I remember serving this to my friends and they loved it! Everything was fine until they asked me what they were called. I said, it’s called puto! They were shocked! Apparently puto is a bad word in Spanish. For now, I simply refer to these as rice cakes! The resulting rice cakes from this recipe come out very moist, and they stay soft for several days! I have tried many recipes and they turn too dry and crumbly the next day; you just end up having to steam them again.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup rice flour
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp anise seeds
- 1 cup water or pandan water
- 1/4 tsp anise extract (optional)
- Butter
Directions:
- Mix the rice flour, sugar, anise seeds, and baking powder.
- Add the water and anise extract. Whisk thoroughly until there’s no more lumps.
- Place enough water in your steamer about 10 cups. (depending on the size of your steamer) and bring to a boil.
- Fill your cake molds about 3/4 full and place in the steamer. Make sure you the water is rapidly boiling when you put your cake.
- Put the lid on and steam on high heat for about 8 to 10 minutes then turn down the heat to medium low for another 10 minutes. Don’t be tempted to open the lid while it’s steaming, it will collapse!
- Cake is done if a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- While it’s still hot, spread some butter on top or sprinkle some grated cheddar cheese. Put the lid back on for a few minutes or just until the butter has melted.
- Serve with your favorite tea!
Note:
You can also sprinkle some anise seeds on top before steaming the cake, if you prefer.
