Published: December 1, 2016 Last Modified: May 31, 2019 Freda Dias

Bebinca Recipe | How To Make Bebinca

Name: Bebinca Recipe | How To Make Bebinca
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 75 min
Total time: 95 min
Ingredients: 200 grams all-purpose flour (maida); 12 egg yolks; 400 grams granulated cane sugar; 1/2 tbsp nutmeg powder; 22 oz / 650 ml coconut milk; 3/4 tsp salt; 1/2 cup clarified butter (ghee), (You may also use unsalted butter); 4 tbsp sugar; 1/2 cup water

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Bebinca, also known as bibik or bebinka, is a classic and popular Goan dessert. Here is a simple, step-by-step recipe to make Goan bebinca.

There are a number of traditional Goan delicacies, and Bebinca, also known as the queen of Goan desserts, is one that is always featured in most Goan festivities, be it Christmas, Easter, weddings or Christenings. Making bebic, requires lots of patience, as each layer has to be baked, before the addition of the next layer and so on. Homemade bebinca is definitely a labor of love!

Table of Contents

BEBINCA INGREDIENTS

For this Goan dessert, bebinca recipe, made using,

Flour
Egg yolks
Sugar
Butter or ghee,
Coconut milk
Nutmeg

There are 2 batters prepared for the layering:

1- batter made with egg yolks, sugar, coconut milk, and flour.

2- to the 1st batter, caramel is added, hence it’s a little darker, and makes the layer more distinct.

Did you know the traditional bebinca dessert has 16 layers?? You can most certainly deviate from the traditional one, and make as many layers as you like:) Although this is commercially available in most stores in Goa, nothing beats a freshly baked homemade bebinca!

I’m happy to share this authentic bebinca recipe, which I learnt from my Mum-in-law. I hope you will try it out this Christmas and love it as much as we do 🙂

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE BEBINCA

1.Prepare the caramel: In a saucepan, add sugar and 1/2 tablespoon water, heat on low heat until the sugar starts melting and turns dark brown. Immediately add 1/2 cup of water( exercise extreme precaution, as caramel, is very hot, and it splutters on the addition of water), continue heating on low heat till it thickens and leaves the sides of the pan. Set aside from the heat until further use.

2.Preheat the oven to 355 degrees F/180 degrees C. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with ghee generously. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, add egg yolks, whisk well.

3.Add sugar, whisk to mix it well with the beaten egg yolks.

4.Add coconut milk, whisk to combine everything.

5.Add flour ( sifted) little at a time to the above mixture, whisk well to combine and get rid of any lumps.

6.Add nutmeg powder and salt, mix well.

7.This mixture yields approximately 5 cups, divide this equally in two separate mixing bowls. To one mixing bowl add the prepared caramel syrup. Mix well.

8.To bake bebinca: Add a tablespoon of ghee to the bottom of the loaf pan, then add about 1/4 cup of the lighter batter. Bake on the uppermost rack for about 15- 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Take it out of the oven. Switch on the broiler. Add about 1 teaspoon of ghee and spread it over the first baked layer. Add another 1/4 cup of darker batter over the ghee, broil for about 3-4 minutes, depending on your oven temperature, it may even take 2-3 minutes or longer, keep an eye.

(You will know when the layer is baked when you see tiny holes on the surface of the layer with some browning. Sometimes the layers tend to puff up during baking, that’s perfectly alright, once you remove it from the oven, you have to prick it down with a fork/toothpick when you are applying ghee to that layer. Continue greasing and baking alternate layers. (Stir the batter well each time, before pouring in the baking tin), broiling each layer for 2-3 mins. Once all the layers are baked, transfer to a cooling rack, apply some ghee to the topmost layer, leave it to cool in the loaf pan for at least 4-6 hours. Flip it over a serving platter. Cut into slices and serve. Bebinca tastes best when it’s slightly warm.

Bebinca Recipe | How To Make Bebinca — Last year’s bebinca with thinner layers!

NOTES

1.Since I use a gas range oven, I have the option of broiling ( 500 degrees F). In case you are using an OTG, use the uppermost rack for baking, and continue baking the layers at the same temperature i.e 180 degrees C , it may take longer than the broiling option,(may take about 7-15 minutes or even less than 7 minutes for each layer to be baked) so you will need to keep an eye to know what works for your oven.

2.You can also make a round bebinca cake, by following the same procedure in a round baking tin.

3.Post updated with new pictures and detailed stepwise pictorial. This time I made thicker layers, so I used 1/2 cup batter for each layer. The first lighter layer took about 15 minutes to bake at 355 F, each layer took about 5-6 minutes to bake on the broil mode. I used a Pullman loaf pan to bake the bebinca.

HOW TO MAKE GOAN BEBINCA?