Bebinca
AI-drafted · awaiting admin review
The ‘queen of Goan desserts’: a dense cake of many thin layers of coconut milk, egg yolks, sugar and ghee, each layer grilled from the top.
Region: GoaOccasion: Christmas, weddings and feastsTime: 3 hrServes: 12Eggetarian
Ingredients
- 10 egg yolks
- 2 cups thick coconut milk
- 1½ cups sugar
- 1 cup maida (refined flour)
- ¾ cup ghee, melted
- ½ tsp grated nutmeg
- Pinch of salt
Method
- Dissolve the sugar in the coconut milk. Beat the egg yolks lightly and mix them in with the salt and nutmeg.
- Add the flour a little at a time, whisking until there are no lumps. The batter should be like thin pouring cream.
- Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a deep, heavy baking tin under a hot grill (or in an oven with the top element on). Pour in a thin layer of batter (about ½ cup) and grill until golden brown on top.
- Spread 1 tbsp ghee over the cooked layer, pour in the next layer of batter and grill again. Repeat until all the batter is used.
- Bake the finished bebinca at 180 °C for 10 minutes more, then cool completely before turning it out. Cut into thin slices to show the layers.
History
Bebinca is a Goan Catholic sweet of the Portuguese period; many stories are told about its origin, but none is certain. Traditionally it was cooked layer by layer with live coals placed on the lid.
Significance
Bebinca is the centrepiece of the Goan Christmas kuswar (tray of sweets shared with neighbours). It has received a GI tag as a Goan product.