Sapin-sapin is a layered glutinous rice and coconut dessert in

Philippine cuisine Filipino cuisine ( fil, lutong Pilipino/pagkaing Pilipino) is composed of the cuisines of more than a hundred distinct ethnolinguistic groups found throughout the Philippine archipelago. A majority of mainstream Filipino dishes that compose Fi ...

. It is made from

rice flour Rice flour (also rice powder) is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye. Rice flour is a common substitute for wheat flour. It is also used as a thickening ...

, coconut milk, sugar, water, flavoring and coloring. It is usually sprinkled with

latik ''Latík'' () refers to two different coconut-based ingredients in Filipino cuisine Filipino cuisine ( fil, lutong Pilipino/pagkaing Pilipino) is composed of the cuisines of more than a hundred distinct ethnolinguistic groups found thr ...

or toasted desiccated coconut flakes. Traditional recipe of sapin-sapin calls for different flavors mixed in each layer such as

ube halaya ''Ube halaya'' or ''halayang ube'' (variant spellings ''halea'', ''haleya''; from the Spanish ''jalea'', "jam") is a Philippine dessert made from boiled and mashed purple yam (''Dioscorea alata'', locally known as ''ube''). Ube halaya is the m ...

in the purple layer,

jackfruit The jackfruit (''Artocarpus heterophyllus''), also known as jack tree, is a species of tree in the fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family ( Moraceae). Its origin is in the region between the Western Ghats of southern India, all of Bangladesh, ...

in the yellow or orange layer, but the white layer has no flavoring. The commercial version tends to have only

food coloring Food coloring, or color additive, is any dye, pigment, or substance that imparts color when it is added to food or drink. They come in many forms consisting of liquids, powders, gels, and pastes. Food coloring is used in both commercial food ...

and no added flavoring to reduce the cost.

Etymology

''Sapin'' means "layers" while ''sapin-sapin'' means "layered" in the

Ibanag language The Ibanag language (also ''Ybanag'' or ''Ibanak'') is an Austronesian language spoken by up to 500,000 speakers, most particularly by the Ibanag people, in the Philippines, in the northeastern provinces of Isabela and Cagayan, especially in ...

and the dessert is recognizable for its layers, each colored separately.

Preparation

Mix the glutinous rice flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl until it becomes smooth, together with the condensed milk, coconut milk, and vanilla extract. Then, divide the mixture into 3 parts. Add the mashed purple yam and ube extract on the first part along with the violet food coloring. Add jackfruit on the second part along with the yellow coloring and then mix well. For the third part, leave as it is.

References

{{Filipino food Rice dishes Philippine desserts Philippine rice dishes Foods containing coconut

Etymology

Preparation

See also

References