Indonesian Delights  2024  Part 2 of 2  2023/10/09

5. Kue lapis legit    

    Baked layer cake 

Spekkoek (kue lapis legit or spekuk in Indonesian) is a type of Indonesian layer cake. It was developed during colonial times in the Dutch East Indies. The firm-textured cake is an Indo (Dutch-Indonesian) version of the European multi-layered spit cake. However it is not baked on a rotating spit, and contains a mix of Indonesian spices, such as cardamom, cinnamon, clove, mace and anise. The cake is made of flour and yolk and is rich in butter or margarine.

Spekkoek is popular in Indonesia and is served as a holiday treat, especially for natal, imlek, and lebaran. It is also served or given as gifts during many local festivities such as at birthday parties and weddings.

As a spekkoek commonly has more than 18 layers, baking it requires patience and is a very labour-intensive process. The batter is mainly made of butter, flour and sugar with an approximate ratio of 1:1:2. Each layer is made by pouring a small amount of batter into a baking tin, which is then put into an oven and grilled from above until the layer has turned golden from the heat. The tin is then removed from the oven and the process repeated to build up the remaining layers. Dutch ovens with a charcoal fire on top of the lid are said to produce the best results, while electric ovens are superior to gas ovens as cakes bake much faster in the former.

Ingredients : 

500g butter unsalted 

10 egg yolks 

10 egg whites 

200g of refined sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 200g flour (medium protein) 200ml full cream milk 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

4 tablespoon pandan leaves extract

Garnish: Plums

6.  Kue Lapis 

     Steamed layered sticky rice cake  

Kue lapis is an Indonesian kue, or a traditional snack of steamed colourful layered soft rice flour pudding. In Indonesian lapis means "layers". This steamed layered sticky rice cake or pudding is quite popular in Indonesia, Suriname (where it is simply known as lapis) and can also be found in the Netherlands through their colonial links.

This snack usually consists of two alternating coloured layers, thus the name of the cake. The cake is made of rice flour, sago, coconut milk, sugar, salt, and food colouring. Popular food colouring includes green-coloured pandan and red frozen food colouring. It is common to find rainbow layered kue too. This cake is steamed gradually, and layers are subsequently added in alternating order to avoid different colours mixing together. This method will create layered pudding-cake. Kue Lapis has bouncy gelatin-like texture, yet unlike jelly this cake is quite sticky and chewy due to rice pudding content.

Kue lapis is similar to lapis legit or spekkoek, the difference being that lapis legit is a puffy layered cake, made of flour and is baked, while kue lapis is a moist layered pudding, made of rice flour and sago, and is steamed.

Ingredients:

300 ml coconut milk
150 grams granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
250 ml boiling water
200 grams tapioca flour/starch. 
20 grams rice flour. Make sure you don't use glutinous rice flour because it is different.
5 tablespoon pandan leaves extract

vegetable oil to grease the pan, knife, and top of cake. Make sure flavorless vegetable oil is used.

7.  Kue Wajik

     Palm Sugar Glutinous Rice / Diamond cake  

Wajik or wajid, also known as pulut manis, is a traditional glutinous sweet made with rice, sugar and coconut milk. It is an Indonesian kue, and a kuih of Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia (especially in the state of Sabah).

The official Indonesian dictionary describes wajik as a confectionery made from a mixture of glutinous rice, palm sugar, and coconut milk and cut into diamond shapes (rhombus or parallelogram).

Wajik is believed to originate from Java, Indonesia.  Dishes and confectionaries with the combination of sticky rice and palm sugar have a long history in Java. One of the earliest mentions of wajik is found in the Javanese manuscript Nawaruci, written by Empu Siwamurti and dated from the Majapahit period.

Subsequently, wajik has occupied certain roles in Javanese tradition, for example, the Numplak Wajik or Tumplak Wajik ceremony, held by Keraton Yogyakarta as part of Grebeg Muludan during the Sekaten festival.

Kue wajik means diamond cake. It earned its moniker because wajik means “diamond” and the cake is cut into diamond shapes before serving. As one of Indonesia’s most popular cakes, it’s developed multiple personalities. It can be casually eaten as an afternoon snack, yet at the other extreme, it is also one of those things that are expected whenever there’s a wedding celebration.

Ingredients

· 1 kg glutinous rice beras ketan
· 200 grams granulated sugar 1 cup
· 200 grams brown sugar gula lempeng; comes as a sugar block
· 100 ml of water 3.5 oz
· 325 ml coconut milk 11 oz
· 2 pandan leaves, knotted optional

Instructions

1. Wash glutinous rice, soak overnight (about 12 hours), drain and wash until clean. Drain and discard water.

2. Add pandan leaves if desired, then steam or cook the rice for approximately 45-50 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes with a spoon until it is cooked.

3. Remove the pandan leaves (if used) and transfer the rice to a big wok pan.

4. While the rice is cooking, place granulated sugar, brown sugar, and water into a pot. Stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved and everything is evenly mixed.

5. Add coconut milk, bring to a boil and stir until slightly thickened. Adjust sugar to taste.

6. Add mixture to glutinous rice and stir until everything is evenly mixed.

7. Pour mixture into the pan. Cover with plastic and hand-press gently to keep things uniform and dense in the pan.

8. Cut into diamond-shaped pieces. Cake is ready to be served.

8.  Bika Ambon

     Steamed layered sticky rice cake  

Bika ambon or golden cake or golden kuih bingka in Singapore, is an Indonesian dessert made from ingredients such as tapioca flour, eggs, sugar, yeast and coconut milk. Bika ambon is generally sold in pandan and banana flavor, but today it is also available in other flavors like durian, cheese and chocolate. Originating from the city of Medan in North Sumatra, the cake is usually cooked twelve hours, so that it can last in the best condition and according to what is desired for four days because after that the cake starts to harden.

This cake is a further development of kue bingka, a famous traditional cake in the eastern parts of Indonesia.

The cake is notable for its sponge-like holes, which are formed by yeast in the cake dough that creates bubbles. These holes give it a unique spongy texture when it is baked. It is a close analogue of the Malay sponge cake, due to similar spongy holes, but the moisture and texture are slightly different.

Although the name contains the word "Ambon", the name of an island and its largest city, Bika ambon is widely known as the specialty cake of Medan in North Sumatra and is often brought as a gift by those who visited the city. The origins of bika ambon are not known; however, there is some speculation that they came to Medan through Ambonese traders, where the locals took a liking to it. Mojopahit Street, Medan Petisah is the most famous sales region of bika ambon in Medan, North Sumatra. There are at least 40 stores that sell this kind of cake.

Recently, bika ambon has become popular around Central Java, thanks to a few retail shops that sell various Indonesian traditional cakes.

INGREDIENTS Serves: 12

330 ml coconut milk, thick
100 ml water, lukewarm
50 g all purpose flour
2 teaspoons dry yeast
150 g tapioca flour

100 g all purpose flour
250 g caster sugar
180 ml coconut water
5 egg yolks
2 pandan leaves,  juice extract

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

3 ⁄4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

1.Put thick coconut milk in a small saucepan and bring to a low boil over very low heat.

Remove and leave aside to cool completely.

2.Combine lukewarm water, flour and instant yeast in a small bowl and leave aside to froth.

3.Mix both flours, sugar, coconut water, egg yolks, pandan leaf extract, vanilla essence and salt in a mixing bowl.

4.Add fermented yeast mixture and the cooled coconut milk to mix.

5.Leave mixture aside, covered with a damp tea towel to ferment for 2-3 hours.

6.Turn batter into a lightly greased tray and bake in preheated oven at 300°F and bake until the top of the cake is golden brown.

Next, Okonomiyaki, 

          Japanese teppanyaki, savory pancake

Publisher： Chef Kar Delight