You Can Make This Easy Puto or Steamed Rice Cake Recipe in the Oven

Easy puto or steamed rice cakes using the oven

Filipinos call it puto or steamed rice cakes. It comes in different shapes, sizes, and flavors. It uses varying ingredients. Commonly, it's made using a regular food steamer.

But this puto or steamed rice cake recipe lets you use either a steamer or an oven. This easy puto recipe also lists substitutes so you can bake with what you have or just vary the taste and texture whenever you want to serve it.

Puto or Filipino steamed rice cakes go well with coffee or tea. You can bake these less sweet and have them with grilled meat, saucy dishes, or stew.

For your Easy Puto Ingredients

• 2 cups Flour (Rice flour, all purpose flour, cake flour, or self-rising flour)
• 1 cup granulated sugar (lessen or add a bit more as you prefer, use other types of sugar you like)
• 1 tbs baking powder (omit this if you're using self-rising flour)
• 2 to 4 tbs butter (use max if you want it buttery)
• 3/4 cup milk ( full-cream, buttermilk, coconut milk, etc.)
• 1 cup water
• 1 egg
• optional additional flavour (drops of vanilla extract or pandan extract)
• optional melted cheese slice for topping

Steps to Making your easy puto recipe

1. Combine all your wet ingredients in a microwaveable container (except the flavourings and the egg) and heat in the microwave to melt the butter. 1 minute to 1.30 sec depending on microwave power. Rest.
   
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl.
   
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredient bowl.
   
4. Blend your easy puto batter till smooth.
5. Add flavourings and blend in.
6. Add egg last and blend in.
   
7. Rest the batter.
   
8. Grease your muffin pan with some coconut oil (or regular oil but not olive oil).
9. Pour the batter in.
   
10. Bake in 200 degrees C for 15 to 20 minutes. Use lower rack. You may include a small bowl of water in the oven while baking this easy puto or steamed rice cakes. 

- I like it underdone, so I usually turn the oven off around 15 minutes. If you plan to top it with melted cheese, underbake it since you'll be microwaving it for about 30 seconds to melt the cheese slice topping.

buttered puto

cheese puto

- Use a regular steamer if you like. Oil the tins before pouring the easy puto batter on each one. Keep the water to a steady medium high boil. Steaming may take between 15 to 25 minutes.

- I normaly use all puporse flour because rice flour costs more. I also prefer pandan extract over vanilla for that Asian taste.

- Using coconut milk and less butter yields a yummy puto recipe taste. If you're using canned coconut milk, use one that doesn't have xanthan gum. For me, xanthan gum tends to ruin the taste.

-Using rice flour normally results in a drier puto recipe and is better consumed within the day. Using other flours can yield steamed rice cake goodies you can keep in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days.