Homemade luscious kuih bakar

Translated, kuih bakar means burnt cake.. which is just the way I like it! Not totally burnt of course, just a bit more burnt on the sides, that's all.

This is my favorite malay kuih (usually a custard-like cake). I love them with coffee. But good ones are hard to find these days especially in the city. So I tend to indulge when I'm back in my hometown, buying from my favorite stalls. Having eaten a fair share of this, I can tell how good a kuih bakar is just by looking at its color (?!), which is a certain shade of green.. almost pistachio.. not too light, not too dark (fake coloring).. just so. (^^) I also prefer the small oval shaped cakes (think hard boiled egg cut into halves) than those sold as a whole cake ~ flower shaped (about 5 inches or so in diameter), because at least half the cake gets burnt ^^.. so you get a really nice caramel-ly taste.

Anyways, kuih bakar is really a simple cake made up of pandan juice, coconut milk, sugar and flour. And since I found a really nice paper mould (at Daiso) that resembles the flower shape of the ones sold as a whole cake, I thought I could try making it at home. Papa pig loves kuih bakar (well, we did grow up eating the same stuff ^^) too.

Kuih bakar pandan (recipe from siti delima)

1 cup sugar (I used slightly less)

1 cup pandan juice (water + 4-5 pandan leaves blended and strained)

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/4 cups (450ml) coconut milk (I used 200ml full fat + 200 reduced fat + 50ml water)

2 tbsp butter (I used only 1 tbsp, am kinda out of butter ^^||)

3 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

Sesame seeds (put lots, ok)

1. Blend all ingredients till smooth, except sesame seeds.

2. Grease baking tin and heat 2 tsp oil in tin in the oven. When the oil is hot, add cake mixture I have no idea why the need to do this?? Maybe for those using the original aluminium cast mould??? Sprinkle sesame seeds. 

3. Bake at 180C for 50 minutes. Or more if you want your cake top and edges to be more burnt.

Can you imagine the smell of the house after this bake? It is oh so-ooo good.. mmm..! The scent of pandan and coconut milk is so sweet and earthy! It reminds me of my kampung.. with mum still around. (^^)

And I'm loving this! in the absence of my best stall-bought (half) oval shaped mini cake, of course.. This kuih bakar is not as oily or overly sweet as the ones we buy outside. In fact, this recipe is perfect for us.. though we prefer it more burnt on the sides and top ^^. So next time I'm going to use a proper cake tin to make this. Paper moulds don't quite have that effect, and the paper started to burn as I tried to grill the top! And I'm going to add lots of sesame seeds! Anyways, fatty hubby and papa pig likes! (^^)

Scrumptious smell! Luscious taste! My first successful malay kuih, yay! (^^)

p.s shot the kuih bakar and apple pie pictures with papa/mama pig's nikon D3100.. my very first time using a dslr! it's really wonderful! i like v v much ^^ sorry, my pictures don't do the camera justice.. i can't quite style nor "photoshop" still..