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Kuih lapis
Steamed layered coconut cake
Steamed nine-layer coconut cake in pink and pandan green
Kuih lapis is the striped, bouncy cake piled on trays at Malaysian pasar malam (night markets) and laid out for guests at Hari Raya, Deepavali and Chinese New Year open houses. It's built from a thin coconut-milk batter of rice flour and tapioca starch, steamed one layer at a time, so each slice shows nine neat stripes, and children everywhere peel them off one by one. The texture is soft, springy and slightly chewy; the flavour is gentle coconut and pandan. It takes patience rather than skill. Chef's tip: steam the empty tin for 5 minutes before the first layer, so it sets evenly from the bottom.
- Total time
- 120 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 16
Ingredients
For the syrup
- 8 oz sugar
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 4 pandan leavesknotted
For the batter
- 5 ½ oz rice flour
- 7 oz tapioca starch
- 2 ½ cups coconut milk
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 tbsp pandan juicefrom 6 blended pandan leaves squeezed through a cloth; or 1/2 tsp pandan extract
- 3 drops red food colouring
- 1 tsp vegetable oilfor the tin
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Simmer 8 oz sugar, 1 ¼ cups water and 4 pandan leaves in a pan over a medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring until the sugar dissolves and the syrup smells of pandan. Leave to cool until just warm; take out the leaves.
5 minStep 2: Whisk 5 ½ oz rice flour, 7 oz tapioca starch and ½ tsp salt in a big bowl. Gradually whisk in 2 ½ cups coconut milk, then the syrup, until completely smooth. Strain through a sieve to catch any lumps.
5 minStep 3: Divide the batter between two jugs (weigh them so they're even). Stir 3 tbsp pandan juice into one and 3 drops red food colouring into the other, to a soft pink.
Step 4: Brush a 20 cm square cake tin with 1 tsp vegetable oil. Set it in a steamer over boiling water, cover and heat for 5 minutes. Wrap the steamer lid in a tea towel so drips don't fall on the cake.
5 minStep 5: Stir the green batter well and pour about 100 ml into the hot tin, tilting to cover the base. Steam over a high heat for 5–6 minutes, until the layer is set, glossy and no longer liquid when you touch the middle. The usual mistake is pouring without stirring: the starch sinks fast, and the layers turn out thick on one side and thin on the other.
6 minStep 6: Stir the pink batter and pour the next 100 ml layer over the set one. Steam 5–6 minutes. Keep alternating, stirring before every pour, until all the batter is used, about nine layers.
50 minStep 7: Steam the final layer for 20 minutes, until the whole cake is firm and springy.
20 minStep 8: Cool completely, at least 4 hours at room temperature, before cutting. Warm kuih lapis is gummy and smears. Loosen the edges, turn out and cut into diamonds or bars with an oiled knife or a plastic scraper.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 215 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 38 g
- Fat
- 7 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kuih lapis take?
- About 120 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 90 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 16 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of coconut milk?
- Single cream, same amount (not dairy free).
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