Abi Balingit is the author of the cookbook Mayumu: Filipino American Desserts Remixed. (Photo courtesy of Abi Balingit)

IIt doesn’t take much for Abi Balingit to get our attention. The hallmarks of her style -- her short haircut (sometimes with neon highlights), a colorful fashion sense and her big, bright smile -- just radiate optimism. Even during the pandemic, the small, dusky kitchen in her Brooklyn apartment beamed light. It was where her baking blog, The Dusky Kitchen,  was born. It was where she whipped up uncommon baked goods that went into her Pasalubong Treat Boxes with all the profits donated to her community. It was also in this kitchen where she developed the recipes for her first cookbook Mayumu: Filipino American Desserts Remixed.   

“Mayumu is a Filipino American fusion dessert cookbook that has 75 recipes and some short stories from my life,” says Abi. “It takes a lot of inspiration from my childhood spent in California and much of the last six years I’ve spent living in New York. I talk about my personal baking journey and provide some tips on how to bake in a tiny kitchen,” adds the self-taught baker.

She chose Mayumu as the title of her cookbook because it means “sweet” in Kapampangan. “Both my parents are from Pampanga, and I wanted to pay homage to my family’s roots with the name,” says Abi.

While she was born in the U.S., and lives here, she has a deep respect for where her family comes from, exclaiming, “I stay connected to my Filipino heritage by communicating constantly with my family and friends, learning more about our history, and staying aware of current issues in the Philippines. My parents always told me to take pride in our culture and to be proud of fellow Filipinos.”

Abi Balingit is a self-taught baker who says, “Baking makes me feel happy and it gives me a sense of accomplishment. I love being able to share my desserts and feed others with my baking.” (Photo courtesy of Abi Balingit)

The mother's side of Abi Balingit's family who are based in California. Her mother Angelita (second row, far right) and her father Arnel (third row, top right) have always reminded her to take pride in Filipino culture. (Photo courtesy of Abi Balingit)

“Maintaining the tradition of making and sharing Filipino food is very important to me. It’s one of many ways to build a tight-knit community,” Abi continues.

During the pandemic, she created Pasalubong Treat Boxes that quickly sold out at her pop-up bake sales, with 100 percent of the profits going to causes close to her heart, like Bed-Stuy Strong in her neighborhood, or Kids for Kids all the way in the Philippines.

During the pandemic, Abi Balingit sold Pasalubong Treat Boxes containing: White Rabbit cream cheese swirl Thai tea blondies, Lychee madeleines with hibiscus tea glaze and dried rose petals, Horchata bibingka, Ube marbled tahini cookies, and Mango Float choco pie. (Photo courtesy of Abi Balingit)

“It was so rewarding to make Pasalubong Treat Boxes and donate to mutual aid organizations, especially when I felt helpless about the state of the world before I turned to baking, she says proudly. “When I finished a round of boxes, I used to post the recipes on my blog so that people who weren’t based in New York could try them at home. In less than two years, I raised over $8,000 and made 2,224 desserts from just these boxes. I found a lot of joy in connecting and collaborating with other members of my community, which was all possible through this project.”

Community-building is also one of the rewards of blogging, where she puts Filipino sweets front and center. “When I first started The Dusky Kitchen in the summer of 2020, I wanted to use the blog as a place to write about my baking journey. I was really nostalgic for the Filipino snacks and desserts I grew up with, so I wanted to incorporate those flavors and concepts into what I was making. During the pandemic, it was great to bond with people on the Internet who were also posting their daily food pictures,” recalls Abi.

Not only did fellow bakers notice, but so did the publishing world. “When I tweeted pictures of Lao Gan Ma spicy chili crisp cupcakes I made, my now-literary agent, Emmy, reached out to me and asked if I was interested in writing a cookbook. They really helped me with the process of writing my proposal and later getting a book deal signed with my publisher. I think both my agent and editor appreciated the creativity I displayed with my bakes, but also thought my story was worth telling. I call it a pandemic miracle that I got the opportunity to write this book in such a difficult, scary time,” Abi explains.

Mayumu contains Filipino classics like Ube Halaya, Ginataang Bilo-Bilo, and Pandesal but crossover to non-traditional dessert flavors -- Adobo Chocolate Chip Cookies, Spicy Bagoong Caramels, and Kare-Kare Cookies are just a few examples.

“I usually draw inspiration from both savory and sweet Filipino dishes. It’s wonderful having the freedom to experiment with different flavors. A recipe can be born from something as simple as a craving for Curly Tops chocolate or halo-halo, and then making new combinations from there,” she says.

While there will always be purists who will say that these recipes aren’t authentically Filipino, Abi maintains, “My cookbook is full of Filipino American desserts, which might not be the most traditional but are true to me. I hope people have an open mind about Filipino desserts, and that my take on them is just one of many to be tried and explored.”

She aadds, “I hope readers get excited to go into their kitchen to make desserts, and that they see infinite possibilities with Filipino cuisine in the diaspora.”

The dedication page of Mayumu reads: To my parents. You told me “Bahala ka sa buhay mo!” So I did. One can’t help but giggle at this sentiment, especially if you’ve heard this phrase from an older relative. It roughly translates to “Go live your life and do whatever you want” and is typically delivered at the top of their voice, laced with sarcasm and exasperation. Because while they tried to raise you the best way they could, in the end, it’s you who will make your choices. They can only hope that your choices reflect the values that they taught you.

Abi’s parents, Arnel and Angelita, shouldn’t worry at all, for the daughter they raised used her sweet tooth to be an activist baker and an advocate of Filipino cuisine for her generation.

Mayumu: Filipino American Desserts Remixed by Abi Balingit is available wherever books are sold. To purchase on Amazon, click on the image below.