Ube Steamed Rice Cake Recipe

Steamed rice cake is a Filipino dessert more commonly known in the Philippines as “puto.” According to an online blog site called “Hungry Huy,” the word stemmed from the Malay word “puttu,” which means “portioned.” This perfectly explains why puto is typically made in mini muffin or cupcake molds that are around one to one and half inches.

Although called a dessert, it isn’t very light on the stomach considering it’s made of rice and flour; it isn’t too sweet either, which makes it just as perfect as breakfast or an afternoon snack.

While every steamed rice cake is unique in their own way, you don’t always see majorly flavored ones — they are usually white, plain, and probably has a cheese on top if you’re lucky. It’s a true classic, but hey, YOU can level it up!

Add a tasty personality to your classic steamed rice cakes by adding a rich ube flavor both inside and on top. Want to know what I’m talking about? Keep reading!

The stars of this recipe which will make our ideal ube-flavored steamed rice cakes are Ube Flavormate by Baker’s Delite from O-Superstore and Ube Halaya by Aling Patring’s Sari Sari Store. 

Ingredients

1 cup Jasmine rice

⅔ cup water (or half coconut milk for a richer flavor)

⅓ cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp instant yeast

2-4 tbsp sugar (adjust to your liking)

1 tsp Baker’s Delite Ube Flavormate

½ cup Aling Patring's Sari Sari Store Ube Halaya

Preparation

Directions

1. Soak the rice for about 4 hours in advance. Drain the water from the soaked rice, pour it into a blender, add water, and grind into rice milk. Sieve for a more delicate texture.
2. Add Ube Flavocol
3. Pour rice milk into a bowl, add sugar, flour, yeast, and ube flavocol. Stir evenly.
4. Cover with plastic wrap, ferment at 32°C for 1 hour until there are many small bubbles.
5. Spray the molds with oil and set aside. Stir the fermented batter evenly, pour it into the molds (about 80% full), and steam for 25 minutes. Feel free to cover the lid with a thick cloth to prevent moisture from dripping onto the rice cakes, ensuring they stay nice and fluffy.
6. Serve with ½ teaspoon of ube halaya of halaya on top.