Kueh Lapis (Prune)

When I saw JW and KO baked their Lapis with a Fu 福 word on it, I fell in love with it.

Year after year, I told myself that I need to get out of my comfort zone and attempt on something new.  So this year, I really have to sum up my courage to attempt this Kueh Lapis (Prune).

My girl loves this cake and so am I but for me, it is the age that stops me from eating the whole cake up.

I have actually done one nearly 20 years ago and that experiment went so wrong that I got phobia for long baking time recipes.

Anyway, 20 years is long enough and I need to overcome that.  With KO's encouragement, I finally took up the challenge.

Traditional Kueh Lapis has at least 18 layers, so I am not sure whether I can achieved this.

If you are confident and experience, double this recipe for a full cake.  I did half the recipe as I was worried that it will end up in the bin.

In my poor attempt to create a Fu 福 on my lapis.  I nearly burned my lapis when I had it browned a little more in the mini oven.

Can you spot a layer that I nearly burnt because I went to pack something?  Lesson learnt, watch it CLOSELY.

Findings:  Initial doubt was whether I can combine the butter and the egg mixture well.  In the end, the batter is not "fussy" and I had no problem.

My oven has top heat with fan and top heat without fan.  Initially I started off with fan mode @ 200°C, then at 5 min 10 sec, it started to brown.  So I turned turn off the fan and set at 220°C @ 5 mins and it starts to brown.

I nearly forgotten to use the lapis press.  I was worried that the cake will stick to the lapis press, so I brush the press with some oil  (A big mistake because my lapis turned out oily).

I also think I press too hard on the layers, so my layers are not defined.

Based on 60g per layer, I left a little batter in the end.  So next round, I will start off with 100g for the first layer.

For this recipe, I have achieved 13 layers and 1.5" tall based.

Nevertheless, this cake taste really good!  The sweetness is okay.

Definitely a keeper!

Thanks JW for sharing this yummy recipe.

Thanks KO and JW for your encouragement and guidance.

Source

What you need:

325g butter (I used golden churn, tin)

12 egg yolks (AA grade - 70-72g) (I actually weigh out the yolk but forgotten to note it down)
160g castor sugar
50g cake flour
7g corn flour
½ tsp lapis spice
10g milk powder

2 tsp rum

Prune, cut into small pieces

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C.  Set the tray on middle rack.  Prepare parchment paper for 6” square pan.  Oil the pan and preheat it.

Sift plain flour, corn flour and milk powder.  Set aside.

Beat butter until light (approx 10 – 15mins).

Add the rum to the butter and continue to beat until fully incorporated. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks and icing sugar until ribbon stage.

Stir in flour mixture by hand whisk until well combined.

Using a whisk, mix butter and egg mixture together.

Add in the rum.  Mix well.

Pour batter (60g) into preheated pan lined with parchment paper.    Spread out evenly and insert some prune pieces randomly.  Give it a bang before baking.  Bake for 5 – 6 mins for the 1st layer.

Turn on the grill mode and increase the oven temp to 220°C .  Continue with the secondary layer of 60g each.  Bake for 3 – 4 mins or until top turned brown. (mine need 5 mins)

Noted:

Between each layer, please press the cake down with a lapis press.

Spread the batter evenly until it melted.

Before going into the oven, give it a bang to let out the air bubbles. This will help to even out the layers too.

Do not insert prunes on every layers.  Maybe every 3 layers and at different position.

Continue baking the cake by the layers until the batter uses up.

For ovens that do not allow the setting of top heat only, place a baking tray of water at the bottom of the oven.

Enjoy!