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8 Modern Filipino Desserts You Should Try on Your Cheat Day
Resisting these modern and unique Filipino desserts won’t be a piece of cake
By: Patricia Marie Prado | April 13, 2018
Due to changing quarantine measures, the activities, destination/s, store/s, establishment/s featured in this article might be temporarily prohibited or closed under the latest government policies. LGUs might also implement health protocols and travel requirements. Please get in touch with the establishment/s before visiting. Stay safe!
It’s no secret that many of us Filipinos have a sweet tooth. Our meals are stories that will not be complete without a sweet ending, may it be in the form of a slice of cake or a scoop of ice cream. But aside from these classic desserts from the West, our local cuisine also has a diverse selection of sweets we can be proud of.
If you’re looking for a fresh take on the traditional, here are a couple of restaurants that gave our favorite local sweets a twist. Read on and see which of these modern Filipino desserts will make you wish every day was cheat day!
1. Sizzling Pandesal Pudding by Locavore
Address: 10 Brixton Street, Kapitolyo, Pasig City
Pandesal comes alive at Locavore.
Image: @franzjosef1028
Pandesal or bread rolls are usually served in the morning with a cup of hot coffee, but Locavore turned this breakfast treat into a unique dessert. Served in a sizzling skillet, Locavore’s Sizzling Pandesal Pudding (PhP235) transforms pandesal into bread budding topped with mantikado or vanilla ice cream and drizzled with dulce de leche (caramel). Once you take a bite, be prepared to taste a mixture of cheese, salted egg, and custard flavors.
2. Chocnut Turon by 7107 Culture + Cuisine
Address: G/F Treston International College, 32nd Street corner C-5 Road, Bonifacio Global City Taguig
7107 Culture + Cuisine made banana and chocnut work!
Image: 7107 Culture + Cuisine Facebook Page
If you haven’t had a unique culinary trip lately, one restaurant you can visit is 7107 Culture + Cuisine. The restaurant prides itself as a restaurant museum that highlights the Filipino way of cooking represented in their four stations namely Kanto (corner), Talyasi (iron vat for cooking), Dampa (small hut), and Himagas (dessert).
For dessert-lovers, head straight to Himagas and try Chocnut Turon (PhP155). In this version of the well-loved dessert, the turon is sprinkled with crumbled Chocnut—a beloved Filipino snack made of cocoa powder, crushed peanuts, and coconut milk. And instead of being coated with brown sugar glaze, the turon comes with two dips: peanut butter from Quezon and chocolate labuyo (chili pepper).
3. Piaya Ice Cream Sandwich by Sarsa Kitchen + Bar
Address: Various branches
Have you ever thought of finding an ice cream in the middle of yor piaya?
Image: @fritzie
If you have a friend or relative from Negros Occidental, one favorite pasalubong or treat from the province that they will surely bring to you is piaya. Piaya is a snack that consists of unleavened flatbread with a sweet muscovado (unrefined sugar) filling.
Sarsa Kitchen + Bar decided to elevate the humble piaya in the form of its Piaya Ice Cream Sandwich (PhP165). It consists of two crispy flatbreads with a huge scoop of ice cream in the middle, drizzled with muscovado syrup and crispy pinipig (toasted glutinous rice). You can also change your ice cream flavor with either ube (yam), vanilla, or quezo (cheese).
4. Puto Bumbong Cake by Lia’s Cakes in Season
Address: 25 A&B, East Capitol Drive Pasig
Christmas will come early with this Puto Bumbong Cake.
Image: Lia’s Cakes in Season Facebook Page
Puto bumbong (purple steamed rice cake) is a well-loved dessert by many Filipinos, especially during the Christmas season. Luckily, there’s no need to wait for December as Lia’s Cakes in Season also makes a rendition of this favorite in the form of their Puto Bumbong Cake (PhP1,490 whole cake/PhP210 per slice).
Lia’s Puto Bumbong Cake is made of moist ube cake, smothered heavily with caramel sauce, muscovado, and coconut shavings. You can also order it as a cupcake (PhP95 solo/PhP540 for box of 6), perfect for an afternoon treat!
5. Double Decker Ube Leche Flan by Bellefleur by Beatrix
Address: Club Filipino Avenue, Ground Floor, Unimart, San Juan
This Double Decker Ube Leche Flan will have you eat custard and cake in one go.
Image: Bellefleur by Beatrix Facebook Page
Leche flan (custard dessert topped with caramel sauce) may trace its roots from our Spanish colonizers, but it will always be a staple on every Filipino dining table, especially during special occasions. This oval-shaped Filipino dessert appears simple, but one taste will tell you that it’s anything but that! If you want to taste a heavenly take on the dessert, check out the version by Bellefleur by Beatrix, which gave leche flan a violet, fluffy makeover.
Double Decker Ube Leche Flan (PhP500 whole cake/PhP100 per slice) consists of four layers: a layer of ube chiffon cake at the bottom topped with leche flan, then decked again with ube chiffon cake and leche flan. The layers of cake and custard make for a lovely dessert that will keep you coming back for another slice.
6. Bibingka Waffle by Catabolic Café
Address: 22 Malingap St., Brgy. Teachers Village, West Quezon City
No more eating on banana leaves, Catabolic Café’s Bibingka Waffle is as fancy as it gets.
Image: Catabolic Café Facebook Page
Bibingka (rice cake) is known to be a seasonal dessert that becomes common around Christmas time. Although there are many places that serve delicious bibingka during that season, Catabolic Café makes it available all year round, not only as a dessert but also as a breakfast staple.
Sleepyheads can start their mornings with the café’s take on bibingka: Bibingka Waffle (PhP200), a fluffier version of our favorite dessert served in waffle-form. It is topped with the usual suspects that make the dessert special, namely butter, muscovado, and coconut shreds.
7. Mamon Cheesecake Soufflé by PILYO
Order online
Who knew mammon can get fluffier? PILYO did!
Image: Pilyo Facebook Page
Mamon, a classic sponge cake with grated cheese on top, is another simple yet decadent dessert that we Filipinos love to snack on once we feel the pangs of hunger attack. Even though it’s good enough as it is, PILYO, an Australian-Filipino brand, decided to give our favorite mamon a French twist.
PILYO’s Mamon Cheesecake Soufflé (PhP750 for a box of nine) made the simple mamon softer and more airy, giving it a texture similar to that of a classic soufflé, while still carrying the classic flavors of the dessert. It is also topped with guava glaze and shreds of quezo de bola for a bolder upgrade on the usual cheese coating.
8. Grilled Buttered Suman with Ube, White Chocolate, and Goya Ganache by Kanto Freestyle Breakfast
Where: Various branches
Simple suman can be found everywhere, but this beauty can only be found in Kanto Freestyle Breakfast.
Image: Kanto Freestyle Breakfast Facebook Page
Wherever you are in the Philippines, visit any province and you’re sure to find its version of suman. Suman is a glutinous rice cake wrapped in banana leaves, steamed, and served with sugar or latik (coconut cream curds).
You might think there is no better pairing than good old suman and latik, but Kanto Freestyle Breakfast thinks otherwise. It offers a different spin on the rice cake with its Grilled Buttered Suman with Ube White Chocolate and Goya Ganache (PhP102). In this wonderful version, you’ll get a slightly crunchy suman with a combination of ube, white chocolate, and Goya ganache instead of the usual latik.
Make sure to visit Yoorekka to learn and find out more about the modern Filipino Desserts..
Pinoy desserts may be simple but they are never boring. Thanks to these restaurants, we have new panghimagas dishes to look forward to! Let us know in the comments section which of these reinvented Filipino desserts you will try first.
About Patricia Marie Prado
Patricia came from the field of business and accounting but is now pursuing her dreams of being a writer. She is a self-confessed introvert and is passionate about reading, travelling, writing, movies, coffee and God. When she's not writing, she loves discovering new coffee shops/cafe and doing TV-series marathons.
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