Raspberry and Blackberry Mochi Cake

Another dessert I made for my bday dinner party has its roots in this movie...

Believe it or not, there IS a connection...

Sharp eared listeners may remember a particular scene where "Raspberry Bibingka" is mentioned...

in the Rob Schneider helmed Oscar worthy, uh, classic, "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigalo" (1999).  There is a "raspberry bibingka" reference used to comic effect in the scene where Deuce introduces his father Bob to his girlfriend. His father mentions the dessert during a rather crude and slightly racist scene. For those who aren't aware, Rob Schneider is half Filipino and usually throws in some sort of Filipino reference in his (lame) movies. This was one of them.

After some searching, here's the quote from imdb.com (since I couldn't find the actual movie clip):
Bob Bigalow: "Raspberry Bibingka! Ah, you shouldn't have. My wife, God rest her soul, used to make this all the time. You would've liked her. Bangkok Betty. She had the most amazing mouth. It paid for our honeymoon." (Gawd!)

Raspberry bibingka doesn't really exist. But today it did! When I googled it, I came across this recipe from a fellow blogger who is also an educator (linked after the recipe title), weekofmenus. Her version used two types of berries  which looks prettier than just using one type.

Call it mochi cake, but it's pretty damn similar to Bibingka. I've made a blueberry verion and even a mocha version, which uses coconut milk. Here's what you need:

Her version used both berries and since blackberries were on sale 2 for $4 at Fresh and Easy, I went with one pack of that and one (more expensive pack) of raspberries ($3.99/yeesh).

At first, it started off nice and orderly when I alternated the berries in rows. Then, I had leftover berries, so I put those wherever they could fit, thus marring the alternating pattern.  This is half of the batter with the berries on top.

You put the other half of the batter on top of the berries before sticking it in the oven. If you want, you can "smooth out" the top, but I left some pieces kind of peeking through.

This smelled so good coming out of the oven!

Let it cool a few hours before slicing it up. Bert is the one who usually cuts up my baked goods. He's so much more meticulous and precise than I am. I bake, he slices.

The top was a beautiful golden brown. It wasn't overly sweet and had a nice chew to it.

Raspberry Blackberry Mochi Cake
(recipe courtesy of weekofmenus, which she adapted from the Food Librarian)

Ingredients:
1 lb box Mochiko
2 sticks of butter, melted
1 1/2 cups sugar
12 o can evaporated milk
4 eggs, beaten
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 oz fresh blackberries
6 oz fresh raspberries

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 F
• Grease 9 x 13 pan with melted butter and sugar (I just used butter), or you can use cooking spray
• In a large bowl mix the melted butter and sugar until well combined.
• Add the evaporated milk and mix. Add eggs and mix well
• (I added the milk, beaten eggs, vanilla extract, salt, and baking powder all at once)
• Finally, add Mochiko and mix until texture is uniform and smooth
• Carefully pour abou half of the mixture into the pan. Sprinkle the top evenly with the berries.
• Carefully scoop remaining batter on top of the berries, smoothing it out. I left mine with a few tips of berries peeking.
• Bake for 1 hour until crust is golden and slightly crisp.
• Allow to cool for 10 minutes and then serve. (I let it cool for a couple of hours and had Bert slice it up since he's more precise than I am).

Everyone seemed to like the fruit filled mochi cake. It looked so pretty when sliced up too. Next time, I will make an all raspberry version and have a Deuce Bigalow marathon while baking! Haha! Even though I can't stand Rob Schneider's humor most of the time, I do appreciate his sly Filipino references in his movies!