Kutsinta Recipe
(Brown Rice Cake)

Kutsinta Recipe
(Brown Rice Cake)

In this day and age of fastfood, deep fried, fattening and unhealthy food and snacks, it is nice to remember the good old days where we had healthy and inexpensive snack options. I’m pretty sure we all have childhood memories of eating kakanins (snacks made from glutinous rice) during snack time. We would buy them from street vendors or at the nearby stores or made at home.

One of the most popular kakanins is the Kutsinta. This uniquely and flavorful Filipino snack food is made from rice flour, similar to Puto, Bibingka, etc. It could be described as a brown rice cake because of its distinct color. Aside from rice flour, brown sugar, lye water and achuete (annatto seeds) are the other ingredients in making this tasty treat. Lye, also known as lihia, is the liquid obtained by extracting wood ashes. In cooking, it gives the elasticity and firmness of the cakes. It is prepared by steaming.

It is shaped like a cupcake and is somewhat sticky, chewy and dense in texture. To garnish it and to add flavor and crunch, it is usually topped with grated coconut. It is also best served with the Puto. If you have all the ingredients at hand, this Kutsinta recipe is very easy to follow, no wonder it is still popular nowadays.

Preparation Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Yield: 2 doz cakes

Ingredients:
1 cup rice flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp achuete (anatto seeds)
1 tsp lye water
2 ½ cups water
grated coconut, for topping

Cooking Directions:
1.   Soak the achuete in 3 tablespoons of water, then set aside.
2.   Prepare the steamer by boiling the water.
3.   Combine the rice flour, all purpose flour and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Make sure they are well mixed.
4.   Gradually add the water while mixing until everything is evenly distributed and there are no more lumps.
5.   Add the achuete water and lye water to the mixture. Mix well.
6.   Pour the mixture into the molds or muffin pans until they are half-full, and place them in the steamer.
7.   Steam for about 45 minutes to an hour. The water should be about 2 inches deep. If a toothpick comes out clean when you insert it in one of the cakes, it should be done. Allow it to cool for about 5 minutes before removing from the pans or molds.
8.   Top with grated coconut.
9.   Enjoy!

Kutsinta Recipe (Brown Rice Cake)