I’ve long wanted to try my hand at making sapin sapin but I was intimidated by what I thought to be a complicated process. When I went home to the Philippines last June, it was one of the key recipes I asked our suking magkakanin to teach me. As it turned out, I didn’t need a 7,185-mile trip to learn how to make it! It’s so easy, it’s almost child’s play. All it takes is a simple rice batter which you color and steam in three batches. I had so much fun this afternoon making this vibrant rice cake again and this time, on my own. It was a total blast mixing in the extracts and watching it come together into awesome layers of color and flavor. This can certainly be an enjoyable kitchen activity even the little chefs at home can participate in.
Sapin sapin is indeed one of the easiest Filipino dessert you can make. Prep time is less than 10 minutes which is mainly whipping the batter together and adding the necessary flavor/color boosts. Much of the cook time involved is in the making of the latik. If you want to facilitate the process, you can, of course, substitute toasted coconut (find out how to make it–>here) for the latik. But please, please, please! Take the extra step of making latik. Highly, strongly recommended! Not only do I find latik much more indulgent, the extracted coconut oil from the latik can be brushed over the steamed cake for unbeatable aroma and flavor! Trust me, will ya?
- 1 cup coconut cream (kakang gata)
- 3 cups glutinous rice flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 1 (14 ounces) can condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon ube flavor extract
- 1 teaspoon langka flavor extract
- 9-inch cake pan
- cheesecloth
- steamer
- 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 pan to prevent from burning. Continue to cook and stir until curds turn golden brown. Drain latik from the oil and store in a container until ready to use.
- In a large bowl, combine glutinous rice flour, sugar and whisk together. Add coconut milk and condensed milk. Stir together until sugar is dissolved and mixture is smooth and well blended.
- Divide batter evenly into three bowls. In one bowl, add ube extract and stir until color is well dispersed. In another bowl, add Langka extract and stir until color is well dispersed. The remaining portion will be white and plain.
- Line cake pan with cheesecloth (for easier removal of sapin sapin from pan). Pour ube-flavored batter into pan. Steam for about 10 to 15 minutes or until set and toothpick inserted comes out clean. Gently pour langka-flavored batter over purple layer. Steam for about 10 to 15 minutes or until set and toothpick inserted comes out clean. Gently pour plain batter over yellow layer. Steam for about 10 to 15 minutes or until set and toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove cake pan from steamer and allow to cool completely.
- Place a wide, flat serving platter over cake pan and gently invert sapin sapin onto platter (purple layer will now be the top layer). Remove cheesecloth. Liberally brush top and sides of sapin sapin with coconut oil (from making latik). Cut into serving portions and generously top with latik.
Please note that this post contains product recommendations to assist you in recreating this delicious dessert at home. I do make a small commission from these affiliate links. Thank you.
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Hi, is it OK to use gluten-free rice flour? Thanks!
Hello Anna,
All brands of rice flour are naturally gluten-free, rice doesn’t contain gluten. Wheat and cereal grains have gluten 🙂
Hi Ms. Lalaine!
In the picture, did you use a pie pan? it looks nice and it will perfectly fit in my steamer. 8×8 cake pan can’t fit in my steamer.
Happy New Year!
Hi Neighbor,
Yes, I used a pie pan 🙂
Hi Lalaine,
Is it ok to use canned coconut milk and cream instead of the fresh ones?
Hi Deena,
Yes, that is what I use here because I don’t have access to freshly-squeezed coconut milk/cream like from markets in the Philippines 🙂
Like to make ahead of time and serve on xmas day..Can you freeze sapin sapin?
I’ve never tried it myself but I’ve seen sapin sapin sold in stores here and they’re kept in the freezer. I am not sure, though, if there will be a change in texture. It might be okay as this is like mochi (made of rice flour) and mochi seems to freeze well.
Madam, can I use the oven in cooking sapin sapin instead of steamer?
Hello Wengki,
You can do a baine marie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bain-marie if you want to do it in the oven. 🙂
Mam, what could be used as substitute for rice flour? Here in our province we only have malagkit rice.is it okay if i have it ground with some water, then add sugar & coconut milk? Will I achieve a perfect sapin sapin, what is the measurement?
Is there a way to make langka flavor extract at home? or can it be replaced with jackfruit juice?
Hi Carolyn
You can use the langka juice as part of the liquid for the yellow part and maybe use food color to get the desired shade.
Thank you!! I finally made made this dessert and it was the best sapin sapin I’ve had! So much flavor 🙂
Thanks, Carolyn. I am glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
I just love this recipe , easy to follow and yummy. More power and. More recipes to cook . Thank you for sharing
You’re welcome, Judith. I am glad you liked it 🙂
Ilang cups po ang rice flour? It’s not listed po kasi sa ingredients pero nasa instruction. And how do you measure the flours? By “spoon and level” or packed? Thank u.
Hi Dan
It’s supposed to read “glutinous rice flour”, I corrected the recipe to reflect this. No, I didn’t spoon and level ( Unfortunately I am not a very disciplined or precise cook). I just scooped from the bag and leveled it off.
Ms.Lalaine . pede b gumamit ng plastik na panghulmahan instead of tray or pan
Yes, you can. Just make sure to grease the pan with coconut oil or butter para wag dumikit yung sapin sapin.
Hi there! I love your blog! And the way you make your recipe since it is so similar to how my parents does it…Capampangan blood can be seen in similarities in taste and ways of cooking. I think I’ve mention that before in my first comment to you about a month ago when I first found your blog. Anyway, your sapin sapin looks amazing. My sister in law makes a mean sapin-sapin like this. She always would recite to me how she does it, but we never had the chance to get together, and I learn from her hands on. She always said it’s easy, but like you before I am intimidated by it. Thus I am so happy you took the courage to make and post this. Question though: what are the exact ingredients of the Ube and Langka flavor extract from the bottle? You see my children have severe allergies from gluten, casein, artificial coloring, preservatives, etc…yeah so pretty much I make everything from scratch. I have a feeling th Ube extract is aritificial? And I looked at the Langka linked to Amazon and it says Halal but it doesn’t mean much as Halal is mostly helpful if a product is made of meat. I really want to make this as my teenager son and pre teenager daughter has really gravitated with Filipino food and they’re voracious with anything Filipino food as long as it is GFCF and Feingold diet standard. Can you please help me with this? Thank you so much.
Hello Olie
Thank you so much for your kind words. I am glad you find Kawaling Pinoy useful in your homecooking.
Yes, sapin sapin is a lot easier than I thought. I hope you can try it sometime. Unfortunately, this is does not meet GFCF standard as although it’s wheat free (I used rice flour), it has dairy. You can, however, eliminate the condensed milk and just add more coconut milk and sugar. I don’t think it’s Feingold safe as well as I used flavor extracts with food coloring and propylene glycol. You can maybe, go with having the sapin sapin plain? I know it won’t be as pretty and not as much fun to eat but you still get the enjoyment of a delicious rice cake.
Let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.