✔ Updated · expanded to 41 desserts, grouped by type + key ingredients
Filipino desserts are sweet, colorful and often built on coconut, sticky rice, tropical fruit and creamy condensed milk.
The most popular Filipino desserts are halo-halo (shaved ice with sweet beans, fruit, flan and ube), leche flan (caramel custard), ube halaya (purple yam jam), turon (caramelized banana spring rolls), biko and other sticky rice cakes, cassava cake, buko pandan and mango float. Most are made with coconut, glutinous rice, tropical fruit or condensed milk.
They range from shaved-ice halo-halo and silky leche flan to chewy rice cakes called kakanin, purple ube treats and caramelized street snacks like banana cue and turon. Below are 41 traditional Filipino desserts and sweets, grouped by type, with a short description of each, the key ingredients you'll need and the easiest ones to make at home.
Cold and Refreshing Filipino Desserts
Shaved ice, coconut and fruit desserts are the answer to Philippine heat, sold everywhere from street carts to restaurants.
1. Halo-Halo
The country's most famous dessert: shaved ice and evaporated milk layered with sweet beans, jellies, fruit, leche flan, ube halaya and a scoop of ice cream.
2. Mais con Yelo
Sweet corn kernels over shaved ice with sugar and cold milk, a simple, cooling merienda (afternoon snack) loved by kids.
3. Buko Pandan
Young coconut strips and green pandan-flavored gelatin cubes folded into sweetened cream and condensed milk, served well chilled.
4. Buko Salad
A creamy fruit salad of young coconut, fruit cocktail, nata de coco and kaong in cream and condensed milk, a holiday staple.
5. Mango Float
A no-bake icebox cake of graham crackers, sweetened whipped cream and ripe Philippine mango slices, chilled until sliceable.
6. Sago't Gulaman
A street drink-dessert of tapioca pearls and agar jelly in brown sugar syrup over ice, often flavored with pandan or vanilla.
7. Crema de Fruta
A layered cake of sponge, custard, whipped cream and fruit cocktail set under a glossy gelatin glaze, popular at celebrations.
Kakanin: Filipino Rice Cakes
Kakanin are sweets made from glutinous (sticky) rice or rice flour, often cooked with coconut milk and brown sugar. They are everyday snacks and party food all over the islands.
8. Biko
Sticky rice simmered in coconut milk and brown sugar, pressed into a pan and topped with latik (toasted coconut curds).
9. Suman
Glutinous rice cooked with coconut milk, wrapped in banana or palm leaves and steamed. Eat it with sugar or ripe mango.
10. Puto
Soft, fluffy steamed rice cakes, sometimes topped with a slice of cheese or salted egg, served as a snack or with savory dishes.
11. Bibingka
Rice flour and coconut milk cake traditionally baked in a clay pot lined with banana leaves, topped with salted egg and cheese. A Christmas favorite.
12. Palitaw
Flat discs of glutinous rice dough boiled until they float, then rolled in grated coconut, sugar and toasted sesame seeds.
13. Kutsinta
Chewy, amber steamed cakes made with rice flour, brown sugar and lye water, served with freshly grated coconut.
14. Sapin-Sapin
A colorful layered rice cake, often purple ube, yellow jackfruit and white coconut, topped with latik.
15. Puto Bumbong
Purple sticky rice steamed in bamboo tubes, served with butter, muscovado sugar and grated coconut during the Christmas season.
16. Maja Blanca
A smooth coconut milk and cornstarch pudding, often with sweet corn, topped with toasted coconut and cut into squares.
17. Pichi-Pichi
Chewy steamed cassava cakes rolled in grated coconut or grated cheese, often colored with pandan or ube.
18. Espasol
Soft, chewy cylinders of toasted glutinous rice flour cooked with coconut milk and dusted with more toasted flour.
Custards, Cakes and Baked Desserts
Spanish and American influences show up here in custards, sponge cakes and pies, all given a Filipino twist with coconut, ube and calamansi.
19. Leche Flan
A rich, dense caramel custard made with egg yolks, condensed milk and evaporated milk, steamed or baked in a llanera (oval tin).
20. Ube Halaya
Purple yam jam cooked slowly with coconut milk, condensed milk and butter. Eat it on its own or use it in halo-halo and cakes.
21. Cassava Cake
Grated cassava baked with coconut milk, condensed milk and eggs until dense and chewy, finished with a custard topping.
22. Egg Pie
A sweet custard pie with a flaky crust and a golden-brown top, a bakery favorite similar to an egg custard tart.
23. Mamon
Light, buttery chiffon-style sponge cakes baked in individual molds and topped with butter, sugar and grated cheese.
24. Brazo de Mercedes
A meringue roll filled with sweet egg-yolk custard, soft and cloud-like, then dusted with powdered sugar.
25. Ube Cake
A soft purple chiffon cake flavored with ube, frosted with whipped cream or ube halaya and sometimes cheese.
26. Tocino del Cielo
A smaller, richer cousin of leche flan made almost entirely with egg yolks and syrup. Its name means bacon from heaven.
27. Calamansi Cheesecake Bars
A modern favorite: a graham crust and creamy cheesecake filling brightened with tangy calamansi juice.
Fried Snacks and Warm Desserts
Merienda favorites sold on sticks and in paper cones, plus comforting warm bowls made with coconut milk. Turon is the one I make most at home.
28. Turon
Ripe saba banana and jackfruit wrapped in spring roll wrappers, fried and coated in crunchy caramelized sugar.
29. Banana Cue
Saba bananas deep-fried in brown sugar until glossy and caramelized, then skewered on bamboo sticks. A classic street snack.
30. Camote Cue
Chunks of sweet potato fried and coated in caramelized brown sugar, served on skewers like banana cue.
31. Ginataang Bilo-Bilo
Chewy glutinous rice balls, saba banana, sweet potato, jackfruit and tapioca pearls in warm, sweet coconut milk. Also called ginataang halo-halo.
32. Taho
Warm silken tofu with brown sugar syrup (arnibal) and sago pearls, sold by street vendors as a morning treat.
33. Minatamis na Saging
Saba bananas simmered in brown sugar syrup until tender, delicious on their own or in halo-halo.
Filipino Cookies, Candies and Pastries
Small sweets that travel well, often given as pasalubong (gifts brought home from a trip).
34. Polvoron
Crumbly no-bake shortbread of toasted flour, powdered milk, sugar and butter, pressed into ovals and wrapped in colored paper.
35. Silvanas
Frozen cookie sandwiches of cashew meringue wafers filled with buttercream and coated in cookie crumbs.
36. Lengua de Gato
Thin, crisp butter cookies shaped like a cat's tongue, made with just butter, sugar, egg whites and flour.
37. Coconut Macaroons
Chewy, golden mini cakes of desiccated coconut, condensed milk and eggs, baked in small paper cups.
38. Pastillas de Leche
Soft, milky candies made from milk and sugar, rolled in sugar and wrapped in paper. Carabao milk is traditional.
39. Yema
Creamy custard candies of egg yolks and condensed milk, shaped into balls or pyramids and coated in caramelized sugar.
40. Ensaymada
A soft, coiled brioche-like bun topped with butter, sugar and grated cheese, a staple at bakeries and holidays.
41. Otap
Flaky, oval puff pastry cookies coated in sugar, a well-known pasalubong from Cebu.
Common Ingredients in Filipino Desserts
A handful of ingredients appear again and again. Most are available at Asian grocery stores, frozen or canned. I keep frozen grated cassava and ube in my freezer.
| Ingredient | What it is | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Glutinous (sticky) rice | Short-grain rice that cooks up chewy | Biko, suman, palitaw, puto bumbong |
| Coconut milk and young coconut (buko) | Rich milk and soft, tender coconut flesh | Biko, maja blanca, buko pandan, ginataan |
| Ube | Purple yam with a mellow, vanilla-nutty flavor | Ube halaya, ube cake, halo-halo |
| Saba banana | A starchy cooking banana, firmer than a regular banana | Turon, banana cue, minatamis na saging |
| Cassava | A starchy root, sold grated and frozen | Cassava cake, pichi-pichi |
| Condensed and evaporated milk | Canned milks that give creaminess and sweetness | Leche flan, mango float, buko salad |
| Pandan | A fragrant leaf with a grassy-vanilla aroma | Buko pandan, sago’t gulaman, kakanin |
| Calamansi | A small, tart citrus fruit | Cheesecake bars, drinks, glazes |
Easy Filipino Desserts to Make at Home
New to Filipino sweets? Start with these. They use supermarket ingredients and need no special equipment. Leche flan was my own first try.
- Mango float: no baking, just layering and chilling.
- Buko pandan or buko salad: mix, chill and serve.
- Leche flan: six or seven ingredients, steamed or baked in a water bath.
- Turon: bananas, spring roll wrappers and brown sugar.
- Cassava cake: frozen grated cassava makes it simple.
- Polvoron: toast the flour, mix and press. No oven needed.
More Desserts From Around the World
Love tropical, coconut-rich sweets? Explore our Asian desserts and Chinese desserts, or try Hawaiian butter mochi, a chewy coconut rice cake with a lot in common with kakanin. Leche flan's Spanish roots show in our Spanish desserts, and banana lovers will find more ideas in our banana desserts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most popular Filipino dessert?
Halo-halo is the best-known Filipino dessert: shaved ice and evaporated milk layered with sweet beans, jellies, fruit, leche flan, ube halaya and ice cream. Leche flan is a close second and appears at almost every Filipino celebration.
What is a traditional Filipino dessert?
Traditional Filipino desserts include kakanin (rice cakes) such as biko, suman, puto and bibingka, along with leche flan, ube halaya, cassava cake and turon. Many are made with glutinous rice, coconut milk and brown sugar and are eaten as an afternoon snack called merienda.
What is ube?
Ube is a purple yam with a mild, sweet, slightly nutty and vanilla-like flavor. In the Philippines it is cooked into ube halaya (jam) and used in cakes, ice cream, halo-halo and breads. It is not the same as taro or purple sweet potato.
What are kakanin?
Kakanin are Filipino sweets made from glutinous rice or rice flour, usually cooked with coconut milk and sugar. Popular kinds include biko, suman, puto, kutsinta, palitaw, sapin-sapin and bibingka. They are eaten as snacks, at parties and during holidays.
What are easy Filipino desserts to make at home?
Mango float, buko pandan, buko salad and polvoron need no baking at all. Leche flan, turon and cassava cake are also beginner friendly and use ingredients found in most supermarkets or Asian grocery stores.
