Kuih Lapis

Kuih Lapis, a small asian cake cooked layer upon layer until golden brown is a favourite among my family members during Chinese New Year. Since I wasn’t around for last year’s celebrations, I went on a baking spree this year to make up for my absence, and Kuih Lapis was on the list~

Yield:

Makes a 18 by 18 cm cake

Ingredients

1. 10 egg yolks
2. 180g caster sugar
3. 250g unsalted butter
4. 75g plain flour, sifted
5. 1/2 tsp rempah powder (a spice mix found in the baking section of asian stores/baking stores)
6. 4 egg whites
7. 2 tbsp rum or brandy (not Halal)

Directions

1. Grease and line a 18 by 18 cm square tin with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 180˚C on the grill setting.
2. Beat the egg yolks and castor sugar in a bowl until thick and creamy.
3. In a seperate bowl, cream the butter until soft and add the egg mixture a little at a time until thoroughly mixed. Fold in the flour and rempah powder.
4. Beat the egg whites till stiff peaks form and fold it into the batter. Add the rum or brandy and mix gently but well.
5. Layer the base of the tin with roughly 3 tablespoons of batter and bake the first layer until light brown (or however brown you would like it to be)
6. After each layer, use a flat bottomed glass (or the presser I mentioned earlier) and press gently all over the cake to remove any air bubbles.
7. Continue to layer the cake and watch it carefully as it bakes under the grill. There is no definite time to bake the layers. Just watch it. Repeat the process until all the batter is used up.

Notes