Our country is not only rich with the best summer locations to travel to, but also with desserts that only you can find in the Philippines!
No wonder why it is so hot these days, one thing is for sure, the summer season is already here in the Philippines. The hot and dry season has started to cover some regions in the country. Summer is when the northeast monsoon or “amihan” season ends, then the hot dry season will begin. March to May is the summer season in the Philippines. Yet, due to climate change according to some sources, the summer season has been extending into June and July.
Filipinos love sweets as they use sugar in everything. That is why it is now surprising that Filipinos have a wide variety indeed of sweet delicacies. It’s inevitable to us Filipinos not to enjoy sweet foods as one of the country’s key products is sugar. Inclined with this, here is the list of most famous Filipino desserts that you may crave at this point for sure!
Leche Flan
One of the most popular and beloved original Filipino-made desserts by many. It is a creamy steamed custard (Filipino version) topped with a caramel layer. It might be similar to Mexican and Spanish flan, yet the Filipino version of flan is much firmer and made with a lot of egg yolks and condensed milk.
Leche flan was also known as crème caramel by some. Leche flan is loved by many so that it might feel incomplete without a llanera of Leche flan in a feast or celebration.
Ube Halaya
If Japan has green matcha, and China has Chinese red bean, the Philippines has this purple color dessert called “ube halaya”. The word ‘ube’ is originally derived from an Indian word ‘oo-be’ that means purple yam and the halaya means jelly or mash. It is one of the top faves of the Filipinos that will also make your celebration feel like you’re indeed in the Philippines. It is a must-try Filipino dessert if you are craving something that can be eaten as a snack. There are a lot of ways to create delicious recipes using ube, you may add ube halaya or even just ube itself on flavoring or ingredients on your cakes or ice cream.
Sapin Sapin
Having a bounty production of rice and sugar is one of the things that we Filipinos can be proud of. Moreover, we should also be proud of how Filipinos can come up with this recipe with sugar and rice that turns to be a dessert called sapin sapin.
Sapin sapin is a dessert made with glutinous rice also known as “galapong”, sugar, coconut milk, condensed milk, and to add a flavoring, some add ube and jackfruit. This is a chewy pudding-like texture, and also a favorite dessert at social gatherings and festive occasions. To add more flavor and taste to sapin sapin, it is served with toast coconut curd or also known as latik.
These desserts are some of the wide varieties of desserts here in the Philippines. Going back to the summer season, perhaps let me share some from the favorite dessert for summer of the Filipinos. Merienda is a snack or a dessert that Filipino love to eat sometimes in the morning and mid-afternoon. If you’re thinking of a perfect merienda, at this point, let me help you to cool down and beat the heat of the hot weather with these famous Filipino desserts that’ll make you drool as you read this right now! Beat the heat with these famous Filipino desserts to beat the heat and will make you say “One more, please!”
Halo-Halo
Here in the Philippines, it is at the top of the list of best cold foods for summer. If you’re confused on what “halo-halo” means, it is translated to “mix-mix” of assorted toppings such as sweetened banana, jackfruit, pearls, beans, gelatin, and covered with shaved ice and evaporated milk. It is usually served with pinipig (pounded rice flakes), leche flan, ube (yam), and sometimes ice cream! It is called halo-halo with a purpose because you have to mix all the ingredients and enjoy the refreshing dessert.
Mais Con Yelo
You should not miss the second most fave dessert for summer! Mais con yelo is a dessert consisting of steamed sweet corn or in canned corn, sugar, shaved ice, and milk. To add a little crunch to the dessert, some top it with cornflakes.
It doesn’t have a lot of ingredients as in halo-halo, but that doesn't mean its lack in flavor. The ingredients in this dessert blend well with each other. It is so refreshing as the halo-halo as it has ice that brings in some cold sensation to your body.
Sago’t Gulaman
One of the easiest and most famous coolers in the Philippines, sago’t gulaman. It is a mix of sago or pearls and gulaman or gelatin, with a caramelized sugar or syrup that gives additional flavor and taste to the dessert and crushed or shaved ice.
Samalamig
These are different varieties of flavored drinks that are favored by some. Samalamig is a drink with colorful gulaman (gelatin) that mostly matches with the color of its flavor. Samalamig or also known as palamig came from the root word lamig which means to cool down. To give you additional info, sago’t gulaman belonged to the category of samalamig.
It is a two-in-one dessert and drink. Samalamig became a popular after-meal drink for the “pantanggal umay” effect of the food that you ate. You can easily find both sago gulaman and samalamig so you can easily find them anytime anywhere.
Fresh Buko Juice (Coconut Juice)
For those people in the province, this was indeed the easiest to get and super fresh drink that they will have. Technically, this is not a dessert, but it can give chills and refresh you in a dry season. For those who crave the freshness of buko juice, you can find them in groceries, supermarkets, etc. The meat of the coconut is scraped out by some and eaten as is or some can also make this as an ingredient in different recipes such as buko pie, buko pandan, and buko salad.
Iced Scramble
The making of the iced scramble is very easy. It is a mix of shaved iced, food color, and vanilla flavoring. You just need to mix them all to get the right consistency. The iced scramble will not be complete without toppings. Some add the very classic powdered milk, mallows, and sprinkles in between the layers, and on top that depends on you. But among all these toppings, the easiest and the simplest to put on top of the iced scrambles is the chocolate syrup which is highly recommendable.
These are some of the famous desserts for summer and the best cold foods for summer that you can only find in the Philippines that you may proudly share to everyone as a Filipino, that these foods are Tatak Pinoy!
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