Bingka Cempedak

Eid Mubarak to all Muslim readers. Looks like the primary & secondary school kids in Singapore will have another long weekend as schools will be closed tomorrow due to the worsening haze... This is the first time we have to close the schools because of the haze as the last time we experienced a hazardous level was during the June holidays two years ago.  If this unhealthy level continues, it's going to cause a high level of anxiety for schools since the major exams are around the corner. So let's hope this haze will go away soon....

So I baked this bingka cempedak this morning. It was really a last minute decision... Was looking through my recipe file & decided to try the recipe shared by Aini Salim. Another great recipe by Mdm Aini... I didn't change any of the ingredients in the recipe & after baking it, I don't think there's a need to change any.

Bingka Cempedak
Ingredients:
300g cempedak flesh (pureed)
240g plain flour
2 eggs
650g coconut milk (I used 250g thick coconut milk + 400g water.)
150g sugar (You may reduce if the cempedak is already very sweet.)
80g butter (melted)
1/2 tsp orange colouring (optional) - I didn't use.
1/2 salt

Method:

1. Grease a baking pan (20x20x7cm) & line with grease paper. Then grease the paper. Preheat oven at 160 deg C.
2. Combine cempedak, coconut milk, sugar & blend until well mixed.
3. Add in flour & eggs & continue to blend until well mixed. Strain.
4. Add in melted butter, salt & colouring (if using). Mix well.
5. Pour the batter into the pan & bake for 30-40 minutes. 

Recipe by Aini Salim.
Source: Berita Harian (Singapore) 27 April 2007.

Notes & modifications:

1. I used a jug blender to mix the batter.
2. I baked using 2 Nordicware pans as shown above & a mini muffin pan, yielding 65 pieces. I greased the pans with cooking oil before pouring the batter.

Lapis Cempedak

This post is just taking me too long to complete.... I've logged in many times & just managed to do bit by bit.... I was so excited after baking & taking the pictures of the Lapis Cempedak that I couldn't wait to blog about it. But there are just too many things happening with the family. Both my father & father-in-law are in the hospital, with the latter in critical condition. As I'm the family driver who's not working, I've been busy ferrying family members on both sides.... As I'm rambling here, I'm actually on stand-by, waiting to be called up to ferry the in-laws & relatives visiting from Malaysia to the hospital... May Allah give us the strength & patience to go through this period.. Ameen..

This Lapis Cempedak was baked a few days before Hari Raya Haji using the cempedak that I bought from JB. I used the recipe that was shared by Bro Rozzan, a recipe that many bloggers have tried & has had positive remarks. No wonder..... this is truly an amazing lapis cake. Even before I finished baking it, I'm already in love with this sweet-smelling cake with its perfectly-looking layers. The top of every layer turned out so beautifully... it baked into a clean golden colour with just some tiny pale patches & there were no bubbles formed at all! And when I cut the cake, I can just say, OMG!!! The cake is very moist & so delicious! The only thing is, I thought it's quite sweet, so the next time I bake this, I'll reduce the sugar used when cooking the cempedak puree.

If you intend to bake this, let me warn you that baking it took longer than the usual time taken to bake a typical lapis cake. It took me two & a half hours to finish baking just one cake. That's at least an hour longer than usual. The longer baking time is because of the additional layer of cempedak puree that has to be baked till dry. It took me almost 4 minutes for each puree layer, longer than baking the cake batter layer. From this experience, I can safely say that it will take a longer time to bake lapis cake that has ingredients other than the cake batter, like the Lapis Nutella & Lapis Fruit Cocktail. Ok, it's almost time for me to go, so here is the  recipe... try baking it, it's really worth all the effort & time.

(Update: Go to this post for another great Lapis Cempedak recipe.)

Lapis Cempedak

Ingredients:

500g butter - I used unsalted.
4 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp cempedak essence (optional) - I didn't use.
1 tsp vanilla essence - I used pure vanilla paste.
1 tsp salt - I added.

20 egg yolks
5 whole eggs egg whites (Update: I'm so sorry... I  made a typo.)
270gm fine caster sugar
1 tbsp ovalette

120g Hong Kong / Top flour (I used top flour.)
20g milk powder
150g  cempedak puree (recipe below)

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. 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. Finally, add in cempedak puree (150g) & mix well.
7. Pour 2 ladles of batter (I weighed 90g) 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. Then for the second layer onwards, use top heat (grill) only.
8. Repeat step 7.
9. Then scoop 2 tbsps of cempedak puree onto the second layer & spread it evenly. Bake it in the oven until the puree is dry. (I baked mine for 3-4 minutes.)
10. Then continue baking 2 layers of cake batter followed by 1 layer of cempedak puree until finish.
11. After baking the last layer,  bake the whole cake using top & bottom heat at 130-140 deg C for about 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan and allow to cool on a cooling wire rack before serving.

CEMPEDAK PUREE

600g cempedak flesh (without seeds)
220g fine caster sugar
220 ml water
Combine the above 3 ingredients & blend into a smooth puree. Then cook, stirring continuously, until the puree is thick.

Notes & modifications:

1. If the cempedak you use is already very sweet, you may want to reduce the sugar for the cempedak puree.
2. The cooked cempedak puree is for adding into the batter (150g) & layering after every 2 layers of cake batter.
3. According to Bro Rozzan, for a richer lapis cempedak flavour, you may brush some butter on every cake layer except the puree layer. (I didn't do this.) He also suggests that the cempedak-puree layer be baked after every cake layer instead of after every 2 layers. (I didn't do this & have no intention of doing it ever in the future! Haha!)
4. I added the cempedak puree into the creamed butter (step 2) instead of after folding in the flour (step 6).
5. Instead of using top & bottom fire for the first layer (Step 7), I used only the top fire (grill) for the first & the rest of the layers. I still baked the whole cake as in step 11.

Recipe by Bro Rozzan.

Fried Cempedak

The cempedak that I bought  the other day was just enough for me to bake the Cempedak Buttermilk Cake & cook cempedak puree for my Hari Raya Haji baking project. I didn't get to fry any of them. So yesterday, I made a trip to Geylang Serai market & among other things, I bought a cempedak.

I was quite curious what it would cost me. Normally, a kilogram costs about $4-$5 versus RM6 (S$2.40) I paid at Pasar Larkin. Yesterday, I got it for $3/kg. But for a slightly less than 2-kg plump cempedak, the dude charged me only $4! ("Nevermind, just pay me $4.") That was a very good bargain.... there were 16 sweet, deep orange nuggets altogether & the seeds were sooo small!

The batter I used was quite similar to the one I used for my fried bananas, except this time, I omitted the baking powder & sugar. The crunchy coating plus the sweet cempedak flesh made such a simple snack yet so satisfying..... that's just amazing..

Fried Cempedak

Ingredients:

15 cempedak nuggets
1 cup (150g) rice flour
2 tbsp plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp  lye water -  you may also use lime water (air kapuh sirih) 

about 3/4 cup water (Don't add all at once.)
oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Combine rice flour, plain flour & salt in a mixing bowl.
2. Gradually add water & lye water & mix well to create a smooth batter. (The batter should not be too runny or too thick.)
3. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
4. Dip cempedak nuggets, one at a time, into the batter and deep fry until they turn deep yellow. Serve warm. If there's any leftover batter, just drizzle batter using a spoon or hand into the hot oil & fry till deep yellow.

I'm linking this post to Asian Food Fest #11 Sept 2014 : Singapore, hosted by Grace Phua of Life Can Be Simple.

Cempedak Buttermilk Cake

If you are residing in Singapore or Malaysia, I'm sure you're aware that the cempedak season is here again.... yeah!! I went to Pasar Larkin in JB with my mom last week & among the many things we bought were 2 beautiful cempedaks. I cut open mine on Friday... the nuggets of flesh were big & beautiful & they tasted so sweet! After tasting a few pieces,  the remainder was just nice for my baking project.... 2 projects actually.. 

The first is this gorgeous buttermilk cake.. I just love this cake! I'm telling you, if you're a big fan of cempedak, then you must bake this! Or bake it for someone who loves cempedak! The deep orange cempedak that I used for this cake gives it its beautiful golden colour. The cake turns out very moist with very soft & fine texture. However, if you look at my cake, it looks denser at the bottom. Well, that's because I was impatient... I opened the oven door just after 20 minutes into baking time. I saw the top was already browning, so I thought I should start checking. I even shook the pan & to my horror, the cake was still wiggling. So please don't open the oven door at least for the first 30-40 minutes. Since the cake is moist & soft, when I cut it (less than 1 hour after baking time), I had to be careful because it's quite fragile. I think it would be better if you keep it for a day (if you are patient enough) for easier handling. It'd also be a good idea not to slice too thin. Anyway, this cake definitely tastes better after a day & even better after two days, that I know for sure. When I first tasted it, I found the cake quite sweet. Then the next day, when I took a bite, I was happy that the cake was not as sweet as the day before.... but as I chewed it, I could taste the sweetness again. On the third day, the cake tasted even better & it's not too sweet anymore, even after finishing the whole slice. So keeping the cake before serving is an important step.

I used a buttermilk banana cake recipe to bake this gorgeous cake... Besides replacing the banana with cempedak, I made some minor changes to the ingredients & method of preparing it. To summarise the above ramblings, below are some points you need to take note of before you start baking one.

Notes:

1. The cempedak that I used is quite sweet but I've tasted sweeter ones. So if you think the cempedak you're using is already very sweet, you may reduce the sugar by 20-30g.
2. You may replace the buttermilk with fresh / UHT milk. Just add 1 tsp of vinegar or lemon juice to the milk & set aside for a few minutes before using it.
3. You may also use a 7x7 inch pan instead of a loaf pan.
4. Don't open the oven for at least the first 30-40 minutes. Heed this advice & your cake should turn out better than mine.
5. Serve this cake 1-2 days after baking to allow the flavour of the cake to develop further. Wrap the cake in a cling wrap & keep it in the fridge. Serve the cake in room temperature.

Happy baking & let me know how your cake turns out. Just leave a comment below or my FB page or Instagram. Hope to hear from you!

Cempedak Buttermilk Cake

Ingredients:
150g cempedak flesh
1/2 tsp salt
100g butter, softened
200g sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla paste or essence
190g cake flour
190 ml buttermilk (divided into two parts)
walnuts (chopped) - for topping

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180° C.
2. Line & grease  a 9¼ x 5¼ x 2½ inch loaf pan. Set aside.
3. Combine cempedak & 90ml of the buttermilk & puree the mixture using a blender.
4. In a medium bowl, mix flour & baking soda & sift. Set aside.
5. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar & salt until light and fluffy.
6. Beat in eggs, one at a time, Mix until well blended. Then stir in vanilla paste.
7. Reduce speed of mixer to the lowest possible & fold in the flour mixture alternately with the rest of the buttermilk.
8. Stir in the cempedak puree.
9. Pour batter into prepared pan & sprinkle chopped walnuts over top. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 160° C & continue baking for another 25-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (Reminder: Do not open the oven for at least the first 30 minutes of baking.)
10. Remove from oven & leave the cake in the pan for about 5 minutes. Then remove the cake from the pan & leave it on a cooling rack to cool completely.
11. Wrap the cake with cling wrap & leave for 1 or 2 days (keep it in the fridge to play safe) before serving to allow the flavour to develop. Serve at room temperature.

Recipe adapted from Food.com.