Puto — Recipe & Origins

i. Origin & history

Puto belongs to kakanin, the broad Filipino category of rice-based cakes and snacks that also includes kutsinta, suman, sapin-sapin and bibingka. Rice is the organising principle of the whole category, and steaming is its dominant technique.

The traditional base is galapong — rice soaked overnight, ground wet into a batter, and often left to ferment. Fermentation supplied both the lift and a characteristic slight sourness before commercial leaveners were available, and galapong is the foundation of a great many Filipino rice preparations, not just puto.

Most modern puto is not made this way. Rice flour, or even ordinary plain flour, with baking powder produces something close enough in texture and takes an hour rather than two days. The trade-off is flavour: fermented galapong puto has a depth and a faint tang that the shortcut version does not. Both are common, and the shortcut version is what most Filipino households make.

The dish's most distinctive feature to outsiders is how it is eaten. Puto is regularly served alongside dinuguan, a rich pork blood stew, and the pairing is standard rather than eccentric — the mild, slightly sweet cake against the deep savoury stew works in the same way rice does. It is also eaten plain as a snack, sold from street carts and markets, and it appears at fiestas and celebrations.

Regional versions are numerous and locally fierce. Puto bumbong, a purple sticky rice version steamed in bamboo tubes, is a Christmas speciality sold outside churches during the dawn masses. Puto seko is a dry, crumbly biscuit that is a different thing entirely despite the shared name.

ii. Steaming, and the condensation problem

Puto is a simple batter and a simple method, and nearly everything that goes wrong with it comes down to two issues: water landing on the cakes, and heat that is not steady.

Condensation is the classic problem. A steamer lid collects water, and that water drips onto the surface of the cakes, leaving pits, patches and a dense wet layer. The universal remedy across Asian steamed baking is to wrap the lid in a clean cloth, which absorbs the condensation before it falls. This is not an optional refinement — the difference is immediately visible.

Heat consistency is the second. The steamer must be at a full, rolling boil before the puto goes in, and it must stay there. Puto rises quickly in the first few minutes as the baking powder reacts, and if the heat is not high at that point the cakes will not lift properly and will be dense. Lifting the lid to check in the first ten minutes drops the temperature and can cause them to sink, so it is best left alone.

The batter itself should be thin — closer to double cream than to cake batter — and it should be strained. Rice flour clumps readily, and lumps in the batter become dense patches in the finished cake.

The other thing worth knowing is that puto batter benefits from resting, even in the quick version. Twenty or thirty minutes lets the rice flour hydrate fully, which gives a smoother, more tender crumb. Rice flour absorbs liquid much more slowly than wheat flour, and batter used immediately can taste faintly gritty.

iii. Ingredients

Makes 12 servings · scroll the side panel to adjust

300 g rice flour
150 g sugar
2 tsp baking powder
Pinch salt
300 ml coconut milk (or water)
2 eggs
2 tbsp melted butter
60 g white cheese, cubed (optional, for topping)

Rice flour is the standard base for the modern version; a mix of rice flour with a little cornflour or tapioca starch gives a softer, springier result than rice flour alone. Coconut milk in place of some of the water enriches the cake considerably and is common. Baking powder supplies the lift in the quick version — check it is fresh, since stale baking powder is a common cause of flat puto. The classic topping is a slice of quesong puti, a fresh white salted cheese, added partway through steaming; cheddar is the usual substitute abroad and works surprisingly well. Salted duck egg is the other traditional topping.

iv. Method

Whisk rice flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
Beat in eggs, coconut milk and butter to a smooth batter.
Pour into small individual moulds, three-quarters full.
Steam over high heat 18-20 min until set and just-springy.
Top each with a cube of cheese (optional) and steam another 2 min. Cool slightly before turning out.

v. Tips & common mistakes

Wrap the steamer lid in a cloth. This is the single most important step. It catches the condensation that would otherwise drip onto the cakes and leave them pitted, patchy and wet on top.
Have the steamer at a full boil before the puto goes in. Puto rises fast in the first few minutes. Putting it into a steamer that is still coming up to temperature gives flat, dense cakes.
Strain the batter and let it rest. Straining removes the lumps that become dense patches. Resting for twenty to thirty minutes lets the rice flour hydrate, which prevents a faintly gritty texture.
Do not open the lid in the first ten minutes. The drop in temperature can make the cakes sink. Resist checking until they are set.
Fill the moulds only two-thirds. Puto rises more than expected. Overfilled moulds give mushroomed tops that stick to each other and to the steamer tray.
Add the cheese partway through. Placed on raw batter it sinks. Put it on after ten minutes or so, when the surface has set enough to hold it, and it will stay on top and brown slightly.

vi. Variations

Puto bumbong is a Christmas speciality: purple glutinous rice steamed in bamboo tubes, served with butter, muscovado and grated coconut, and sold outside churches during the dawn masses. Puto pao is filled with a savoury pork mixture. Puto maya uses whole glutinous rice rather than a batter. Puto seko is a dry crumbly biscuit and unrelated in texture despite the name. Regional versions include puto Calasiao from Pangasinan, small and dense, and puto Binan from Laguna. Flavoured versions with ube, pandan and cheese throughout are all standard.

vii. Serving & storage

Puto is served at room temperature or warm, and how it is served depends entirely on the occasion. As a snack it is eaten plain or with butter and grated coconut, with coffee or hot chocolate. As part of a meal it is served alongside dinuguan, and the combination of the mild sweet cake with the rich savoury stew is a standard Filipino pairing that surprises visitors and then converts them. It also appears at fiestas as one item among many.

It is best on the day it is made. Kept covered at room temperature it will hold for a day; beyond that refrigerate it, but expect the texture to suffer, since rice flour hardens and turns grainy in the cold. The fix is straightforward: steam refrigerated puto for three or four minutes and it returns almost entirely to its original softness. This works well enough that making a large batch and re-steaming is a reasonable approach. Puto freezes for up to a month and can be steamed directly from frozen.

viii. Common questions

What is puto?

A Filipino steamed rice cake — soft, slightly springy and mildly sweet — traditionally made from fermented ground rice called galapong, though most modern versions use rice flour with baking powder. It is often topped with a slice of salted white cheese or salted egg.

Is puto sweet or savoury?

Mildly sweet, but it functions as both. It is eaten as a snack with coffee, and it is also served alongside savoury dishes — most characteristically dinuguan, a rich pork blood stew — where it plays much the same role rice would.

What is galapong?

Rice that has been soaked overnight, ground wet into a batter, and often left to ferment. It is the traditional base for puto and for many other Filipino rice cakes. Fermentation provided the lift and a slight tang before commercial leaveners were available.

What is puto made of?

In the modern version, rice flour, sugar, water or coconut milk, and baking powder, often with a little cornflour or tapioca starch for springiness. The traditional version uses fermented galapong instead of rice flour and baking powder.

Why is my puto dense or pitted on top?

Pitted tops come from condensation dripping off the steamer lid — wrap the lid in a cloth to absorb it. Dense cakes usually mean the steamer was not at a full boil when they went in, the baking powder was stale, or the lid was lifted during the first ten minutes and the temperature dropped.

How long does puto keep?

It is best the day it is made. Covered at room temperature it holds a day. Refrigerated it hardens, since rice flour goes grainy in the cold — but steaming it for three or four minutes restores it almost completely. It freezes for a month and can be steamed from frozen.