Cassava Bibingka (Cake)

Today I attended the monthly meeting of CHoWDC (Culinary Historians of Washington, DC). I love it that the group has this very nice tradition of members bringing a home-made dish or two. I decided to bring Cassava Bibingka, to give them a taste of Filipino desserts. This is another Chef Romy Dorotan recipe, from his and Amy Besa's cookbook, Memories of Philippine Kitchens (reviewed on this blogsite). I made a few minor changes, but basically remained faithful to the recipe--the bibingka was delicious, and they loved it (somebody even asked for the recipe). 

Today's guest speaker was Joan Nathan, the doyenne of Jewish cooking, and she gave a very interesting and informative account of the history of Jewish food, which is the subject of her latest cookbook (more on this in a separate blog posting).

Ingredients:

2 large sections of banana leaf, to line the pan

3 large eggs

4 large egg yolks

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 cup grated young coconut

4 cups grated frozen cassava, rinsed and squeezed dry

1 cup diced jackfruit  & 2 tablespoons of its syrup (optional)

2 cups coconut milk

1 cup grated Gouda or Gruyere cheese

Topping:

1 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup coconut milk

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, pulp scraped (or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9x13-inch baking dish with a double layer of banana leaves.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and yolks with the sugar until light and lemon-colored and the sugar has dissolved. Stir in the butter, coconut, cassava, jackfruit and syrup (if using), coconut milk, and 1/2 cup of the cheese. Mix well and pour into the prepared baking dish. Bake until firm, about 40 to 50 minutes.

Meanwhile, for the topping, in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the brown sugar, coconut milk, and vanilla bean pod and pulp. Cook, stirring often, until the sugar has dissolved, 5 to 7 minutes. Take the pan from the heat, cover, and set aside until ready to use. Remove the vanilla pod before using.

Preheat the broiler. Reheat the brown sugar topping briefly if it has hardened, and pour it over the baked bibingka, spreading it evenly with a spatula. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Watching carefully, broil 6 inches from the heat element, turning the pan halfway through, until bubbly and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes.

[Note:  When washing/straining the grated cassava, make sure you use a very fine mesh strainer.]