Best Piaya Recipe

A sweet, chewy Filipino flatbread filled with ube flavored muscovado sugar and finished with toasted sesame seeds. This homemade piaya has a soft, flaky dough and a caramelized filling, perfect as a snack or dessert!

Course: Dessert, Snacks

Cuisine: Filipino

Servings: 10 -12 piayas

Ingredients

Dough:

▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour
▢ ½ cup vegetable shortening
▢ 7 tablespoons water
▢ 1 tablespoon ube syrup or flavoring

For Assembly & Cooking:

▢ sesame seeds
▢ ¼ cup flour for dusting

Instructions

Make the Ube Filling

In a bowl, combine muscovado sugar, ube flavoring, salt, and tbsp oil.
Add flour, then mix in water until well combined until a dough-like filling forms.
Transfer the mixture onto cling wrap or parchment paper, shape it into a log, and chill for 30 minutes.
Dust with a little flour before wrapping to prevent sticking.

Make the Dough

In a bowl, mix the flour, vegetable shortening, and water.
Cut out ¼ of the dough and transfer it to another bowl.
Add 1 tablespoon ube flavoring to this smaller dough portion and knead until evenly colored.
On a floured surface or parchment, place both doughs side by side, roll together, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Assemble the Piaya

After chilling, cut both the filling and dough into approximately 25-gram portions.
Roll one dough portion into a small circle.
Place a piece of ube filling in the center, seal the edges, and gently flatten.
Sprinkle sesame seeds on top and press lightly with a rolling pin so they stick.
Dust lightly with flour.

Cook and Serve

Heat a pan over medium-high heat.
Cook each piaya until lightly browned and slightly puffed, flipping to cook evenly on both sides.
Remove from the pan and let cool slightly.
Serve warm and enjoy your freshly made ube piaya!

Notes

Adjust sweetness by reducing or increasing the amount of the muscovado sugar.
Make sure the pan is not too hot to avoid burning the sesame seeds.
Ube flavoring can be swapped with pandan or chocolate syrup for variations.

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