Kuih Talam Revisited

Although my previous recipe Kuih Talam is ok but my need to tweak more for a better texture has been on my mind for the longest ever.  I think i have found what i tweaked is to my satisfaction and i have to post it, not for my own reference but for everyone or anyone who will be interested to make a perfect kuih talam. Sweetness is just nice, just as what kuih should be, sweet enough to please the palate and the tinge of saltiness is there, complementing the sweetness.  Oh yes, the richness of the coconut milk is just right from the whole can of CHAOKOH coconut milk which has 50% of saturated fat.

Spiku/Kue Lapis Surabaya

This is a three layers cake and to obtain perfect flat surface cake is sometimes quite an impossible task. Most of the time, i will end up with domed cake. You could level the dome by slicing it off which is quite a chore but i have learned that if you use a clean kitchen towel and press lightly on the hot cake when it comes out of the oven, you will let some of the uneven air out and the cake will be perfectly level. Trust me, it works everytime.

Pandan Flavored Ban Jian Kuih

The attempts Ban Jian Kuih, Ban Jian Kuih II and Ban Jian Kuih IIIso far are edible but it is still not 'THE GOAL". 

Kuih Pandan Lapis Batavia

I was left home alone one day, the silence was killing me. There were no one to bug me and knowing me, cannot sit still and do nothing - my sister said that 'it must be the catholic schooling' in us - we feel guilty if we are not doing something.' So, what a good time it was to stand in front of the oven and layer away. This is a scale down from Kuih Lapis Batavia, not by choice but necessity, cos i had only a dozen eggs. I have increased the sugar and egg white slightly thus making the batter lighter and the layers browned faster with the addition of a little baking powder and the batter was sweeter.

Taro Ku

When i was growing up, the only 'ku' i know was colored red or orange with a sweet filling. Nowadays, 'ku' comes in all sorts of colors and shapes with either sweet or savory fillings. Thank you to enthusiastic cooks who come up with new ideas which kick up a few knotches to the traditional this kuih. Btw - 'ku' is in hokkien meaning Tortoise and Tortoise symbolizes longevity. When the 'ku' kuih is shaped like a tortoise shell, it creates a high symbolic and ritual value, very appropriate for ritual offerings during religious events. These 'ku' , it must be red in color and that is why it is called 'Angku' - 'Ang' means red in hokkien, is an important gift when a child is born (one month old) or during birthdays. Outside the ritual or gift context, it is also a very popular snack, eaten at all times of the day, be it for breakfast or tea=time. Have you ever tried pan-frying leftover/overnight 'Angku'? - they are delicious.

Below is a recipe with a new twist - Taro is added to the dough which gives the 'ku' a purplish hue and a fragrance which taro lovers will recognize. The filling can be sweet or savoury and a spicy one will be met with satisfaction.

Sweet Potato Ku

I cannot be any happier that these 'ku' turned out exceptional beautiful. The color was so natural and sweet, of course it was - no food coloring added - the culprit was orange sweet potato/yam. The filling is the usual mung bean - oh oh i have a story to relate about this filling, yes this particular bag of mung bean filling. It was a leftover from one of our cooking sessions(a group of us ladies gather every sunday and we cook and bake). So, one sunday, I was the first to arrive at Nellie's and Nellie went through her freezer and pulled out this bag, she asked if i wanted to eat durian. Of course i said yes, and we had to defrost it fast before the other ladies turn up, there won't be enough to go around. the durian looked so good, yellowish and looked seedless too. So, into the microwave it went for defrosting. After a minute of two, the bag came out of the microwave, Nellie and I laughed until tears came down and me with my incontinense, had to rush to the rest room - It was not durian but a bag of mung bean filling. The moral of the story was, we were bad hearted, we did not want to share and we got none too. I have learned my lesson and am sharing the mung bean filling with those who turned up for dinner last weekend. Hope they liked these cute bite-size 'ku'.

Kuih Kosui

I like Kuih Kosui to be steamed in a cake pan, then cut into pieces and coated with coconut. To me, if this kuih is steamed in tiny cups, then it would be 'Kuih Lompang'. While kuih lompang can come in other flavors like pandan or plain but of different colors, Kuih Kosui is not. It has to be made with 'gula melaka/palm sugar and caramelized sugar, so therefore it is brown.