These are the best, must-try Filipino dessert recipes from creamy leche flan to sweet treats or traditional kakanin like rice cakes, from everyone’s favourite ube halaya to the smoothest maja blanca. Find your favourite Filipino dessert here.
Since the Philippines is a land of rice and coconut trees, Filipino dessert recipes usually include glutinous rice or rice flour, coconut meat, and coconut milk or cream.
We also love our evaporated milk and condensed milk; a lot of people didn’t use to own refrigerators so canned milk was the preferred type of milk because it lasted longer.
And have you tasted condensed milk? Nectar from the gods I tell ya.
Filipino desserts are either very simple to make with just a few ingredients that you toss together. Or highly elaborate that need several steps and several hours of prep. And they’re all in here.
Go through this collection of the best pinoy desserts. Try one, try all. Enjoy!
Filipino Dessert Recipes You Must Try
Here are Filipino dessert recipes you can easily make at home. New to Filipino food? Desserts are a delicious and fun introduction to any cuisine. And if you’re a Filipino craving for desserts from home, you’re going to love this.
EASY NO-BAKE DESSERTS
Let’s start with simple pinoy dessert recipes. And it can’t get any simpler than these no-bake treats. No-bake doesn’t mean not special though. Many Filipinos serve these desserts during special occasions.
Mango graham cake is a popular dessert in the Philippines. Also called mango float, it’s cold, sweet and so easy to make. Just layer graham crackers, sweetened cream, mangoes and enjoy.
This strawberry refrigerator cake (or the Filipino version of strawberry icebox cake) has a secret ingredient — condensed milk! It’s sweet, creamy and perfect on a warm sunny day.
Peach icebox cake is refreshing, delicious and easy to make. Use fresh peaches when they’re in season, or canned peaches to make this summer dessert any time of the year.
Ube tiramisu is the no bake ube cake you’ve been waiting for. Only 7 ingredients, easy to make, and so good. Destined to be the star of your celebrations.
These flan cupcakes are inspired by graham de leche or graham leche flan, a modern twist on the traditional Filipino leche flan. So good!
DESSERTS WITH COCONUT MILK
Coconut milk, coconut cream (the thicker version) and coconut juice are important ingredients in Filipino as well as in many Asian cooking. We usually buy it canned here but in the Philippines you can buy it fresh from the local market.
Suman or Filipino sticky rice cake is made of glutinous rice and coconut milk, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed to sticky perfection. Eat them with sweet mangoes in the summer or dip them in tsokolate in the winter. Delicious!
Tropical and refreshing, coconut popsicles (Filipino ice buko) are a fantastic way to stay cool on a sizzling summer day.
Buko pandan is a sweet and refreshing Filipino dessert made of coconut, pandan-infused gelatine and sweetened cream. Comes together easily, served cold, perfect for potlucks or on a sweltering summer day.
Try this maja blanca recipe for the smoothest, creamiest maja blanca. A popular Filipino dessert, maja blanca is topped with shredded cheese or toasted coconut and perfect for special occasions like Christmas, fiestas and more.
Ginataang mais is a delicious Filipino sweet rice pudding dish made of coconut milk and corn. Only 4 ingredients and ready in less than 30 minutes!
Ube mochi is tender, chewy and a delicious ways to enjoy ube or purple yam. It’s very easy to make too! 1 bowl, less than 10 ingredients, done in less than an hour, happiness in every bite.
FILIPINO CAKE RECIPES
Fancy baking a cake? These showstopper cakes are perfect for any celebration like birthdays, graduations, fiestas and more.
Ube cake (or Filipino purple yam cake) is unlike any cake you’ve had before. It’s sweet and earthy and deliciously purple! A staple in any Filipino celebration.
Delicious ube roll cake. Soft and fluffy ube cake with whipped cream cheese frosting. Fun to make, cheerful and festive, perfect for all your celebrations.
Ube chiffon cake is light, airy and melts-in-your-mouth. With its vibrant purple colour and delicious ube flavour, it’s perfect for special occasions. Easy to make, it’s great as an everyday cake too.
Ube pound cake is a delicious twist on the classic pound cake. Swirls of purple marbled beautifully all over with hints of delightful ube in every bite of vanilla butter cake.
This ube cheesecake is everything you ever wanted in an ube dessert. Luxurious ube cheesecake filling on a bed of crunchy coconut cookie crust then topped with creamy coconut whipped cream.
This yema cake recipe has everything you love about this favourite Filipino dessert. Soft and airy chiffon cake, rich and thick yema spread, and yema frosting that’s stable and so easy to decorate with.
Sans rival is a Filipino cake made of buttercream, meringue and roasted cashews. It’s chewy, crunchy, sweet and salty in one glorious bite.
Taisan is the Filipino version of vanilla chiffon cake — soft and tender, light as air, brushed with butter and sprinkled with sugar and cheese.
Leche flan cake is a combination of two delicious desserts and so good! It also looks stunning and impressive with its two layers but surprisingly easy to make.
BEST PINOY DESSERTS FROM CHILDHOOD
We all grew up eating these sweet treats. Now we can make them at home and relive all our happy memories from childhood.
Yema balls or yema candy are delicious Filipino treats made of condensed milk and egg yolks. They’re wonderfully soft and chewy, delightfully sweet, and easy to make.
Filipino egg pie is a rich, creamy custard baked in a buttery pie crust. A childhood favourite of many Filipinos, this egg pie will transport you back to the Philippines at first bite.
You don’t forget your first time at Jollibee! Especially peach mango pies. They’re pocket pies made of crispy, flaky pastry with a sweet and scrumptious peach and mango filling. Perfect after a spaghetti and chicken meal, amiright? You’ll be hooked.
Lengua de gato are Filipino butter cookies that are thin, crispy and so buttery. They’re very easy to make at home so you can enjoy them with your coffee, tea or whenever the craving hits.
Take advantage of sweet mango season and make some mango bars — delicious mango filling sandwiched in a buttery shortbread crust and crumble. So easy to make, even easier to eat! A mango dessert perfect for summer picnics, everyday snacking, even holiday baking
Filipino turon recipe for turon that’s crispy and crunchy whether fried or baked. Serve with vanilla ice cream and salted caramel sauce and you have yourself a dessert that transports you straight to the tropics.
Ube turon is another delicious way to enjoy ube. Ube halaya and cheddar cheese wrapped like a spring roll and fried until crispy. It’s the perfect ube snack! Just 5 ingredients and ready in no time.
This taho recipe will transport you back to the Philippines – early mornings just before school, enjoying a warm mug of taho from your favourite taho vendor. Extra arnibal (or brown sugar syrup) and sago for me, please.
Mais con yelo is a popular Filipino dessert made of sweet corn, ice and milk. It’s delicious, refreshing and very easy to make. You’ll want to make it every summer day!
Homemade ube ice cream is bright, purple and bursting with delicious ube flavour. Bonus: you don’t need an ice cream maker!
Mango sago is a refreshing dessert you’ll want to make all summer long. Made of fresh sweet mangoes, sago or tapioca, milk and cream, it’s easy to make and so good.
Saging con yelo (banana con yelo or minatamis na saging) is a simple and refreshing Filipino dessert made of sweet bananas, milk, sago and ice. It’s so easy to put together you’ll want to make it everyday in the summer and all year!
Pianono is the Filipino version of the Swiss or jelly roll cake. Soft fluffy cake with butter sugar filling. So good and easy to make!
This chewy coconut macaroons recipe couldn’t get any simpler with very few, easy-to-find ingredients. You don't even need a mixer to make them!
Maruya or Filipino banana fritters are made of sweet bananas in a light and crisp batter fried until golden brown. A popular street food in the Philippines, it’s easy to make and so good!
UNIQUE DESSERTS
If you’re looking for uniquely Filipino desserts, try these one-of-a-kind ube desserts. Start with ube halaya or purple yam jam then explore all the different ways Filipinos enjoy their beloved ube.
Calamansi pie tastes like your favorite calamansi juice in every bite. Perfectly sweet and tart and so easy to make. This pie is so refreshing too which makes it perfect to end a hearty meal. Serve it on Thanksgiving, the holidays, or any celebration.
Ube halaya recipe that’s authentic and easy to make. You just need a few ingredients and a little patience to make the most delicious ube halaya that compares to your favourite ube jam from back home; and definitely way better than the ube jams you can find in the stores here.
Ube crinkles are soft, fluffy and bursting with the ube flavour you love. They are like mini ube cakes and are perfect for the holidays or everyday.
Ube cookies are delightfully soft and chewy, packed with real ube halaya, and studded with white chocolate chips for the perfect ube treat. It’s very easy to make too!
Ube cupcakes are little ube cakes packed with big ube flavour. Soft, dense and just the right amount of sweet. Top with ube whipped cream frosting and sprinkle with toasted shredded coconut for the ultimate Filipino treat.
Ube brownies are your favourite chewy and fudgy brownies but packed with the ube flavour you love. Made with real ube halaya, sprinkled with white chocolate chips, so good.
This ube hand pie recipe is simple to make but so delicious. Ube halaya filling inside a buttery puff pastry crust. It’s very easy to customize too if you want to jazz it up and make ube macapuno pies or ube cheese pies.
Ube muffins are soft but dense, like a proper muffin should be. Topped with a sweet coconut crumble and filled with a generous helping of ube halaya or ube jam, it’s a delicious treat for breakfast, snack, picnics, work and school.
Ube cheesecake bars combine two of your favourite ube desserts — brownies and cheesecake! Creamy and tangy cream cheese swirls on top of chewy and fudgy ube brownies. So good.
Ube tarts — ube cheesecake filling within a buttery shortbread crust. So good! They’re easy to make too.
FILIPINO DELICACIES OR KAKANIN
Want to really experience Filipino cuisine? Try these Filipino sweets or delicacies (kakanin in Tagalog). Make them today and make your Filipino grandma proud.
Bibingkang malagkit is a beloved Filipino treat — coconut sticky rice with a delicious coconut caramel topping. Just 6 ingredients and so easy to make!
Ube biko is a kind of Filipino sticky rice cake made of glutinous rice and coconut, and packed with ube (purple yam) flavor. Easy to make, no need to bake, delicious!
Try this palitaw recipe for delicious, authentic, easy-to-make palitaw that tastes just like the ones from home. Perfectly chewy, sweet and coconut-y, you’ll keep coming back for more.
This easy pichi pichi recipe will help you make authentic Filipino pichi pichi at home. Soft and chewy, coated with coconut or cheese, one hundred percent delicious.
This puto recipe (or steamed Filipino rice cakes) is so easy to make and very customizable you can use the same recipe to make a wide variety of puto flavours. From the traditional putong puti to puto cheese, from putong ube to puto with salted eggs. The possibilities are endless.
Cassava cake with macapuno is a traditional Filipino dessert made of grated cassava, coconut milk, condensed milk, and macapuno, which is soft, chewy coconut meat. Cassava cake is a popular merienda (snack) or dessert and is often served during special occasions like Christmas and fiestas.
Bibingka cheesecake is the latest and greatest Filipino dessert mashup. Sweet and salty bibingka and creamy, dreamy cheesecake combine for a truly extraordinary treat. And it’s not just for Christmas! Treat yourself today.
Royal bibingka (also known as bibingka Ilocano or Vigan bibingka) is a variety of Filipino rice cake made of glutinous rice flour, coconut milk, eggs and cheese. It’s chewy and sticky, not too sweet, delicious!
Espasol is a kind of Filipino sticky rice cake made of glutinous rice flour and coconut milk. Its texture is very similar to mochi — delightfully stretchy, soft and chewy. It’s easy to make too! Check out the recipe for lots of tips and FAQs
Tikoy, the Filipino version of the traditional Chinese sweet rice cake, nian gao, is a sticky rice cake usually enjoyed during Chinese New Year. So good!
DESSERTS FOR NOCHE BUENA AND THE HOLIDAYS
Some Filipino dessert recipes are so special they’re reserved for very special occasions like Christmas and New Year’s Eve. That’s when Filipino families gather together and have the biggest feast of the year.
Brazo de Mercedes is a traditional Filipino dessert that consists of a soft and pillowy meringue roll filled with sweet and sticky egg custard. So good!
Apple buko salad is a fresh take on the classic Filipino holiday dessert, fruit salad. Made with young coconuts and crisp apples, it’s sweet, tangy, red, green, delicious!
Brazo de Mercedes cupcakes — soft as cotton meringue filled with rich decadent custard and finished off with a sprinkling of confectioner’s sugar. You’ll love it!
Here’s an authentic leche flan recipe (or Filipino-style crème caramel) that will give you rich, silky, creamy leche flan every time.
Crema de Fruta is a Filipino dessert made of delicious layers of soft fluffy cake, rich creamy custard, and fruit blanketed in gelatine. Fun, festive, definitely deserves a place in your celebrations.
Ube pie is made with a deliciously creamy ube filling and uses a ready-made pie crust for ease and convenience. It will be the star of all your Thanksgiving and holiday celebrations!
Try this silvanas recipe — crunchy meringue cookie sandwiches filled with luxurious French buttercream. A unique and beloved Filipino treat.
Food for the gods is a popular Filipino treat. Similar to butterscotch bars but packed with dates and walnuts, they’re easy to make, delicious, and a joy to give out to loved ones during the holidays.
Another popular Filipino dessert is halo-halo.
It’s a dessert made of crushed or shaved ice, toppings like leche flan, sweet beans, ube halaya, sago or tapioca, and coconut, then drizzled with evaporated milk.
Some even top their halo halo with ice cream! It’s really the ultimate summertime treat.
You don’t need a recipe to make halo-halo at home. Just put your favourite things in it and make it your own.
Here’s a video I found on YouTube where you can see how easy and simple it is to make one.
Hope you enjoy these delicious desserts recipes. If you ask me what the most popular is, I really can’t tell you because I love them all!
Happy baking and cooking!
Did you make any of these recipes? Which one did you like best? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.
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Tiffany
These looks and sounds delicious! Can’t wait to get my hands on some of these scrumptious Filipino treats and desserts! ๐
Christa
Most of the recipes are new to me and all of them look delicious! Iโm looking forward to broadening my dessert repertoire.
Charito
Thank you Jolina for featuring Filipino food. More people know about our cuisine, the better. I have a sweet tooth and eager to try all these recipes especially brazo de mercedes. God bless.
Jolina
Hi Charito! Thank you for your kind words. I agree, Filipino cuisine should go mainstream it’s delicious ๐ Hope you and your loved ones are safe and healthy in these crazy times!
Amy
I heard of some of these foods but I haven’t tried them. I should try to make one of these foods, especially the beautiful ube chiffon cake!
Angela
These all look so amazing! The banana one looks like something I would really enjoy…I may have to give it a try!!!
Kate
I have a really sweet tooth… so all these desserts look delicious! I like the look of the strawberry refrigerator cake.
Di
Oooooh these look DELICIOUS! I’m on a strict diet right now. No sugar. Low carb. So this post is torture! lol!
Stephanie
Ooh, these all look delicious, but that strawberry cake is calling my name! I love almost anything strawberry flavored!
Neely
These all sound so good! I haven’t had any of them before but I am so down to try them!
Holly
These look delicious. I’d really like to try the coconut popsicles!