Thursday, July 24, 2008

Kuih Lapis/Steam Layer Rice Cake

My friend Choy came over to visit me last week and we decided to make Kuih Lapis . We were pretty happy with the kuih lapis as the layer and colors turn out beautifully.

Ingredients :

230g rice flour
45g corn starch
840 ml coconut milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pandan paste
A few drops yellow and red colouring

For the syrup

280g castor sugar
250ml water
3 pandan leaves


1. Combine sugar, water and pandan leaves in a saucepan. Bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar. Set aside to cool.
2. Put rice flour, cornstarch and salt into a large mixing bowl. Pour in coconut milk mix well. Stir in syrup. Strain the batter to ensure it is free from lumps.
3. Divide batter into 3 equal portions. One add in the pandan paste (green), one in yellow coloring and one in red coloring. From each color portion divide into 3 equal portions (this will ensure you will get 9 layers of kueh)
4. Place a greased 8 inch tray in the steamer and heat up for 4–5 minutes.
5. Steam the batter layer by layer. Pour the 1st layer of batter on the heated tray. Cover and steam over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until set.
6. Follow by the next color and steam for 2-3 minutes and then the next layer.
7. Repeat the procedure, alternating the color until all the batter is used up.
8. After the final layer is set, steam the kuih for a further 20 minutes.
9. Cool the kuih thoroughly before cutting into it.

I enter this kueh in Indigo Welcome To Wonderland 18th birthday blog party.

Note : For this Kueh you can use any color or as many layers as you like.

39 comments:

Zue Murphy said...

I love kuih lapis. Your kuih look delicious. The layers are even. When you divide it into 9 layers, do you use 9 containers?

ICook4Fun said...

Zue, you don't need to use 9 containers. Just 'agak agak' that you get 3 layers out of each color.

Chibog in Chief said...

this looks so delicious!!

Yatie_T said...

I love kuih lapis too. When I was a kid I used to eat it layer by layer. It's taking longer time and fun for kids like me ....... hehe Back to kuih lapis, I never thought it is so easy to make it. Thanks for sharing the recipe, Gert.

Anonymous said...

This kueh lapis looked so authentic. It reminds me of an uncle who stays at my cousin's house and he makes trays and trays of kueh lapis for sale in the morning. Your pics bring me to memory of a truly authentic kueh.

Penny said...

I remember my mom used to buy these for special praying and like other people stated, I used to peel them off layer by layer :)

Anonymous said...

Oh Gert, the kuih looks so yummy!! I want some too! Do you think castor sugar and regular cane sugar weigh differently? Also, I also messed up when I use weight recipe converted into oz, cup, etc. Do you think something is lost in the conversion?

SIG said...

I hope to make this. My confinement lady was trying to teach me yrs ago but she said the flour she got from malaysia was better and they didn't have it here... but I will try your recipe and see if it works for me. Me too love to eat layer by layer till this day. It remains one of my favourite kueh. :) Thanks for sharing.

Jeanine - The Baking Beauties said...

How beautiful!

Anonymous said...

This is so cute! Love the different colors.

Dee said...

OOOOOhhh. kuih lapis.. I miss it !

Jescel said...

wow, such a fun food to eat with its vibrant color... looks complicated to do, huh? it probably takes lots of practice before i can perfect something like this.

vanillasugarblog said...

Those look way too pretty to eat. You have talent my dear for sure.

ICook4Fun said...

Dhanggit, thank you.

Yatie this is easy to make except a bit of work steaming it layer by layer.

Jencooks, thanks for stopping by. I used to eat this for breakfast too :)

Penny, the fun of eating the kueh is to peel and layer by layer :)

Valerie, both sugar weight the same. You have to get a good scale when weighing all your ingredients.

Sig, you are most welcome. Hope you make this soon and I am sure your daughter will enjoy eating it layer by layer too :)

Jeanine, thank you :)

Hillary, thank you :)

Dee, we make again when you come back this week.

Jescel, actually its not too difficult. Very simple ingredients except a bit of time steaming it layer by layer.

Dawn, thank you very much and thanks for stopping by. Will hop over to you blog later :)

Cat Cat said...

Gert,
My mom used to make kuih lapis for us and I know it's alot of work... Lots of steaming and time consuming, kan..??

sugarlens said...

I just found you blog and already there are a few recipes I am going to try. Especially the siew mai you made back in April. It looks so good and relatively simple too. I have all the ingredients already. Thanks!

Anna said...

Wow, the layers in this are so amazing! Cheeky, I know, but would you be interested in entering this into my 'Welcome To Wonderland' blog event (for whimsical and colourful party food)? I'd love to include it!

Link: http://happylovestrawberry.blogspot.com/2008/07/welcome-to-wonderland-party-time.html

ICook4Fun said...

Cat, it takes a bit of time steaming layer by layer but the ingredients is pretty simple.

Sugarlens, thanks for stopping by and hope you like the siew mai recipe.

Indigo, thanks for the invites and I will difinately check it out and thanks for stopping by.

daphne said...

wow! So much patience to make this!

Sharon said...

Thanks for stopping by. This is one of my all time favorite treats but I've never had the guts to try and make it myself. I'm definitely craving some now!!

ICook4Fun said...

Daphne, yea a bit of time steaming it :)

Sharon, actually its not too difficult to make this. Very simple and few ingredients except the steaming part takes a bit of time :)

pigpigscorner said...

Your Kueh Lapis looks lovely! What is the texture like? I made some awhile ago and it was a bit hard - not to my liking. Will definitely try this!

ICook4Fun said...

Pigpigcorner, this kueh lapis is soft and nice. It will harden once you put it in the fridge but just microwave if for a few second and it taste as good.

Cakelaw said...

This is so pretty!

Anonymous said...

What is the siz f the tray or pan?

Anonymous said...

is corn starch the same as corn flour?

ICook4Fun said...

Cakelaw, thank you.

ally,I used 8" x 8" square baking tray.

Anon, its the same.

Mona said...

Thank you for this recipe!! I made it and it turned out wonderful! The layers were 'peel-able' and the flavor was so yummy. I love your recipes. They always turn out! Thanks for sharing!

ICook4Fun said...

Mona, glad that you like this recipe and thanks for your kind comment.

Sarah said...

This looks like a great recipe! I will try it!

A couple of questions though; how deep does the tray used to cook it on have to be? I'm not sure I have one deep enough to fit it. I've only got frozen pandan leaves, so should I defrost them before making the syrup? Also, I don't have a steamer.. I was thinking about putting it in a saucepan with water and a lid on top, but I don't think it would fit. Any suggestions?

ICook4Fun said...

Sarah, the tray I used is about 2" deep. I too used the frozen pandan leaves for this recipe. You need a steamer for this kuih or a big pot or even a wok which you can use as a steamer.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing the recipe. I want to try it, but, isn't "840 ml coconut milk" too much? Is it a misprint or something??
Thanks again!

ICook4Fun said...

Anon, that is the amount of coconut milk to used.

Anonymous said...

Hi may i know where can i get pandan paste from singapore? hmm i cant seem to find any..

Baking Girl said...

Hi!
Your kuih looks so yummy!
I want to make it, but I don't know what kind of coconut milk to use ( thick or thin?). Can I use canned coconut milk? should I add water to it?
Thanks for helping!

ICook4Fun said...

Anon, I don't live in Singapore so I am not sure where you cana get it.

Baking girl, I used the can coconut milk as I can't get the fresh one here in the US. I used one can and top it up with water until I get 840 ML.

Anonymous said...

Hi,
I saw your recipe and cant wait to try it out. Just a qn regarding coconut milk, so can I use 1 can of coconut milk(400ml) and top up with 440ml of water? Thanks!!

Anonymous said...

Hi
May I know why do you need to add water to the one can of coconut milk? What is the effect if we use 400ml (same amount as your one can) of thick coconut milk?
Lynn

ICook4Fun said...

Anon, yes that was what I did. I used a can (which is 400ml) and top it up with water until I get 840ml.

Lyn, over here our coconut milk comes in can and they are very very thick that is why I add water to 1 can (400ml) to make up for 840ml that needed. If you have fresh coconut milk by all means use 840ml of it.