Kutsinta or Puto Cuchinta is one of the most popular Filipino desserts. As a kid, I love eating kutsinta for breakfast and for snacks in the afternoon. It is chewy, sticky, and has a jelly-like texture. There are also colorful ones which makes it fun to eat– like cotton candies, where you can make different colors depending on what you put in your cotton candy machine!
It turns out that kutsinta recipe is simple, quick, and easy to make. Its ingredients can be easily found in bakery supplies store or supermarket.

Kutsinta is a type of steamed rice cake sold along with puto. It is served all year round and always present during celebrations. It is made from a mixture of glutinous rice flour, brown sugar, and lye. Usually it is brownish in color because of using annatto extract (atsuete) but it can be enhance by using other food coloring and served with grated coconut or cheese. Other “kakanin” or Filipino delicacies that uses glutinous rice flour includes palitaw, bibingka, kalamay, bibingkang malagkit, at biko.

Kutsinta are usually molded in small cups to create circular shape. To be creative you can use other shapes if available. But traditionally, it is steamed using “bilao“, a large woven tray made of bamboo, lined with banana leaves. If you are cooking at home and you don’t have “bilao” or cups you can simply use your steamer and line them with banana leaves imitating the process of kutsinta sa bilao. Just make sure that the bottom and sides are completely covered.
PrintKutsinta Recipe
Kutsinta is a type of steamed rice cake made of glutinous rice flour, brown sugar, and lye.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 10 1x
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Steamed
- Cuisine: Filipino
Ingredients
- ½ cup glutinous rice flour
- ½ cup rice flour
- 2 tsp lye water (lihiya)
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1½ cup water
- 1 tsp annatto seeds
- vegetable oil for brushing pan
- grated coconut or cheese for toppings
Instructions
- In a saucepan, heat the water and melt the brown sugar. Do not boil.
- Add the lye water and annatto water (soak the anatto seed in 2 tbsp water) to the dissolved brown sugar and then set aside.
- In a bowl, mix the glutinous rice flour and rice flour and add brown sugar mixture gradually, continue mixing until well combined.
- Strain to remove lumps.
- Brush the mold with vegetable oil and pour mixture.
- Add water at the bottom part of the steamer and bring to simmer over medium heat. Steam it for 45 minutes or until the top is set when touched. Remove from heat. Cool it down before removing from the mold.
- Serve with grated coconut or cheese on top or use it as dip.
Notes
Watch this video to try another recipe for kutsinta.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 piece
- Calories: 100
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Very Yummy!
[…] is considered as one of many variants of the famous “puto” of the Filipino people along with kutsinta, palitaw, and the classic puto. It is usually served as dessert or snacks but it can also be served […]
When will the lye snd anatto solution comes?I think you firgot yo mentioned it.
It’s in instruction 2
[…] you are a fan of glutinous rice desserts you may also like sapin sapin, kutsinta, kalamay ube, and suman malagkit. Other popular Filipino desserts include bibingkang malagkit, […]
[…] the church on a Sunday morning along with other kakanin like cassava cake or budin, pichi pichi, kutsinta, kalamay, biko, and palitaw. A street vendor says it is hard work to make sapin sapin. I […]
Good morning po.
yung picture po ba at recipe ay parehas po?
kasi Native kutsinta po ang hanap ko.
salamat sa pagtugon.😀😀😀