Bebinca Or Bibic - Coconut And Nutmeg Layered Dessert Cake
So many different names for one delicious dessert! Bebinca is Goas pride. According to Fatima da Silva Gracia who authored Cozinha de Goa suggests that Bebinca might have been invented by Bibiona, a nun at the Convento da Santa Monica in Old Goa. Her first version was crafted with seven layers to represent the seven hills of Lisbon and Old Goa. My grandmothers sister Aunty Annie, would make this in their tiny kitchen in Mumbai. Im not totally sure how she prepared it as they didnt have an oven. In the old kitchens of Goa, Bebinca is made using a clay pot and hot coal.
Ingredients
| Egg yolks | 9 | |
| Sugar | 400 Gram (about 2 cups) | |
| Salt | 1/4 Teaspoon | |
| Coconut milk | 600 Milliliter (about 2 2/3 cups) | |
| Fresh grated nutmeg | 1/4 Teaspoon | |
| Flour | 150 Gram (presifted Flour, about 1/2 cup) | |
| Food colouring | 1 Pinch (brown) | |
| Ghee | 1 Cup (16 tbs) |
Directions
GETTING READY:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
MAKING:
2. Prepare the batter by whisking the Egg yolks together with the sugar.
3. Add the salt and pour in the Coconut Milk.
4. Add the Nutmeg and add the flour in additions.
5. The batter should yield 6 cups – separate this in half.
6. This is optional but I like to add a tiny bit of food coloring to half the batter.
7. Melt the Ghee and grease a baking tin – I like to use a square or rectangle but you can also use a round pan.
8. For the size of my tin, I add ¾ cup of the first batter and level it before baking in a 350 degree oven for about 15 mins.
9. Before taking it out change it to broil but do keep an eye on it.
10. Brush with Ghee again and add ¾ of a cup of the other darker colored batter.
11. Repeat this process layer by layer.
12. If the layers bubble up, make sure they flatten when they are out of the oven before adding another layer to maintain straight lines.
SERVING:
13. Once all the layers are cooked and the Bebinca is cool free it from the cake pan and cut into slices and enjoy!
Recipe Summary
