America On CoffeeWe’re just inviting you to take a timeout into the rhythmic ambiance of our breakfast, brunch and/or coffee selections. We are happy whenever you stop by.DURIAN INDONESIAN LAYERED CAKE

So, I’m kick-starting my bakes with this durian Indonesian layer cake (durian lapis or kek lapis durian) – a twist on a traditional favourite that will please those of you who are durian lovers. If you prefer traditional layer cakes, you can check out this recipe for Kueh Lapis Batavia.

Now, I know that when most of us (at lease in my circle of friends) often think of baking a home-made lapis cake, it’s not hard to see how daunted or discouraged we can feel when we realise how tedious and long the process can be. Let’s face it – you’ll need about 30 minutes to prep your ingredients and make the cake batter, and then, there’s the average 8 to 10 minutes wait to grill each layer, which can work out to almost 2 hours for a 12-layer cake. And then, there’s all that time in between – the pricking, pressing, and spreading. So, you can expect a good 3 hours, most of it spent hovering by the oven, by the time it’s all good and done. Is it really worth it? In my opinion – one hundred percent, absolutely!

Just a few things to note when making any Indonesian layer or lapis cake:

You can achieve distinct and beautifully mocha-coloured layer lines, only if you brown the tops sufficiently to a deep or darkgolden brown (note the emphasis on dark, folks), just don’t end up burning the tops. And when it comes to deciding how many layers, it all depends on the amount of batter, and the size of your cake pan. Though, you would surely impress if you’ve got many, many layers, and as thin as possible. It takes some skill and careful watching to get the layers very thin, and browned, without over-baking or burning them under a grill. I’m not too ambitious, and am happy to aim for 10 to 12 layers.

And something else I’ve picked up on from fellow food bloggers, it helps (a lot!) to use a fondant or lapis press to firmly ‘seal’ or press down each baked layer onto the one below it, before adding batter for a new layer. Pricking and pressing the layers will help eliminate the probability of gaps or air pockets appearing in between layers. This will give you a tight and tidy cross-sectional pattern when sliced.

Don’t have a fondant or lapis press? No worries, I don’t either, and I ended up using a fairly heavy glass container (like the air-tight Lock&Lock ones) as a weight. If you’re using glass weights, do be careful though – press lightly and just briefly for 2-3 seconds in any one particular area, wipe the base dry of steam or condensation with a clean paper towel (or else the browned top may end up sticking to your glass base, and we can’t have that happen, can we?), before pressing the weight onto the next area.

By the way, I get my supply of frozen durian puree from Ah Seng Durian located in Ghim Moh Temporary Market (you can check out their Facebook page here). I usually divide the puree into 150 to 200 gm portions, which are more or less the amounts that are called for in recipes using durian puree, and bag these in freezer bags. Frozen durian puree are good for up to 6 months, so I think you’ll have lots of time and opportunities to use them in your future bakes.

So, I really hope you’ll have a go at it – this is a really easy cake to bake (have a good friend come over to help you – you’d be surprised how eager friends can be to see you torture yourself). But, the real deal is that once you’ve turned out a really good lapis cake based on a tried and tested recipe like this one here, you’ll wonder why you didn’t make home-made lapis cakes sooner! So…, let the feasting begin!

Ingredients

• 150g shelled whole eggs
• 250g egg yolks
• 250g caster sugar
• 1tbsp sponge gel/ovalette
• 100g self-raising flour, sifted
• 1tsp mixed spice
• 150g durian puree, at room temperature
• 250g butter, at room temperature
• 2tbsp condensed milk

Servings: 8-inch square cake

Instructions

1. Press durian puree through a sieve with the back of a metal spoon, scraping the underside of the sieve to obtain a fine puree.

2. In an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and condensed milk on medium speed (speed 3 on my Kitchen Aid mixer) until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

3. Still using the electric mixer, now fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk whole eggs, egg yolks, sugar and sponge gel (ovalette) in a cleaned mixer bowl on high speed (speed 4 to 5) until mixture is thick and fluffy, about 6 to 8 minutes. Set aside.

4. Combine sifted flour and mixed spice in a bowl. Add to the egg mixture and whisk at medium speed (speed 3) until well incorporated.

5. Reduce mixer speed to low (speed 2), and add butter mixture in 3 batches, beating well after each addition until well combined. Add in durian puree and beat until well combined.

6. Pre-heat the oven to 200 deg C (390 deg F). Set the oven rack in the bottom third of the oven. Grease and line the base of an 8-inch square cake pan. When oven temperature reaches 200 deg C, place the cake pan in the oven and heat for 2 minutes.

7. Set the oven to GRILL mode. Spread 4 – 5 tablespoons of batter evenly over the base of the pan, and to all corners of the pan. Use the back of a metal spoon to level the surface. Grill until the layer is cooked and browned to a deep golden brown colour (read Recipe Notes below).

8. Remove cake pan from the oven. Using a metal fork, prick holes in the cooked layer, and press down lightly on the entire surface with a fondant or lapis press (read Recipe Notes below).

9. Continue to spread 4 – 5 tablespoons of batter for the next layer, and level evenly with the back of a metal spoon. Grill until cooked and deeply browned, prick holes and press to ‘seal’ the layers as before. Repeat process until all the batter is used up. Caution: Baking time will shorten as the cake increases in height, as the layers get closer to the top heating element in grill mode.

10. When the last layer has cooked, switch from grill mode to bake mode at 180 deg C (top and bottom heat), and bake the cake for another 10 minutes, before removing from the oven.

11. Remove cake pan from oven, set it on a rack to cool for 5 to 10 minutes. If you wish to have deep, lined impressions on the top of the cake, place a grid-wired cooling rack (with the legs or feet pointing up) on the top of the cake pan, aligning the lines of the grid with the sides of the cake pan. Then holding the cake pan and rack tightly together, flip over the cake pan and rack, so that the bottom of the cake pan is now facing up. Remove the cake pan, and let the cake completely cool on the rack. Flip the cake over again when completely cooled, and slice as desired.

Recipe Notes

#1. To achieve distinct and beautifully mocha-coloured layer lines, you will need to brown the tops sufficiently to a deep or dark golden brown (note the emphasis on dark, folks), just don’t end up burning the tops. And when it comes to deciding how many layers, it all depends on the amount of batter and size of your cake pan

#2. If you don’t have a fondant or lapis press, you can use a fairly heavy glass container (like the air-tight Lock&Lock ones) as a weight. When using glass weights, do be careful – press lightly and just briefly for 2-3 seconds in any one particular area, wipe the base dry of steam or condensation with a clean paper towel, to avoid the browned top sticking to the glass base, before pressing the weight onto the next area.

Source: http://foodelicacy.com/durian-indonesian-layer-cake/