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Tamales
Rick A. Martínez
87 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
87
5 hours 45 minutes
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Heat oven to 325 degrees and center racks.
Line two 8-inch cast-iron skillets or similar pans with banana leaves: Set 2 large sheets in each pan, allowing banana leaves to overlap in the center and come up the sides. Cut off any overhang that extends more than ½ inch beyond the lip of the skillet. Melt the butter, and add 1 tablespoon melted butter to each skillet, brushing it to coat the bottom and sides, reserving the remaining melted butter for the cake.
In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese and Parmesan; set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the rice flour, sugar and baking powder.
In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, eggs and the remaining 6 tablespoons melted butter. Add about a third of the flour mixture and stir to combine. Repeat twice, integrating dry ingredients into wet ingredients, stirring until combined.
Pour half the cake batter into each buttered skillet and smooth each into an even layer.
Bake the cakes for 30 minutes, until set around the edges but the surface of the center is puffy and not fully cooked through, rotating the cakes halfway through cooking.
Remove the cakes from the oven. Form the cream cheese mixture into about 10 ½-inch-thick logs. Top each cake with a few slices of duck egg coins in the center, then arrange five cream cheese logs on each cake, radiating outward from the center of each cake, like the arms of a starfish. (The logs will sink in lightly on the top, but should not sink in fully.) Return the cakes to the oven to continue baking for 10 minutes more, then increase the temperature to 400 degrees and cook until the top is a deep golden and cakes are fully set, 10 to 15 minutes. The cakes will be lightly domed and should spring back when touched.
Let cool 10 minutes then cut into slices. Serve warm or at room temperature.
The ones in the can, not the coconut milk used in cereals and lattes.
Are you asking if it’s coconut milk or water - because I’ve made it before and used various brands with no real noted difference-hope that helps
I realized that I used the wrong type of rice flower. I should've used the non-glutinous type. My wife and kids told me they like it better though so I guess it was a fortunate accident. I looked it up and it seems like I ended up making something referred to as Royal Bibingka.
The banana leaves add an authentic fragrance that parchment paper will not givem
Thanks for this fantastic recipe; wowed every guest, though someone suggested sugar a bit amped down to maybe 300g.
Admittedly cream cheese is not traditional, but slivers of kesong puti (literally white cheese) -- ideally from the province of Laguna and from water buffalo -- are.
would fresh mozzarella be closer to kesong puti than cream cheese?
Hi. My Guamanian Filipina pal taught me this. It’s eggs milk sugar 1box mochiko rice flour and vanilla. Recipe on box. Not fancy. But easy to assemble and just addictive. Any other ingredients are imposters. IMHO. :) cream cheese-what!!
Admittedly cream cheese is not traditional, but slivers of kesong puti (literally white cheese) -- ideally from the province of Laguna and from water buffalo -- are.
Reading through the recipe, this is not the GOA Bibingka I know...that one is a killer: 7 layers of eggs, sugar, butter and I forgot what else...it takes ages to make, is solid sin. If I can find the original recipe given to me, I'll publish it here.
When I weighed out 2 and 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp of rice flour, it only amounted to about 325 grams? I'll go ahead and bake with this amount and see how it turns out.
Found banana leaves and salted duck eggs at my Asian grocer and decided to go for it. Baked in 8" pans. The cream cheese logs were too long--I ended up not using about 1/4 cup (turned the leftover paste into dip with a little sour cream and tahini). After the first 30 minutes in the oven, the cake was too set to "receive" the cream cheese and duck eggs, so they just rested on top. Next time I'd check after 20 minutes and place them then to sink in. All that said, it was surprising and delicious!
Can you cut the recipe in half exactly?
Yes, definitely.
Thanks for this fantastic recipe; wowed every guest, though someone suggested sugar a bit amped down to maybe 300g.
Is it supposed to be more stretchy and chewy than a cake-like consistency? I made it but it doesn't seem to have the same consistency of bibingka that I've had in the past. I wonder if I mixed it too much or if it's just how this recipe is supposed to come out. Either way, the wife and kids liked it.
I blended glutinous rice flour (70%) with regular rice flour, and did get a somewhat cake-y but a bit sticky texture. The coconut milk I used, Mae Ploy, is thicker than the more common brands in the grocery and probably also made it less cake-y.
I realized that I used the wrong type of rice flower. I should've used the non-glutinous type. My wife and kids told me they like it better though so I guess it was a fortunate accident. I looked it up and it seems like I ended up making something referred to as Royal Bibingka.
Can you substitute parchment for the banana leaves?
The banana leaves add an authentic fragrance that parchment paper will not givem
What kind of coconut milk does the recipe call for?
Are you asking if it’s coconut milk or water - because I’ve made it before and used various brands with no real noted difference-hope that helps
The ones in the can, not the coconut milk used in cereals and lattes.
I've always had satisfactory results with Aroy-D, regardless of whether it was for soup, adobo, or bibingka (we spell it bebinque, but it's the same thing!). The main thing is to check the label for inclusion of water, sugar, oil, or preservatives.
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