The Best Flour for Bibingka Isn't Flour—It's Grated Cassava

When I set out to makebibingka cassavarecently, the first thing I did was to go through the flours in my pantry. They all stared back at me—the all-purpose, the whole wheat, the coconut, the almond, and the rice. Which, I asked myself, would make thebestbibingka?

To answer that question, I knew I’d have to call my mom.

Bibingka cassava, or cassava cake, is to my mind the greatest cake of all time. My mom always made the coconutty Filipino dessert for barbecues and birthdays when I was growing up, but I’d never made the cake myself. So I picked up the phone and dialed my mom’s landline to get some tips.

My first question was, of course, about the flour. What kind did my mom use?

“What are you talking about?” my mom replied. “Thereisno flour.”

Chef and cookbook authorMarvin Gapultoshad a similar experience upon receiving his grandmother’s cassava cake recipe. “I was sure my grandmother had left out the rice flour, oranytype of flour,” he said. “I would ask, ‘Are you sure there's no flour in this? Doesn't a cake need flour?’”

According to Gapultos, his grandmother’s response was clear. “No, it doesn't need flour,” she said. “Cassava is enough."

Creamy, sticky, sweet—and flour-free.

Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton

And of course, when he tested the recipe before including it inThe Adobo Road Cookbook: A Filipino Food Journey, Gapultos learned that cassava reallyisenough—it’s starchy enough to bind the batter together, no flour necessary.

“Cassava lends a grainy texture similar to cornmeal,” says Gapultos, so “the cake itself is chewy and dense, in a good way.”

That sticky, chewy bite, combined with the super-rich flavors of coconut milk and sweetened condensed milk, is something I’ve only experienced with bibingka-style cakes, which are popular celebration cakes in the Philippines and Indonesia (and are typically made with glutinous rice flour). Because bibingkacassavauses grated cassava instead of rice flour, it has the added benefit of cassava’s sweet, slightly nutty flavor. To make things even better, the cake is usually finished with a caramelized custard topping that gets baked directly onto the batter. The result is tropical, creamy, and sweet—mochi meets flan.

“My grandmother, as well as my mother, both make the rice flour version of bibingka, and that version is what I was most used to growing up,” says Gapultos. “But I remember having the cassava version for the first time, and knowing there was something different about it. Now it's my favorite version.”

After making the cake for the first time, I realized that it isn’t just delicious, it’s also the easiest cake I’ve ever made. First, you combine the grated cassava, egg yolks, shredded coconut, coconut milk, and sweetened condensed milk in a bowl. You don’t need an electric mixer here—a spatula or spoon work fine. (You can find grated cassava in the freezer aisle at Asian, Latin, and Caribbean markets, or purchase it online. Here’smy mom’s go-to brand.)

While the cake bakes, you prepare the custard topping by whisking together the egg whites and remaining sweetened condensed milk. You’re not going for a foam or a meringue here—just mix until they’re combined.

Once the cake is finished baking, it’s time to add the topping: Take the cake out of the oven and pour the custard mixture over the top, then return the cake to the oven until the custard sets.

Who needs icing when you've got a milky custard topping?

Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton

The final step of caramelizing the top is optional, but highly recommended. “In many parts of the Philippines, bibingka features a caramelized topping of some sort; this variation keeps with that tradition,” says Gapultos. To achieve these golden-brown edges, you can place the cake under the broiler for a few minutes. (Tip: this won’t take long, so keep a close eye on it.)

Don’t worry if the caramelized areas aren’t uniform across the top; Gapultos assures me that in the case of cassava cake, blotchy spots are fine. If uniformity is what you’re after, he suggests using a blowtorch: sprinkle some extra sugar over the topping, thentorchit for a brûléed effect.

Torched or not, the milky combination of cassava and coconut will still be delicious. And now I know one more reason why: because there’s no flour to get in the cassava’s (or coconut’s) way.