PUTO (STEAMED RICE MUFFINS): WHITE, PURPLE YAM, AND PANDAN

Several of my readers emailed me or left comments requesting for puto recipes. The last time I made white puto was either a year ago (or maybe 4 months ago?). I made pandan flavored puto just once two years ago. Nobody including me liked the pandan and never made them again.

Today I made both puti and ube but not the pandan flavor. The white puto is the recipe that's widely available online which I made with less sugar, and the ube is adapted from Gene Gonzalez's Little Kakanin Book. I had to make several adjustments because different brands of ube powder have different results. One brand was way too sticky which I suspect has rice flour in it so I threw the package away. I'm happy with the ALTA brand I used today with the consistency, color, and natural ube flavor.

I aways line my puto cups with round pieces of banana leaves which I pre-cut and store in airtight bags in the freezer. I thaw them in very hot tap water before using. If using banana leaves line the puto cups and stack the cups pressing slightly to prevent the leaves from springing up specially if the leaves are a bit mature and therefore thicker.

Puto Puti

2 cups rice flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
¾ cups sugar
a pinch of salt
2 cups coconut milk
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon anise extract, optional

• Blend flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Add milk and water, and anise extract, if using, mix until smooth. Fill prepared cups 2/3 full and steam in rapidly boiling water for 20 minutes. Serve hot with butter or shredded fresh coconut.

Puto Ube

½ cup ube powder
1 cup all-purpose flour
1½ tablespoons baking powder
½ cup sugar
1¾ cups fresh milk or coconut milk

• Mix flours, sugar, and baking powder. Add milk and mix until smooth. Fill prepared puto cups 2/3 full. Steam in rapidly boiling water for 20 -25 mintes. Serve hot with butter.

Puto Pandan

1 cup cake flour, sifted
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 - 2 pandan leaves, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup + 1 tablespoon water
grated cheese, optional

• Blend water and pandan leaves in a blender. Strain through a coffee filter. Measure pandan water to 1 cup.
• Mix cake flour, sugar, and baking powder, add pandan water and stir until smooth.
• Fill prepared cups ½ full. Top with grated cheese, if desired. Steam in rapidly boiling water for 10 minutes.