Bibingka (Philippine rice cake baked in banana leaves with feta & Gouda cheese)

by Celia Sin-Tien Cheng
April 28, 2008

CENDRILLON [CLOSED]
45 Mercer St #A
(Broome & Grand Sts)
New York, NY 10013
212-343-9012
$$

Cendrillon’s bibingka is a sweet and savory cake that I could eat all day long as a snack or dessert. Made with galapong — rice soaked overnight then ground into a wet batter — it’s lighter and fluffier than most Western cakes. Sprinkled with sugar, Gouda and French feta cheese and then baked under high heat on banana leaves, the top caramelizes, becoming a crusty layer that adds a contrasting savory flavor to the sweet spongy cake. Filipino food is certainly not light, and after a copiously delightful meal at Cendrillon, it’s hard to imagine having a cheese-crusted cake, but no matter how stuffed you are, a piece of bibingka is definitely the way to end this perfect ethnic brunch.

Also in Brunch, Cake, Cheese, Filipino, SoHo, Sweets