Sapin-Sapin

Ube, Langka and Coconut layers of Sapin-Sapin

This is my entry for this week's LaPiS theme: Tricolore. Not counting the latik topping, sapin-sapin itself is an interesting layer upon layer of 3 colors and flavors.

I have long been wanting to try making sapin-sapin. With the many recipes calling for rice flour or galapong or coconut milk extract (gata from kinudkod na nyog), it was not clear to me what the proportions were, what exact rice flour to use, etc. So, I chose one recipe to use as a guide, and although it listed rice flour, I used glutinous rice flour instead (hoping my common sense would lead me right). I mixed the base using hand mixer and tasted it first to decide whether I liked the sweetness, which was a bit bland for me, and the batter was quite too dry for me, so I added condensed milk (basing on another recipe which apparently comes up with very runny sapin-sapin). I had canned langka (jackfruit), leftover ube halaya and ube cream cheese filling, and half a pack of frozen shredded young coconut. I shortened the steaming time in between layers to 10 minutes instead of 15, and the final layer I kept at 15 minutes. I brushed the final outcome with coconut oil on top. I loved the taste (although the jackfruit was quite predominant if you taste all layers at once), and the consistency was perfect! Not runny nor too hard. I loved it! My younger son liked it as well (my older son has not tasted it yet to this time, and hubby is not interested (he did not like the texture).

Of course, before I made this, I prepared the latik first.


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Ingredients:

The batter base:
3-1/2 cups glutinous (sticky) rice flour
1 cup white sugar (or more according to your taste)
1 can 14-oz coconut milk (Premium, Thai)
1/4 cup milk (I just added to coco milk to total 16 oz)
1/2 can 14-oz sweetened condensed milk

Flavors and colors:
food colorings (yellow and purple, or if you have McCormick extracts with the corrresponding colors, that will be even better - ube, buco pandan, and langka)
1/2 cup langka, chopped
1/2 cup shredded young coconut, chopped well
1 cup ube halaya

Instructions:

Prepare latik as previously posted.

Prepare steamer with enough water to not run out by the end of 35 minutes of steaming. Prepare bamboo steamer also by lining with banana leaves, wiped dry and brushed with coconut oil.

In a bowl, beat well the rice flour, coconut milk, sugar and condensed milk until well blended. [Taste with your finger at this point to adjust.] Divide into three and place in separate bowls.

Chop the coconut (I used the chopper). Mix with 1/3 of the batter with a spatula. Place in prepared bamboo steamer, cover (with bamboo steamer cover) and steam (with pot covered) for 10 minutes. If you want pandan flavor added, use buco pandan extract, which will color it green.

Chop langka. Mix with 1/3 of the batter, add 20 drops of yellow food coloring (or McCormick langka extract). Mix well with spatula. Place on top of first layer. Steam for 10 minutes.

Using blender, mix the ube well with the third bowl of rice flour mixture. Add purple food coloring (I used concentrated purple coloring for cake icing, Wellington brand, by using toothpick dipped into the food coloring then swirled in the batter. I repeated doing this with fresh toothpick until I achieved the desired color. However, when cooked, I realized I added too much, since the whiteness of uncooked rice flour was gone when it was cooked, so the purple color was too pronounced at the end of cooking! Later when a friend sent me some extracts, I used the ube extract). Add on the second layer and steam for 15 minutes.

Let cool. Brush top with coconut oil. Top with latik and enjoy warm or chilled!

To store: Wrap individual servings tightly with cling wrap. You may opt to chill for consumption within the next few days, or freeze by placing in freezer bag each serving wrapped in cling wrap. Reheat in microwave for 20-30 seconds (timing may vary depending on the size and wattage). Depending on your cling wrap, you may leave it on while you microwave if it is microwaveable. If not, it might melt so remove it prior to reheating, place the piece on a small plate and cover with another plate.


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