaves leftover, use them as a plate for an exotic flair.

Keep Them Perfectly Chewy: Storage Tips

These cakes are perfect to make two days ahead. Simply place them in an airtight container and store at room temperature. Do not store them in the fridge as they lose their chewiness and become brittle and hard. Baked bibingka cakes stay good for up to three days.