My each visit to Goa, is always incomplete without a visit to the cute little cafe called as Infantaria, which is at the Calangute-Baga circle. It is an amazing place that makes some great desserts and like a lot of Goan cafes, has live music at night.
Apart from the Russian Cheese Cake there, of which I am a huge fan, I also fell in love with the local Goan delicacy called as Bebinca. Bebinca, also known as bibik or bebinka, is a type of pudding and a traditional Goan, East Indian and Mangalorean dessert. Traditional Bebinca could have anywhere between 7-16 layers. The ingredients include plain flour, sugar, ghee (clarified butter), egg yolk, coconut milk and almond slivers to garnish. It is also a common dessert in Goan restaurants, and a few outlets in Mumbai and Manglore. Bebinca is served warm with cold ice cream.
Bebinca is one of those desserts that simply melts in your mouth. Apart from Infantaria, I have also had it at L’Orange on Candolim, and it was just as delicious.
Recently, I ordered a whole Bebinca slab online from Costa’s so I could share the goodness with my mom and my sister, and it was super awesome. The richness of the clarified butter and the coconut would melt in my mouth and feel so heavenly. Pairing it with the cool sweetness of plain vanilla ice cream and a slight drizzle of chocolate syrup was the perfect dish to follow my dinner on a lazy weekend.
The best thing is, Bebinca can stay fresh and be preserved for a long, long time. Bebinca is more of a festive Christmas treat in Goa, but you could get it in a lot of bakeries, cafes and restaurants across Goa, and also online at any time of the year.