The Christmas season is about family, friends and fellowship. It’s also about food — from grand feasts of turkey and stuffing to boundless snacks stretching our belts.
In the spirit of the holidays, the Tri-City News recently asked some of the people you read about to share their favourite must-try recipes.
As a kid, my mother and grandmother use to make bebinca for Christmas as we have a tradition of distributing sweets to our neighbours and friends.
It used to take a lot of time, but it was worth it as it's very delicious.
So, I make it a point to make bebinca with my daughter, Winona, so we keep the tradition alive and live our memories away from home!
Goa, my hometown, was a Portuguese colony for almost 500 years, which heavily influenced the food culture and traditions of the natives.
It is generally believed that 'bibik,' more commonly known as 'bebinca,' was also a Portuguese-influenced dessert which was invented by the Portuguese nuns in the 17th century just like other confectioneries of the doces conventuais (Conventual sweets).
As per a section in the book of prominent historian Fatima da Silva Gracias, Cozinha de Goa: History and Tradition of Goan Food, one of the nuns from the Santa Monica Convent was called 'Bebinca,' who invented a seven-layered pudding using leftover yolks to symbolize the seven hills of the old city of Goa and Lisbon.
Then, she sent this pudding to the priests, who were impressed by the flavours of the dessert but suggested her to increase the dessert’s size to accommodate at least a dozen layers.
Now, in her honour, this pudding is known as bebinca, which boasts from seven to as many as 16 layers. Bebinca will always have a delightful place in the Goan culture.
Bebinca is a pudding-like dessert made with coconut milk, eggs, butter and flour, and forms layers of cakes.
You can have as many layers as you wish, but it requires time and patience to cook.
The end result is worth all of it, and you won't be able resist the "Queen of desserts!"
Ingredients
- 200 g of refined flour
- 10 egg yolks
- 500 g of sugar
- 200 ml of coconut milk
- Five (5) grams of nutmeg powder (or essence)
- 200 g of butter (or ghee)
- 200 g of sugar for caramel
Directions
Mix the coconut milk, flour, sugar, nutmeg and the egg yolks to make a batter.
Divide the batter into two portions and add the caramel to one portion so that each layer gets an ombré shade.
Grease an oven-proof dish with a spoonful of melted butter.
Pour 75 ml of batter into the dish and spread evenly.
Bake till golden brown.
Spread another spoonful of butter and pour another 75 ml of batter over it. Spread evenly.
Bake and repeat this until all the batter is used up and make sure each and every layer is properly baked with top heat.
Turn out the bebinca onto a wire rack.
Cool and cut into desired slices before serving.
Served with tea, coffee, and/or ice cream.
Ashney Rebello of Coquitlam is a homemaker, recipe developer and freelance writer for food magazines.
