Traditional Kueh Lapis

It's just less than two weeks to Chinese New Year and I decided I shouldn't procrastinate anymore and get cracking with my Kueh Lapis. Although I felt lazy at the thought of standing for three long hours grilling the cake layer by layer (about 18 layers in total), the thought the end products which is a delicious and melt in the mouth Kueh Lapis gave me the inspiration to do it.  

Among all the Chinese New Year goodies, this moist, delicious and highly addictive cake remains my favourite and nothing comes close! It's definitely not one of the healthier treats around (and I do try to make healthier bakes if I can) but I'm quite happy to put aside my health consciousness to enjoy a few slices of this Kueh Lapis.  

Thousand Layer Cake (Kueh Lapis) – 9 x 9 inch square

Recipe from a Community Centre baking demo by People Associations’s trainer Ms. Tay Tai Song

Ingredients

• 500 g butter (Golden Churn tinned butter spread recommended – freeze the butter overnight then cut into pieces before using)
• 22 pieces of egg yolk
• 8 pieces of egg white
• 300 g of sugar
• 300 g condensed milk
• 220 g cake flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp lapis spices (Recommended: 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp cinnamon powder)
• 3 tbsp rum

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to 195 to 200 degree Celsius.
• Sift flour and spices together.
• Butter mixture: Beat frozen butter and condensed milk till white, then set aside.
• Egg mixture: Whisk egg whites and baking powder till stiff at medium speed. Add in sugar, then egg yolks one by one.
• Stir in flour into the egg mixture (I used hand folding).
• Mix in butter mixture into egg mixture in 3 rounds using a whisk (I used hand folding).
• Mix in rum till blended in.
• Line a square baking tin with paper, grease the paper well.
• Heat the tin for 2 minutes in the heated oven.
• Weigh out 130 g of batter and spread onto the baking tin. Bake the first layer till well browned.
• Turn the oven to grill mode. Place a second layer of 100g and grill this second layer till brown. Repeat the grilling process for all subsequent layers of 100g each, till all the cake batter is used up.
• Between each layer, press the cake down well using a lapis press.

I am submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013 hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover.

I am submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #27:Through Thick and Thin hosted by Sam of Sweet Sensations. 

Here is the step by step guide on making Kueh Lapis:

Carefully separate your eggs and egg whites. You'll need 22 eggs to extract 22 egg yolks and 8 egg whites. Use the extra egg whites to make macarons or fritattas. 

Sift the cake flour and spices together and set aside. 

You'll need 500 g of butter. I am using 340 g of Golden Churn tinned butter (which comes in a tin) and 160 g of Golden Churn unsalted butter (in a foil wrap). The night before, you'll need to open up the tinned butter on one end and place it in the freezer. 

Cut the butter up all the butter into small pieces using a sharp knife and place it in a mixing bowl. 

Add the condensed milk to the chopped butter and beat it on medium speed till it is stiff, white and creamy. Set aside for later.

Using another clean mixing bowl, beat the egg whites and baking powder till it is stiff (when you turn the bowl upside down, the egg whites should not drop out). Make sure that your mixing bowl is oil-free or the egg whites may not rise.

With the mixer running, add in the sugar a little at a time into the egg white mixture till it is all gone. Then add the egg yolks one at a time till it each is well incorporated before adding the next one.  

The end result is a thick and creamy mixture. 

Fold the sifted flour and spices into the creamy egg mixture. You can use a whisk. The instructors taught us how to do hand folding (sanitise hands beforehand) as it is the best way not to over-fold but ensure the flour is well mixed in. 

After the flour has been mixed in, add in the thick, white butter/condensed milk mixture in three rounds using a whisk (or hand folding). Make sure it is well mixed in.

Add in 3 tbsp of rum and mix well. 

This is the end result - it looks like a curdled pot of cream.

  

Butter and line the baking tray and heat it in the pre-heated oven for 2 minutes. Get your weighing scale, laddle (or spoon) and lapis press ready. 

The first layer should have 130 to 140 g of cake batter. Spread it evenly at the bottom of the tin and bake in the pre-heated oven (195 to 200 degrees C) till it is golden brown. 

The subsequent layers should be around 100 g each. I usually weigh about 102 to 103 g as some batter will stick to the bowl. 

After the first layer, turn the oven into a grill mode. Place 100 g of cake batter on top of the cake and spread it out well using a laddle/spoon. 

The heat from the cake will melt the butter in the batter and you will get a smooth batter. Send it back to the oven to grill. Keep a close watch as the layers brown very easily. Do this until all the cake batter is used up. 

Between each layer, press down gently using a lapis press.