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 traditional desserts, you’re going to love this.
Since the Philippines is a country of rice and coconut trees, Filipino desserts recipes usually include glutinous rice or rice flour, coconut meat and coconut milk.
We also love our evaporated and condensed milk; a lot of people didn’t use to own refrigerators so canned milk was the preferred type of milk. 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 Filipino desserts recipes. Try one, try all. Enjoy!
Filipino Dessert Recipes You Must Try
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 traditional desserts, you’re going to love this.
Pinoy dessert recipes no bake
Let’s start simple with no-bake pinoy dessert recipes. No-bake doesn’t mean not special though! Many Filipinos serve these desserts during special occasions.
Mango graham cake, also called mango float, is 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.
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.
Filipino 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 cuisines. We usually but it canned here but in the Philippines you can buy it fresh in the local market!
Tropical and refreshing, coconut popsicles (Filipino ice buko recipe) are a fantastic way to stay cool on a sizzling summer day.
Suman is a Filipino snack (or merienda) that’s made of glutinous rice and coconut milk, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed to sticky perfection. Eat it with mangoes in the summer or dip it in tsokolate in the winter. Delicious!
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 special occasions or on a sweltering summer day.
Maja blanca is a Filipino dessert made of coconut milk and corn. Light, creamy, refreshing and so easy to make! Popular around the holidays.
Ube dessert recipes
You guys didn’t think I’ll leave out my favourite ube recipes, did you? Ube or purple yam has been getting a lot of attention lately but it’s been a staple in Filipino cooking for a very long time.
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.
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 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 crinkles are soft, fluffy and bursting with the ube flavour you love. They are like mini ube cakes and are perfect for the holidays!
Homemade ube ice cream is bright, purple and bursting with delicious ube flavour. Bonus: you don’t need an ice cream maker!
This ube jam or ube halaya is pretty darn close to Good Shepherd if I say so myself. It’s not the same, of course. But if you’re 10,000 miles away from home, this is as good as it gets.
Easy filipino dessert recipes with few ingredients
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.
Filipino turon (or banana lumpia) is a snack made of ripe plantain wrapped in spring roll wrapper then deep fried to perfection. Serve with vanilla ice cream and salted caramel sauce.
Taho is soft tofu (sometimes called silken tofu) that’s sweetened with brown sugar syrup (arnibal) and topped with sago or tapioca pearls. It’s a popular breakfast treat in the Philippines but it’s also served as a snack (merienda) and even dessert.
Cassava cake with macapuno is a traditional Filipino dessert made of grated cassava, coconut milk, condensed milk and macapuno. It's a popular merienda (snack) or dessert and is often served during special occasions like Christmas and fiestas.
Filipino desserts recipe for Christmas
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.
Crema de Fruta is a Filipino dessert made of delicious layers of soft fluffy cake, rich creamy custard, and fruit in gelatine. Fun, festive, definitely deserves a place in your celebrations.
Apple buko salad is a fresh take on a classic Filipino holiday dessert. Made with young coconuts and apples, it’s sweet, tangy, red, green, delicious!
Brazo de Mercedes is a traditional Filipino dessert that consists of a soft and pillowy meringue roll filled with sweet and sticky egg custard.
It's your favourite Brazo de Mercedes in cupcake form. Try Brazo de Mercedes cupcakes for a truly unique cupcake experience.
Here’s an authentic leche flan recipe (or Filipino-style crème caramel) that will give you rich, silky, creamy leche flan every time.
Sans rival is a Filipino layer cake made of buttercream, meringue and toasted cashews. It’s chewy, crunchy, sweet and salty all in one glorious bite.
Hope you enjoy these Filipino desserts recipes. If you ask me what the most popular sweet dessert in the Philippines is, I really can’t tell you because I love them all! Happy baking and cooking!
Did you make any of these Filipino dessert recipes? Which one did you like best? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.
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Tiffany says
These looks and sounds delicious! Can’t wait to get my hands on some of these scrumptious Filipino treats and desserts! 🙂
Christa says
Most of the recipes are new to me and all of them look delicious! I’m looking forward to broadening my dessert repertoire.
Charito says
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 says
Hi Charito! Thank you for your kind words. I agree, Filipino cuisine should go mainstream it’s delicious 🙂 Hope you and your loved ones are safe and healthy in these crazy times!
Amy says
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 says
These all look so amazing! The banana one looks like something I would really enjoy…I may have to give it a try!!!
Kate says
I have a really sweet tooth… so all these desserts look delicious! I like the look of the strawberry refrigerator cake.
Di says
Oooooh these look DELICIOUS! I’m on a strict diet right now. No sugar. Low carb. So this post is torture! lol!
Stephanie says
Ooh, these all look delicious, but that strawberry cake is calling my name! I love almost anything strawberry flavored!
Neely says
These all sound so good! I haven’t had any of them before but I am so down to try them!
Holly says
These look delicious. I’d really like to try the coconut popsicles!