As with any festive celebration, there was a lot of food involved with Eid. Apart from the usual curries that my mom makes every year, I decided to try something different with a fall staple: the pumpkin. I was so excited when I found this recipe at Tiffin Biru because it's the perfect blend of my Malay culture, Eid al-Adha, Thanksgiving and the fall season.
Bingka is a category of desserts whose texture is somewhere between a cake and a fudge, much like a very moist fudge cake (duh!). It basically comprises of flour, eggs, sugar and coconut milk (yum!) and it can be made with yam, tapioca, sweet potato, and a few other different vegetables. You can even make it plain with a curried minced meat topping. Labu means pumpkin; so Bingka Labu is, roughly translated, pumpkin fudge cake.
I think it turned out well for a first attempt. The sweetness is mostly from the sugar but the pumpkin flavour is very distinct. My favourite part is the crust, which is extra sweet and pumpkin-y due to the caramalization. Plus, the brilliant shade of yellow is all pumpkin - no artificial colouring whatsoever. How amazing is that?
If you're feeling a little adventurous, follow the jump for the full recipe. I've taken the liberty of translating the recipe into English for your convenience.
