Malaysia · Malaysia
Kuih Lapis (Steamed Layer Cake)
A delicate steamed cake of rice flour and coconut milk, layered and tinted in pastel colors.
Kuih lapis traces back to the Malay cake shops that served colonial-era diners, and it is still sold in neat wedges from tea counters and Ramadan stalls. Each tinted layer is poured in turn into a shallow pan, alternating dark and pale so the stripes read cleanly when cut. The cake is steamed rather than baked, so the pan must stay covered and the layers set from the top down.
Ingredients
- rice flour200 g
- tapioca starch50 g
- coconut milk500 ml
- sugar150 g
- fine salt2 g
- pandan juice (or extract)30 ml
- pink food coloring (or rose syrup)5 ml
Directions
- 1
Whisk rice flour, tapioca starch, coconut milk, sugar and salt until smooth.
- 2
Divide batter into three bowls: leave one plain, tint one green with pandan, one pink with coloring.
- 3
Steam 8-inch pan over simmering water; pour 60 ml plain batter, steam 5 minutes until set.
layer is set and glossy - 4
Pour green layer and steam 5 minutes; repeat with pink.
- 5
Continue alternating colors until all batter is used (around 9-11 layers).
each layer sets before the next is added - 6
Cool completely 10 minutes; cut into diamonds.
Source: WorldBite Editorial · WorldBite Proprietary Editorial Content