KUIH LAPIS

(九层糕)

Hi Everyone!

In this video I am going to share with you a Kuih Lapis (九层糕) recipe.

Kuih Lapis is a traditional sweet delicacy that originates from Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia and Indonesia. "Kuih" refers to a snacks or desserts, while "Lapis" means "layers" in Malay language. The batter is typically made from a mixture of rice flour, tapioca flour, coconut milk, sugar, and pandan leaves, which give the Kuih Lapis its distinct aroma and rich flavor.

Recipe Notes:

You could substitute the food colour with any colour that you prefer.

INGREDIENTS FOR KUIH LAPIS

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(Serves 6-10 peoples)

✅️ 550 ml Plain Water

✅️ 550 ml Coconut Milk

✅️ 120 g Rice Flour

✅️ 230 g Tapioca Flour

✅️ 200 g Caster Sugar

✅️ ¼ tsp Koepoe Koepoe Pandan Paste (adjust accordingly)

✅️ 6 – 7 drops Red Food Colouring (adjust accordingly)

✅️ 3 whole Pandan Leaves

✅️ ¼ tsp Salt

METHOD OF PREPARATION:

Heat water with sugar and pandan leaves over MEDIUM heat until the sugar has completely melted. Once the sugar has melted completely, bring it to a boil over HIGH heat then switch the heat OFF.
Combine rice flour, tapioca flour and salt and create a “well” in the center of the flour mixture. Pour coconut milk into the well and gradually stir the coconut milk, drawing the flour from the inside walls of the well. Keep stirring until it becomes a smooth batter. Pour the warm sugar syrup, and discard the pandan leaves. Stir the mixture until it is thoroughly mixed. Stirred each time before pouring as the flour tends to settle at the bottom when it sits for a while.

Divide the batter into three portions using separate measurement cups. Pour 500ml of batter into each of the first 2 cups. The remaining batter, about 560ml goes into the 3rd cup. Add red food coloring into the 1st cup containing 500ml of batter and stir until it turns red. Add pandan paste into the 2nd cup containing 500ml of batter and stir until it turns green. Leave the 3rd cup in white batter. Typically, Kuih Lapis starts with a white layer at the bottom, followed by a green layer, and then a red layer. For the first layer, it is recommended to pour more batter into the baking tin than the rest of the layers due to the tin's bottom round edges.

Further pour out about 210ml from the white batter into Cup 1, then divide the remaining batter into two equal portions into Cup 2 and Cup 3. Next, further divide the green and red batter each into three equal portions into Cup 1 to Cup 3.

Preheat the 8-inch square baking tin (20cm x 20cm x 6.5cm H) in the steamer over HIGH heat. Make sure that the steamer lid is tightly wrapped with a cloth before using to prevent water from dripping into the baking tin.

Once the water in the steamer starts boiling, lift its lid away and adjust the heat to slightly below MEDIUM. Prepare Cup 1 of the white batter. Stir the batter well before pouring into the baking tin. Use a spoon to remove any bubbles from the batter. Steam the 1st layer for about 7mins as it has more batter than the rest of the layers.

After about 7mins, lift the lid away from the steamer. The batter should look opaque when it is cooked through. Prepare Cup 1 of the green batter, stir well before pouring it onto the white bottom layer. Position the cup as close as possible to the white layer and pour the green batter in a circular motion starting from the outside and moving towards the center to avoid creating a sharp stream. Steam the 2nd layer for about 6mins.
After about 6mins, lift the lid away from the steamer. The batter should look opaque when it is cooked through. Prepare Cup 1 of the red batter, stir well before pouring it onto the 2nd green layer. Position the cup as close as possible to the green layer and pour the red batter in a circular motion starting from the outside and moving towards the center to avoid creating a sharp stream. Steam the 3rd layer for about 6mins. From the 4th layer onward, repeat steps using the white, green, and red batter sequence with the steaming time of 6mins for each layer until reaches the 8th layer.
For the 9th layer, steam it for about 10-12 mins.

After about 12mins, lift the lid away from the steamer. The batter should look opaque when it is cooked through. Switch the heat OFF. Leave the Kuih Lapis in the steamer for a minute or so to dry up its surface. Transfer to the bench to cool, about 5-6 hours. Let the Kuih Lapis to completely cool before cutting for easy handling. Serve the Kuih Lapis as a snack or dessert over a cup of tea or coffee.

RECIPE PHOTO GALLERY