Monday, January 19, 2009

#65_GLUTINOUS RICE CAKE WITH TOPPING


Latik or Nilatikan
(Glutinous Rice Cake with Latik Topping)

It is always fun to go to Filipino get-togethers because we play "name games" on the food we bring. Just like with this rice cake, someone from the Tagalog region call this "bibingkang malagkit", another one from Manila said they call it "bibingkang kakanin", in Bicol, they call it "biko". I'm from Pangasinan and we call it "latik" or "nilatikan" over there. One thing we all agree on though is that it is yummy, no matter how we call it.

Latik refers to the caramelized sauce made of coconut cream and panucha (molasses cake) and is used as topping for this particular rice cake. It also refers to the kakanin (rice cake) itself, thus latik.
On the otherhand, in Tagalog, latik refers to the curdles from coconut milk when making coconut oil.

Confused???!! I don't blame you because I'm too! That's why I chose "GLUTINOUS RICE CAKE WITH TOPPING" for the title.

In this recipe, I used light brown sugar instead of the panucha for the topping. Most of the time though, I use the bottled coconut jam or katiba, found in most Asian stores, for the topping. It is a shortcut to making this dessert...it is quick, less work and less messy.
If you decide to use the bottled coconut jam, heat it in a pot with some coconut milk to make it more spreadable. Do not microwave.

RECIPE FOR NILATIKAN:

4 cups glutinous rice
4 cups water
1/2 can coconut cream
2 cups white sugar

TOPPING:
1 1/2 cans coconut cream
2 cups light brown sugar

Cook rice just like the procedure in Biko recipe #7, click here.
1) Rinse glutinous rice with cold water, drain well. Add the water and cook in a rice cooker just like cooking regular rice.
2) When cooked, stir in the sugar and coconut cream. Mix well.


3) Spread the mixture into a greased 9x13" baking pan.
(Sorry, this is a bad picture as the sauce looks more orange in color than dark brown. I guess I have to blame the lighting).
4) Pour the latik on top and smooth it out.
5) Bake in a pre-heated 350 degrees oven for 45 minutes.
6) Let cool before slicing.

HOW TO MAKE THE TOPPING (LATIK):
1) In a non-stick pot, combine the coconut cream and the brown sugar.
2) Boil, stirring often, until thick but of spreadable consistency.

29 comments:

  1. Hi Mamely

    Yum yum makes me very hungry. i will try to cook it this sunday for my filipino friends who are coming to visit me from dagupan.
    Thanks you very much for sharing your recipe.

    You take care
    Kiwigal

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  2. hello kiwigal, this is really easy to make specially when you use he bottled coconut jam or katiba..you'l have dessert ready in less than 2 hours.

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  3. I have been dying to find the easiest recipe for biko and followed several blogs but none is as easy as yours. I bookmarked your site and I will definitely try most of them in my future get togethers. I used to have a recipe for queso dip and tried to make them but it did not turn out good. I will try them again.
    Please keep on sharing your recipes.

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  4. hello anonymous, thank you for visiting my blog.I hope you can give this biko recipe a try..it is really easy to make, just like what I said to the other reader, try to use bottled matamis na bao or coconut jam for a quicker to do topping.

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  5. Hello, I'm the "anonymous" above. In the ingredients it says 1/2 can coconut cream and below, the direction says mix sugar and coconut milk.Which one is it, coconut cream or milk? I plan to try it this weekend and am making sure I have the right ingredients to mix. I will let you know if its a success or a disaster, he, he, he. Maraming salamat, love your recipes!

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  6. Oh so sorry, that was a mistake...glad you caught it..It should be coconut cream. It is creamier than coconut milk.
    I will fix that right now.
    Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do.

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  7. Its me again. I made biko last night and I used the coconut jam as topping. Since I am the only one in the family who eats this, I reduced the recipe in half. The malagkit rice is somewhat mushy even if I followed the 1:1 ratio. Next time, I know what adjustments to make. I used the jam instead of the toasted sweetened coconut. Overall, other than the rice being a little bit mushy, it turned out good! This recipe is a keeper and so easy to make. I will be making the above recipe soon and will keep you posted on the result.( I should have posted this comment under the biko recipe). Thank you again.

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  8. Anonymous, you know what they say: "practice makes perfect". My first try wasn't perfect either, then next try was better. I'm glad you tried the recipe. Thank you for visiting my site and for your feed back on the recipe.I appreciate you very much.

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  9. I made this yesterday and it was very good, my 13 year old son even tried it. My daughter likes it more, she is always ready to try anything I make. This is gonna be for me and my daughter. This compensated from a disastrous attempt on steamed siopao.

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  10. Anonymous, glad this one turned out good. I feel bad about the siopao tho.
    Did you use coconut jam for topping?

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  11. Yes, I did. It is easier to use coconut jam. I will not give up on the siopao though.

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  12. Short cut method works for me too.
    On the siopao dough, you might need to add some more flour, or reduce the liquid(1 1/2 cups). I make adjustments on recipes when I try a new recipe on my bread machine too. Not all bread machine works for same recipe.

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  13. Now I know I can make adjustments on it, will definitely do that. There is just something special about making your own dough, plus, I feel that your dough is better than store bought. I need to make the dough right since I would like to make siopao more often.

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  14. Anonymous, I agree with you..some things are better homemade than store-bought as you can add your personal touch to them.

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  15. Mely,
    I tried this but I used Thai premium coconut milk...I did not catch that it was supposed to be coconut cream! Plus, it seems like I overcooked the coconut milk+brown sugar so it turned out oily... :( Good thing hubby and kids (pplus me, of course) still found it good, but it was not really what I wanted to achieve. I want what I am seeing here in your post!!!!
    It's comforting to know you also had poor outcome in your initial attempts. I am not ready to give up on this, so I will make this again next time, making sure I use cream, not milk. What brand did you use? Coco Lopez?

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  16. Manang, sorry that it didn't turn out good. I use Savoy brand coconut cream, it is a lot thicker than other brands.Either coconut milk or cream, when cooked too long they render oil.
    Actually, after it is baked in the oven, you can see some of the oil floating on the sides. I usually discard that oil, but my friend who taught me the process, she let the oil absorbed into the malagkit by letting it set on the counter for few hours.Yes, my first try on the topping was sugar-y. I still don't understand what I did wrong.
    Hope next time will be better.

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  17. Hi MaMely,
    Did this again last week and it turned out perfect, better than the first time. I do not even measure my rice or water in the rice cooker. I put just less water when cooking since I have to add coconut cream( and I used Savoy) still once done, and rice will continue to cook once in the oven, and I used almost the entire can. I used the rest to mix with coconut jam for topping. Excellent! Thank you so much for this site! I love the native delicacies and I am so happy to be able to do it myself. Been busy with other things lately but when I have time this is the place I go to.

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  18. Oh, Anonymous! I'm soooo glad that you're happy with the result of your bibingka. I'm amazed that you don't even measure your rice and water and still comes out perfect. And galing mo! I'm really happy to know that.I'll try to put more coco cream next time I will make this.

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  19. Since I am cooking basically for me and my daughter, I use about two cups, I just eyeball it, no measuring. I have a mini rice cooker that cooks up to 3 or 4 cups. I love coconut cream so I thought put a little less water when cooking the sweet rice and add more of the coconut cream once done. Naku, ito lang ang recipe na proud ako, dahil, na "eyeball" ko. I am usually hesitant to deviate from the written recipes because its gonna end up a disaster. Let us know if you like it more with coconut cream.

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  20. I'm so glad you like this bibingka. I'll let you know the result when I make it with more coconut cream. I'm like you, most of the time I just eyeball, actually I didn't used to measure ingredients until I was blogging...I need to include exact measurements on most of the recipes I post. Glad to know you daughter eats this with you. Ako lang dito sa bahay. I get so excited whenever we have Filipino gatherings to enjoy this kind of food.

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  21. I like this bibingka malagkit :D I prefer it than the one made of galapong.

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  22. u8mypinkcookies, sorry I didn't mean to ignore your comment. Sometimes I don't get message alerts so I can't response to comments. Glad you like this kind of bibingka, its one of my favorite kakanin.

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  23. Hi i just wanna say thank you so much for the nilatikan recipe we just had our daughter's 2nd bday last night and made this recipe and it was a sure hit everybody loves it balbaleg na salamat ed sikayo kabaleyan

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  24. Lorna, thank you very much for your nice comment and am so glad that the Nilatikan turned out good and that your guests liked it. Belated happy birthday to your dear daughter. Salamat met ta agustuan yo. Take care!!

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  25. Lorna, thank you very much for your nice comment and am so glad that the Nilatikan turned out good and that your guests liked it. Belated happy birthday to your dear daughter. Salamat met ta agustuan yo. Take care!!

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  26. Lorna, thank you very much for your nice comment and am so glad that the Nilatikan turned out good and that your guests liked it. Belated happy birthday to your dear daughter. Salamat met ta agustuan yo. Take care!!

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  27. Hello,
    My friend makes this for her business but I wanted to learn to make it. Thank you for sharing this easy recipe! I made it twice already consecutively, and my family is asking me to make some more!! Really good recipe! Thank u=)

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    Replies
    1. Lulu, thank you for your feedback. I'm so glad to hear that you and your family like this recipe. Hope you hear from you again. take care!

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  28. MaMely,

    Hello! Just found out about your blog this week; I've tried so many other recipes for bibingkang malagkit, and this is the the first one that worked! Para akong nanalo ng jackpot! Yung katrabaho kong hinatian ko ng bibingka, tuwang-tuwa kasi ang tagal na niyang hindi nakatikim ng kakanin! Thanks for sharing, and I'll be visiting more often!

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