Cheesy and Buttery Puto
“This cheesy and buttery puto uses all-purpose flour and is easy to make at home! Best as an after-work/ school snack that you and your family will definitely enjoy!”
This cheesy and buttery puto recipe uses all-purpose flour instead of rice flour as typically used in the Philippines.
I used flour as I can easily find it in a grocery store and I also conveniently use it for other baking recipes. I also made use of silicon mold which made the cooked puto easier to remove from the mold.
So what is Puto aka rice cake?
Puto or popularly known as rice cake is usually eaten as a snack or merienda in the Philipines. It can be eaten by itself.
But it is popularly paired with other favorite Filipino food such as pork blood stew (dinuguan), pancit or even spaghetti.
Traditional puto is made with rice soaked in water overnight. It is then ground with water and sugar to make the batter or what we also called “galapong”.
Nowadays, there are a variety of ways on how to make puto with the introduction of rice flour and all-purpose flour in the market.
Way back in the Philippines, my mother usually buys puto from the wet market (palengke) or in the mall kiosk or with one of her friends.
I remembered that we usually partner it with any hot or cold drinks such as coffee, juice, or soda as dinuguan is not always available. It is a great snack while bonding together with the family. I missed those days…
Cheesy and buttery…
I made this recipe a little cheesier and buttery because it tastes just good.
The combination of cheese and butter makes this snack fluffier and creamier.
While there are lots of recipes out there that have a cheesier version but my recipe is very tasty with more butter. You can minimize the amount of butter according to your preference.
Some helpful tips!
You may want to be gentle when whisking the batter so that it will not produce more air bubbles that will result in forming holes in your puto when steamed. We don’t want our puto to be airy, right?
Another tip is to use low heat when steaming the puto, this is crucial. I overlooked it this time because we just recently purchased a new cooker which have different settings from the previous one. I’m still familiarizing with it so please excuse me on this tip this time. This resulted in uneven and cracked dome instead of a perfect one. Although the taste was still great but it doesn’t look attractive. What we want to achieve here is to simmer the water and turn our cooker to low heat. And let the sufficient steam evenly cook our batter which makes beautiful and fluffy puto.
Place cheesecloth or a kitchen towel in the lid/cover and between steamer racks to avoid water from dripping to the batter. There was a time that I didn’t put cheesecloth and it makes my puto looking underdone. I noticed that there are areas that look uncooked. It doesn’t taste good and appealing; there is no solution when this happens.
Last tip is, don’t overcook your puto. As much as possible, set a timer so you can monitor the time. Puto cooks approximately around 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, check the puto by inserting a toothpick and if it comes out clean, then it is done.
Hope that the above tips can help you in making a perfectly dome cheesy and buttery puto. Give this recipe a shot and let me know what you think. Happy tummy!
Cheesy and Buttery Puto Recipe
Equipment
- Steamer
- Mixing Bowl
- Grater
- Silicon cupcake mold or puto mold
- Whisk
- Rubber spatula
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 cup fresh milk or evaporated milk
- 1 piece egg
- ½ cup water
- 4 tablespoons (57g) butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence/ extract
- 50 grams cheddar cheese (half grated, half cut into strips)
Instructions
- Combine flour, sugar and baking powder in a bowl. Mix thoroughly.
- Make a well in the center and add the milk, egg, water, butter and vanilla essence/ extract. Blend for at least 2 minutes until the batter becomes smooth.
- Note: Whisk/stir slowly so that the mixture will not produce too much air bubbles.
- Fold in the grated cheese into the mixture until it is well incorporated.
- If using traditional puto mold, grease mold with oil or butter so the puto mixture will not stick to the mold. Skip this step if using silicon cupcake mold.
- Pour batter into each individual molds, about ¾ full as the puto will rise while steaming.
- Steam the puto for about 8-10 minutes (depending on molds used) in low heat.
- After 8-10 minutes, add the cheese strips on top of the puto and steam for another 5-7 minutes.
- Remove cooked puto from steamer and let it cool. Take out puto from its mold and serve.
- Enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee!
Notes
If you make something with Happy Tummy Recipes, please share it with me and don’t forget to rate and comment on this recipe below!
For more recipe inspiration, please subscribe to our recipe newsletter and follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, Tumblr, and YouTube!
This post contains affiliate links. I make a commission from sales. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. For more information, read my disclosure policy.
