Thursday, April 15, 2010

Kaya Kueh Lapis

Personally I love to eat Kueh lapis, particularly prune lapis which is something I cannot miss during Chinese New Year. So since the day I saw the recipe of Kaya Kueh Lapis from Wendy, I just could not stop thinking about it, lol! I was totally curious how will it taste like. And it was so good to finally get to bake it this week.
But I wanted it to be worth all that trouble, so I waited to buy a decent kaya which I like from a Bakery store back in PJ. Yeah, as much as I want to make the kaya myself. I really don't have that much of a leisure time to stand in front of the stove that long. ;P Luckily a couple weeks back I got the opportunity to visit the bakery store and bought them kayas! ;) One is Gula Melaka flavored and the other is Pandan flavored.
Personally I love the Gula Melaka one, it's sweetness is rich and yet not over powering. Unfortunately, I was again rushing for time when I was baking this kaya lapis. *sigh* And I didn't want to defer it any more, so I went ahead with it. :P You would know what I mean if you look at my lapis carefully. :P
The layers between the Gula Melaka and Pandan batters are not distinct enough to show the nice patterns. :P Main reason was due to my time constrain, I didn't let the layers brown enough before piling the next ladle of batter over. :P Another problem is I ladle too little pandan batter in the beginning and towards the end, it kind of looked unbalance, lol!

I will post the recipe here for my easy reference in future. Thanks Wendy!

Ingredients for Kaya Kueh Lapis (makes a 9X9" square)

For Gula Melaka Layer Batter
225gm butter
160gm soft brown sugar

5 large eggs

200gm of Gula Melaka kaya
2 tbsp milk powder

120gm Top flour/cake


For Panan Layer Batter
225g butter
160g soft brown sugar

5 large eggs

200g Pandan flavour kaya
2 tbsp milk powder

120g cake flour/Top flour
1 tsp green pandan emulco ( I added 2 to make it greener!)

Method for Gula Melaka cake batter
  • Beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
  • Add in eggs one by one. Beating well after each addition.
  • Mix in Gula Melaka kaya and milk powder.
  • Sift flour over batter and mix well.
Method for Pandan Cake batter
  • Same as above but add geen pandan emulco at the end.
Baking:
  • Preheat Oven at 220°C. Line the base of a 9X9 inch baking pan and grease the sides. Preheat the pan over a pot of hot water or in the preheating oven
  • Place one ladle of Gula Melaka batter in the hot pan.
  • Spread the batter evenly. Tilt the pan to level the batter.
  • Bake for 7 minutes or until the cake layer turns golden.
  • Remove cake pan from oven and press cake layer to release air.
  • Put in a ladle of Pandan batter and repeat step 4,5 and 6.
  • Continue baking cake layers alternating batter Gula Melaka and Pandan batter until all is used up.
I guess I can only hope to do better the next time I bake a lapis cake again. But this cake still taste great, the flavor and aroma of the kaya is wonderful, superb with hot tea. ;) Would definitely attempt to bake this kaya or Prune lapis again when I get my new oven! If you like kaya, pandan flavors...don't miss this one out. Worth every ounce of effort. Have a great weekend my friends!

20 comments:

ICook4Fun said...

Bee, just want to check with you again. You bake this kueh lapis and not grill? I came across many recipes and they are normally grill. We love kueh lapis. Carlos and Diana can eat the whole cake if I allow them to ha ha.. this look great. I will try this out one day if I am not too lazy.

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

This kaya kueh lapis taste sweet or not?

ann low said...

This is interesting! Never tried this "kaya" lapis before. I think must buy a good kaya to make this.

tracieMoo said...

Hi Bee, I've always wanted to make cake lapis. I still prefer the traditional one with mixed spice. It must have took alot of your time and patience. Kudos to you!

I have a feeling it would happen to me if I do it too not because I'm rushing but because I'm a very impatient person. I should try this one fine day when I feel calm. he he.. nice cake though. I don't think there are any problems with the layers :) Pretty well done!

ReeseKitchen said...

Oh my...you did it! It looks so good!!! Good job Bee Bee..:) Wish I can have a piece..;p
Btw, can i replace it with gula melaka batter and plain batter? You know me not a big fans of kaya..hee hee!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hi Gertrude,
Yeah, supposing the recipe calls for grilling and yes I am sadly at the moment using my MIL's holgen oven to bake this. Perhaps when my new oven comes, the browning will be no problem at all....awaiting for the day to come. :P This cake is great, do try. ;)

Halo Sonia,
Guess what, it all depends mainly on the kaya you use. Try to buy a brand that doesn't taste too sweet and it will be okay. Mine turned out just nice. In fact you can go ahead and reduce the brown sugar to make it less sweet. But ai ya...this is lapis...it needs to be sweet!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hi Anncoo,
Yes, do try this! It's quite yummy. Actually I find this not as "腻" after eating a couple slices then the usual flavor. :)

Hi Traci,
You are sooo right! This takes time and patience. Like you said, do it when you have time to spare, and your result will be superb! Do try this kaya flavor lapis, it's not overly sweet and the pandan / guala melaka taste is real nice. ;)

Honey Bee Sweets said...

My dear Reese...wish I can give you the whole cake...not just a piece. BTW, you can't replace the kaya in this recipe ...IT IS made with kaya. :P But do try, the taste is just like Gula Melaka and Pandan flavor only...not kaya taste. ;)
Ai ya, but I am using that sad little halogen oven larr...not too fantastic. Wait till my new oven comes, will bake up something real nice for you all. :) Thanks...btw, haven't see you baking lately leh....busy with your girl and work?

MaryMoh said...

Beautiful layers. Love thentexture. Must be very delicious with kaya. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Wow your layers are so even! i baked this layer cake with wendy's recipe too ! but i just used bottled kaya from the supermarket. I'm sure yours will taste a lot better in terms of flavour! you can visit my blog to have a look at mine : )

Kitchen Corner said...

Hi Bee,
I still have no idea how to make kuih lapis. And here you got something new that I've not try before too! It looks very tasty and the green color looks pretty!

Bakericious said...

i like kuih lapis but the baking is tedious, dunno when will be my turn to take this challenger :P I ate this combination in Indo b4, yummy.

WendyinKK said...

Thanks for linking me in the post!!! Nice attempt with that cake.

I suggest you divide the batter out in bowls before u start to bake, so that you will have equal layers, refer to http://wendyinkk.blogspot.com/2010/03/haw-flakes-layered-cake.html

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks Mary Moh. :) Welcome to my blog! Do try it out when you have time.

Hi Sweeter Side of Life,
Welcome to my blog! Yes, I saw your post too. Ain't it yummy? Glad I made the effort to bake it. ;) Nah...yours looks better for sure...you're too humble. ;)

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hi Grace,
Actually Kueh Lapis is just baking the cake layer by layer,and alternating 2 different flavors. Easy but time consuming and quite tedious. But I am so sure you can handle it my friend. ;) Do try when you have time to spare, I'm sure you'll like this if kueh lapis is your favorite.

Hi Bakericious,
You said it! Pretty time consuming and tedious. But if you like lapis, it's worth the effort for sure. :) Yes, kaya flavor is good!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hi Wendy,
Thanks for dropping by and giving me those tips. But I think I'm just too lazy to separate the batter into bowls first before baking...way too many things to wash! Lol! No wonder yours looks so evenly distributed...very pro! :) BTW, about the re-post thing...I encounter that plenty of times too! Just that I forgotten you might just be drafting, lol!

petite nyonya said...

Wow, this kaya lapis looks like a lot of work but I bet the effort is worth every layer just by looking at it!! I also love prune lapis, just like yourself.

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Dear Joslynn,
Thanks and yes, it's more work then the usual cake. But it taste good and once you make one, it can be shared among many people. Hope you will get to make prune lapis soon...I think I will soon, heehee. :D

yukihana said...

Hi Honey Bee Sweets, I chanced upon your site. It's an awesome site! Made me all the more homesick tho'! I luv kueh kuehs, n I saw that u had posted recipe 4 1 of my fav-ang ku kueh! I hav 2 learn how 2 make tht! Unfortunately I can't find the mould here in Canada. Oh well, wth, it's gonna end up in my tummy anyways, I'll jus make them plain rounds! I'm looking 4ward 2 visit here more often. Thks 4 curing my homesickness n cravings! Keep it up! :)

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks so much yukihana! First of all, welcome to my blog! So glad that my simple home made recipes can help satisfy your cravings. ;) I totally understand how you feel! When I was in California, I miss those kueh kueh so much! Yes, do try making the ang ku kueh...it's good and yes, making it simple round will be just as yummy. Good luck and happy baking!