Lapis Cempedak... again.

One of the most popular lapis cakes for this year's hari raya is apparently Lapis Cempedak. I didn't realize it until I heard my relatives and colleagues talking about their cempedak lapis cakes and, for a couple of them, their disappointment as they were not able to order for themselves. A friend also requested me to bake for her but I declined as time was just not on my side.... The last time I baked lapis cempedak, I remember it took more than two hours just to bake a cake. Hence my reluctance to bake it during the fasting month.....

Anyway, I was inspired to bake Lapis Cempedak again although it was already the second week of Hari Raya. Fortunately, I managed to get hold of a plump and ripe cempedak two Saturdays ago... cooked the puree the next day and baked the cake on Monday, which happened to be a school holiday to commemorate Youth Day... In fact, I started in the morning and spent over seven hours to mix and bake four lapis cempedak cakes in total! I figured I might as well take advantage of the holiday since I wasn't working and there weren't any errands to run for at least the early part of the day. Oh yes, only one cake is for me, the other three are for a nephew's wedding this weekend..

Okayyy... now let's get down to the recipe.. This time, I used a recipe shared by Ayu which she got from a baking class.. Actually, it's almost similar  to the recipe I used before except that this uses less cempedak puree and all of it is added to the batter, so there is no puree layers for this cake. Nevertheless, it's still an awesome recipe.... the cake is rich and delicious with ample cempedak flavour. The texture is smooth and moist and the layers turn out almost perfect as there are only a few bubbles that need to be popped. Compared to the other recipe, this does not take as long to bake because there's no puree layers to be baked. 

So, which recipe would I use in future....? That depends on how hardworking (or lazy) I am. Haha! The cempedak flavour for this cake is not as intense as the other but, I must add, it is still very good. However, if you want a more intense cempedak flavour, almost like biting the cempedak flesh with the cake, go for the other recipe, but be prepared to stay longer in front of the hot oven. I think that's fair enough..

Lapis Cempedak

Ingredients:
450g butter - I used unsalted & added 3/4 tsp salt.
4 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp cempedak essence (optional) - I didn't use.
1 tsp vanilla essence
200g cooked cempedak puree (recipe below)

20 egg yolks
5 egg whites
270gm fine caster sugar
1 tbsp sponge gel (ovalette)
110g Top flour
20g vanilla ice-cream powder (You can also use milk powder.)
butter to brush the top of every layer (I didn't use this.)

Method:

1. Preheat oven at 170-180 deg C. Grease & line the bottom of a 10” x 7” (or 8” x 8”) baking pan.
2. Combine butter, condensed milk, vanilla & cempedak essence in a bowl & cream until light & fluffy. Add in the cempedak puree & mix till well-combined. Set aside.
3. Place eggs, caster sugar & ovalette in a mixing bowl & beat on high speed until thick & fluffy.
4. Add the butter mixture into the egg mixture & mix well.
5. Then fold in the flour.
6. Pour 2 ladles of batter (I weighed 80g) into the baking pan & spread it out evenly. Bake until the cake is cooked & the top turns golden brown. (Use top & bottom heat for this first layer.)
7. Remove pan from the oven, press the top of cake with a lapis presser & brush the top of the cake with butter. Then pour another 2 ladles & bake. Continue the process until finish. (Use top heat (grill) only for the second layer onwards, 
8. After baking the last layer, bake the whole cake using top & bottom heat at 130-140 deg C for about 10 minutes. (I baked at 180 deg C.)
9. Then remove cake from pan and allow to cool on a cooling wire rack before serving.

CEMPEDAK PUREE
(I didn't use this recipe. See note no.1 below.)

400g cempedak flesh (without seeds)
1 cup fine caster sugar
1 cup water
Combine the above 3 ingredients & blend into a smooth puree. Then cook, stirring continuously, until the puree is thick.

Recipe by Chef Tania.

Source: Ayu @ Curlybabesatisfaction.

Notes and modifications:

1. For the puree, I used the recipe by Bro Rozzan (but I reduced the sugar), i.e, I combined & blended 600g cempedak flesh, 180g sugar & 220ml water & cooked over medium low heat until the puree is thick. This made about 700g cooked puree. Any remaining puree can be frozen for future use.
2. You can also use this cake recipe to bake lapis durian. Just replace the cempedak with durian. (I think if you are using durian, you may not need to add so much water as durian flesh is already soft.)