Native Filipino Desserts
ginataan: root crops cooked in thickened gata; usually served warm
hopia: bakery product stuffed with sweet mashed beans or sometimes a pork mixture
yema: sweet treat made from egg yolks and condensed milk
banana-cue: saba deep-fried in oil with brown sugar; name derived from 'barbecue'
turon: fritter of saba enfolded in spring-roll wrapper and deep-fried in oil
leche flan: custard made from eggs, evaporated milk and sugar;
ensaymada: light brioche topped with grated cheese
kakanin: Filipino delicacies in general, usually with rice as a main ingredient
bibingka: rice cake (usually plate-size, yellowish and flat)
- served in a mold lined with banana leaves
puto: puffy steamed muffin (usually white, but also in different colors and flatter shapes)
biko: malagkit rice cooked with gata, condensed milk and vanilla extract
palitaw: made by grinding malagkit rice, shaping it into thin patties and dropping in boiling water; once they float, they're put in cold water, drained and topped with finely grated coconut, white sugar and linga; served cold
suman: sticky rice cake wrapped in banana leaves (usually shaped like thin tubes)
kutsinta / cuchinta: rice flour, brown sugar and lye steamed in a mold (like a muffin pan); annato usually added for yellow-brown coloring; shaped like sliced-off muffin bottoms
champorado: chocolate-flavored rice porridge
bocayo: grated coconut heavily sweetened with brown sugar and then allowed to set and harden
pulboron: cake flour and milk powder packed and molded into oval shapes; usually wrapped in thin paper or cellophane
buko pie: young-coconut pie
maja blanca: coconut-milk cake made with corn starch
puto bumbong: purple sticky-rice cake made by steaming in upright bamboo or metal tubes; a treat associated with Christmas
sorbetes: home-made ice cream; usually sold from carts hand-pushed in the streets