Soft, pillowy steamed rice cakes with just enough sweetness to work as a snack, a dessert, or the classic side to a bowl of pancit or dinuguan. One of the simplest and most versatile items on the whole Filipino table.
Puto's appeal is in the texture: light and spongy, but with enough density to hold up under toppings. It's mildly sweet on purpose, since it's just as often eaten alongside savory dishes as it is on its own as a snack.
Unlike most rice cakes in this cuisine, puto is leavened rather than dense — baking powder gives it a light rise and open, muffin-like crumb. It's also one of the few Filipino desserts eaten as a savory-food companion nearly as often as a sweet: a piece of puto next to pancit or a bowl of dinuguan is a very common pairing.
Look for finely milled rice flour, not glutinous rice flour, which yields a different, chewier texture.
All-purpose flour will work in a pinch, but rice flour gives puto its characteristic light, slightly grainy-soft texture that flour alone can't replicate.
Old or expired baking powder is the most common cause — check that it's still active, and avoid overmixing the batter once the wet and dry ingredients are combined.
Puto bumbong is a separate, deep-purple Christmas-season rice cake made from a different variety of purple rice steamed in bamboo tubes — regular puto is a year-round, everyday snack.
