Kapit is a rolled sticky rice cake with jackfruit and latik filling. Sweet, chewy, and loaded with coconut flavor, this Kapampangan delicacy is delicious as a snack or dessert.
Kapit was one of the kakanin I learned to make during my trip to the Philippines last November, and I am excited to share the recipe on the blog as part of our Christmas countdown series. I also have Kalamay na gabi coming up tomorrow, so make sure to check back here for another holiday-worthy dessert.
These native cakes are my all-time favorites, but I rarely, if ever, find them for sale at the Filipino restaurants or grocery stores I go to, so I am glad that I can now cook them myself when craving hits. They're so easy to make, I bet I'll be enjoying a slice, or two, often. 🙂
What is Kapit
Kapit is a Kapampangan delicacy very similar to Kalamay sa Latik in ingredients and texture. But while the latter is bathe in arnibal syrup and garnished with latik and sweetened jackfruit, the rice cake in Kapit is instead rolled around the latik and jackfruit and then wrapped in plastic film.
As its name, which means "sticky," suggests, this kalamay is soft and chewy. It's sold at almost every wet market or restaurant in the Pampanga region and is commonly eaten as a snack or dessert.
How to Make Kapit
Sticky rice flour is mixed with water to form a soft, pliable dough and then portioned in bags to cook in the boiling water. Like palitaw, the bag parcels will float on top when done.
Boiling the dough inside a plastic bag is the traditional way, but you're concerned about using plastic in cooking, you can wrap the dough in banana leaves and then boil in the hot water or place in a greased pan and steam. Please do not cook directly in the water as this will affect consistency.
With your hands, flatten the sticky rice patty as possible, place on plastic film, and top with strips of sweetened jackfruit.
As you can see from the photo above, pull and stretch out enough length of plastic film to cover the kakanin completely but cut it out AFTER you're done rolling the cake. Otherwise, the plastic will clump together.
Place a teaspoonful or so of latik and drizzle with a little bit of the coconut oil. The rice cake dough has no sugar added so sprinkle some on top to sweeten according to taste.
Pull the lower part of the plastic film to cover completely and then roll into a tight log. Crimp or tie the sides of the plastic into a knot to seal.
This kalamay can be bit labor extensive, what with cooking the dough, the latik, and jackfruit and assembling everything. I do have a recipe for minatamis na langka if you prefer to make it from scratch, but I highly suggest just buying bottled from the grocery store to save yourself extra work.
The recipe card below includes making the coconut curds, and you can also check my post on how to make latik for additional tips.
Ingredients
- 2 cups coconut cream
- 8 cups glutinous rice flour
- 4 cups water
- 1 cup sweetened jackfruit, cut into strips
- ½ cup sugar
Materials
Instructions
- In a pan over medium heat, add coconut cream and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally until liquid starts to thicken.
- Lower heat and continue to cook. As oil starts to separate and solids begin to form, regularly stir and scrape sides and bottom of the pan to prevent from burning.
- Continue to cook and stir until curds turn golden brown.
- Using a fine-mesh sieve, drain latik from the oil. Place in coconut curds and coconut oil in two small bowls.
- In a bowl, combine rice flour and water and mix into a soft, pliable dough.
- Brush the inside of 8 plastic bags with coconut oil. Divide the dough into 8 portions and place into each bag. Using hands, gently flatten the dough.
- In a pot over medium heat, bring about 5-inch deep of water into a rolling boil.
- Drop the plastic bags into the boiling water, making sure not to overcrowd the pot. Cook for about 3 to 5 minutes or until the bags float to the surface,
- Remove cooked rice cakes from the bag and place on a sheet of plastic film. Using hands, flatten as much as possible.
- Place 3 to 4 strips of jackfruit on the rice cake.
- Place about 1 to 2 teaspoons latik and drizzle with coconut oil.
- Sprinkle sugar to taste on the latik and jackfruit.
- Pull the half bottom of the plastic film to cover the latik completely and then roll into tight logs. Crimp or tie the sides into a knot to seal edges.
- Unwrap to serve.
Notes
Video
Nutrition Information
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
Lerma G. Ballada says
I'm also from tarlac, san roque.. i'm fond of kakanin, i love the palamig called "ginilu".. i remember my teen age days, my ate and me love to eat suman bulagta in one of the turo turos kainan in the market..🤗🤗
Maria says
It would be great if you can post pictures of the raw ingredients.
Lalaine says
I usually do but I thought step by step photos will be more helpful for this recipe 🙂
Simonette Agustin says
Thank you for posting this recipe. I’m from Toronto canada. This delicacy reminds me of my childhood days in tarlac. When my mom take me for grocery shopping at the tarlac palengke we always go to the kainan inside the palengke. I always ordered this and pancit luglog.
More power and thank you for sharing your recipes.
Lalaine says
I grew up in Tarlac, too. One of my fondest memories also was going with my mom to the wet market on F. Tanedo Street. I always looked forward to eating in one of the turo-turo after we did finished with our "palengke". 🙂