Here's a list of my all-time favorite Filipino desserts that remind me of the holidays at home.
Growing up in the province, I’ve been exposed to a lot of native sweets
during family celebrations like Christmas, New Year, and the town fiesta. It
was an advantage that I had grand aunts who had with them age-old recipes
passed down to them from generations. Although I wouldn’t consider myself as
having a sweet tooth, I love Filipino desserts and wouldn’t say no to a
piece of sweet rice cake.
The 10 Filipino Sweet Treats That Remind Me Of The Holidays In The Province
Desserts are the highlight of our Christmas table
When you ask other people about what they consider as the highlight of their
Christmas table, I think most of them would say ham, roast beef, or any savory
meat dish.
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| Festive Filipino-inspired holiday drinks and desserts from McDonald's |
As a child though, I always looked forward to the desserts served on our
Christmas table. It just looks more festive when you have sweet treats on the
Christmas table, especially the colorful ones. I remember finishing my Noche
Buena food fast just to be able to finally have a bite of those desserts.
Filipino-inspired ube pastillas and Brazo desserts from McDonald’s
Honestly, I remembered my favorite childhood desserts when I recently read
that McDonald’s is offering several festive and Filipino-inspired holiday
desserts on its menu.
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| Ube Pastillas Sundae, Brazo de Mercedes Sundae, and Brazo de Mercedes Coffee |
Ube lovers will rejoice because McDonald’s now has an Ube Pastillas Sundae and
an Ube Pastillas Frappe. For those who go crazy over Brazo de Mercedes like
me, you can enjoy the indulgent taste of this traditional Filipino cake in
McDonald’s Brazo Sundae, Brazo Frappe, and Brazo Iced Coffee.
As the morning air becomes a little chilly, there’s no better way to enjoy the
breeze than with a cup of sweet and warm McDonald’s Hot Chocolate.
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| Ube Pastillas Frappe, Brazo de Mercedes Frappe, and Brazo de Mercedes Ice Coffee |
You can order these McDonald’s treats for Dine-In, Take Out, Ride-Thru, or via
delivery through McDelivery, Grab, or foodpanda! You can keep yourself updated
with the latest announcements from McDonald’s Philippines through Facebook,
Instagram, and Viber.
Treats that remind me of the holidays in the province
What I like in the province is that the native desserts are handmade from
scratch by the grandaunts in our family. I grew up eating those sweets that’s
why they have become my standard when it comes to
1. Ube Halaya
I remember watching a grand-aunt make ube halaya for Christmas and the town
fiesta. It was a tedious job because you have to peel and mash kilo after kilo
of purple yam or ube.
And just when you thought you’re done with the hard
part, you have to continually stir the ube halaya as you cook it in a
ginormous frying pan to prevent the paste from coagulating. The result of this
hard work is a rich-tasting and fragrant dessert that is so hard to stop
eating.
2. Pastillas
There is one store in our town’s public market that sells delicious pastillas.
I think they just get it from another local supplier, nonetheless, I grew up
eating those delicious candies made of pure carabao’s milk.
While it’s easy to
enjoy pastillas at home on any given day or occasion, we made sure that these
are present at the Christmas table and during the feast of the town’s patron
saint. Those pastillas came in boxes and each time I open them, I always feel
like finishing the treats in one sitting.
3. Brazo de Mercedes
This is probably my most favorite local cake. While I don’t have any relatives
who know how to make it, I bought it in one of the popular bakeshops in our
town as a small boy. The decadent taste of Brazo de Mercedes is indeed
unforgettable.
4. Bibingka
There was a time when we can only enjoy bibingka during the Christmas season.
When you can smell bibingka in the air, you know that it’s already Christmas.
We have one favorite bibingka stall in our town where we would buy almost
daily. Soon, they started cooking and selling bibingka even beyond the
Christmas season.
5. Puto Bumbong
I wasn’t initially a huge fan of puto bumbong because I found it a little
bland when I was a small child. As I grew up though, I began to appreciate its
taste, enhanced with margarine, brown sugar, and grated coconut.
Similar to
bibingka, puto bumbong used to be a seasonal treat appearing only during the
days leading to Simbang Gabi. However, because of the demand for it, puto
bumbong eventually became available in food stalls all year round.
6. Leche flan
Leche flan is another treat that reminds me of the holidays. I was always in
awe as I watched an aunt separate the egg whites from the yolk, mix it with
milk and key lime zest, and then steam it for hours. The result is a creamy
custard that I kept a close eye on during meals.
7. Ginataang Bilo-Bilo
Ginataang Bilo-Bilo (or halo-halo) is another sweet dish that has a regular
appearance on our Christmas table.
I always considered it an indulgent dessert
because of the rich coconut milk, glutinous sticky rice balls, sweet potatoes,
taro balls, bananas, and jackfruit. I know other families would normally serve
it during the town fiesta and New Year but we would traditionally include it
also in our Christmas meal.
8. Maja Blanca
This delicate Filipino dessert is made of coconut milk, browned grated
coconut, sugar, and sweet corn kernels. It is light and has a mild sweet taste
that anybody will surely love. It’s something that I looked forward to when we
visited my grandfather’s house for Christmas.
9. Suman
Suman is made of cassava, sticky rice, or even pumpkin. It is mixed with
coconut milk and wrapped either in a banana leaf or coconut leaf and then
steamed. It’s a good breakfast food but in our town, we serve the sticky rice
wrapped in coconut leaves variety of suman.
10. Gelatin
Gelatin is a simple Filipino dessert that I often associate with the province.
This easy treat is usually made of red gelatin (gulaman) mixed with water,
condensed milk, and sugar. Raisins, pineapple tidbits, or corn kernels can be
added for flavor. The result is pink gelatin that is best eaten when chilled.
Epilogue
These are my ten all-time favorite Filipino desserts that remind me of the
holidays in the province. It used to be that we can only enjoy them when there
are special occasions but it’s good that these days, those desserts are
available all year-long.
It’s also great to know that there are restaurants, such as McDonald’s, that
create modern drinks and desserts that feature local Filipino flavors so that
we can enjoy the taste of home in a different interpretation.
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*Photos of the bibingka, ube halaya, and ginataang bilo-bilo are courtesy of Canva.
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Yes , filipino talaga mahilig sa mga dessert 🥺❤️lalo na pag gawa ng mga lolas at auntie natin❤️
ReplyDeleteAng sasarap talaga ng mga dessert and most of the filipinos ay mahilig talaga sa mga sweets lalo na kapag may mga occasion ☺️🤤
ReplyDeleteAll sweets are the best. Yes to these, all time favorite and no wonder we loved and always crave for This awesome sweets🤗😋😋
ReplyDelete