Puto (Steamed Rice Cakes)

Name: Puto (Steamed Rice Cakes)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Indonesian & Filipino
Ingredients: 260 g Rice flour; 150 g Sugar; 2 tsp Baking powder; 2 tsp instant yeast; ¼ tsp Salt; 250 ml Coconut milk; 250 ml warm water; 1 tbsp oil, plus extra for the moulds; 50 g cheddar or processed cheese, cut into small strips (optional)

Soft, fluffy little steamed rice-flour cakes, lightly sweet with coconut milk and often crowned with a strip of cheese.

Indonesian & Filipino · Snacks & street food · prep 10 min · cook 15 min · waiting 30 min · serves 6 · Vegetarian, Vegan, Dairy-free, Nut-free, Pescatarian

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Ingredients

260 g Rice flour
150 g Sugar
2 tsp Baking powder
2 tsp instant yeast
¼ tsp Salt
250 ml Coconut milk
250 ml warm water
1 tbsp oil, plus extra for the moulds
50 g cheddar or processed cheese, cut into small strips (optional)

Method

Whisk the rice flour, sugar, baking powder, yeast and salt in a bowl. Add the coconut milk, warm water and oil and whisk into a smooth, pourable batter.
Cover and leave in a warm place for 30 min until bubbly.
Bring a steamer to the boil and wrap the lid in a tea towel so drips do not fall on the cakes. Oil small puto moulds or silicone muffin cups and fill them three-quarters full.
Steam over high heat for 12–15 min until risen, springy and a skewer comes out clean. If using cheese, lay a strip on top for the last 1 minute.
Cool for 5 min before turning out. Eat warm or at room temperature, on their own or with dinuguan.

Tips

Without the cheese these are vegan; rice flour and instant yeast are naturally gluten-free, but check your baking powder.
Do not open the steamer for the first 10 minutes or the cakes may sink.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Foxy Folksy Panlasang Pinoy Foxy Folksy

Open Puto (Steamed Rice Cakes) in Nouns Cooking