Durian Bingka

We bought about 10kg of durian the other day during our recent trip to Tenom. Yes, we have to hurry because the durian does not wait for anyone. Durians are going to drop whenever they’re ready and it’s we who have to make the effort to get ourselves to the right place at the right time. They’re sold as cheap as RM5 per kg. Isn’t that crazy? They’re many different types of durian so you’ll need to work a little harder to judge the durians yourself in order to find a good one. After you have made your pick then don’t be scared to haggle because the vendors actually expect you to make an offer countering the price they just made up for you. Many people find haggling intimidating but not Hub.

One thing that's good about staying at the Perkasa Hotel is that I did not find those big signs on the walls with the red X through a durian. It means that they actually don’t care if you bring durians into your room or not.

After we’ve done stuffing our faces with durian, they’re still about 6kg left. So, I guess it’s time to make something with them.

Durian Bingka

Adapted from Yatiememories

Ingredients

3 whole eggs

1 cup thick coconut milk

2¼ cup water

2 cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup sugar

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp butter / margarine

1 – 1½ cup durian flesh

Egg yellow food colouring

Sesame seeds

Directions

Lightly grease a muffin tray with veg oil. Preheat oven to 200⁰C. Preheat the prepared tray in the oven while it heats up.

Blend together the eggs, coconut milk, water, flour, sugar, salt and butter / margarine until smooth.

Add in the durian flesh and a few drops of egg yellow food colouring. Continue to blend until well incorporated.

Carefully take out the prepared tray from the oven and put it on the counter. Pour the batter into the tray. Sprinkle sesame seeds over it.

Bake for 40 minutes until the top develops a lovely golden-brown hue.

Transfer onto rack to cool.

Pumpkin Bingka

I am not a fan of pumpkin but my daughter loves it so much especially sayur manis and pumpkin in coconut milk stew, as she called it. Sayur manis is native to Sabah and it is regularly labelled as 'Sabah Veg'. 

Baking with pumpkin can be as easy as going to the grocery store and buying a can of pumpkin purée. In this part of the world, pumpkin is very cheap. 

There are lots of yummy ways to use this veg. Try this quick and easy pumpkin recipe for your next family get-together. All these ingredients are things you already have in your kitchen like coconut milk, eggs, flour, sugar, ghee etc. This traditional cake is soft, chewy and fragrant.

I cannot believe how great this cake turned out! 

Pumpkin Bingka

Ingredients

300gm pumpkin – cubed, boiled until soft and pureed

200ml thick coconut milk (diluted with ½ cup water)

2½ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

300ml water

3 pcs of pandan leaves - washed

3 tbsp ghee

2 whole eggs  

½ tsp salt

Directions

Lightly grease a 10-inch pan with veg oil. Preheat oven to 200⁰C. Preheat the prepared pan in the oven while it heats up.

In a small sauce pan, heat the coconut milk and ghee over medium heat just until bubbles form around the edge and steam begins to rise from the coconut milk. Leave to cool.

Use a pair of scissors and cut the pandan leaves around 2cm length into the blender. Blend the pandan leaves with 300ml water. Pour the pandan pulp through a fine strainer. Use the back of a spoon to press on the pulp to get the juice out. Set aside.

Blend together the eggs, the pandan juice, sugar and half of the flour.

Add in the coconut milk mixture, salt and the remaining flour. Beat until well blended.

Carefully (because you could burn yourself, wear oven mittens as the oven would be really hot by this time) take out the prepared pan from the oven and put it on your counter. Pour the batter into the pan. At this point, you can also sprinkle sesame seeds over it.

Bake for 1 and a half hour until the top develops a lovely golden-brown hue.

Transfer onto rack to cool.

Steamed Taro Talam (Talam Keladi)

This kuih consists of two layers. The bottom layer is made with rich taro flavour. You’ll absolutely love the topping. 

I love anything with taro; taro ice cream, taro powder flavoured drink, taro rice, taro cake, taro fritters, yam basket, taro chips, taro cheesecake, taro stew, you name it, so how could I give this kuih talam a miss! I love the slightly sweet but nutty very unique flavour of taro especially the large variety with purple flecks in the flesh.

Photo courtesy of Google

Taro (Colocasia esculenta) is a tropical tuber that has a starchy texture, kind of gluey, when cooked. It can’t be eaten raw, it needs to be cooked first as it contains oxalic acid which can irritate your throat and mouth. That goes for the leaves and leaf-stems too.  Scrub them well, put on a pair of gloves and remove the skin with a paring knife or a vegetable peeler. Gloves are called for due to the presence of oxalic acid crystals which can irritate sensitive skin. Some people are sensitive to oxalic acid that their hands get all itchy just by touching it. If you don’t have disposable gloves then coat your hands with cooking oil before peeling and remember not to touch your eyes! Simply rub some oil on your hands when handling it and this should help keep the taro rash away. Oxalic acid is not deadly, just unpleasant.

Once the corms are peeled, cut or slice them as needed for your intended use or place in a bowl of salty cold water to prevent discoloration.

Steamed Taro Talam (Talam Keladi)

Source : Chef Asma

Ingredients for Bottom Layer

2 cups rice flour

3 tbsp tapioca starch

300 ml thick coconut milk

8 tbsp sugar

1½  tsp garam

700 ml water

300 gm diced taro

Directions

Prepare a 10"x10"x3" baking tray and line with plastic wrap.

Peel the taro, wash with salty water and dice, slightly thicker than half cm. Steam for 5 minutes until soft then weigh it. Set aside.  

Mix the rice flour, tapioca starch, coconut milk, sugar, salt and water. Stir until smooth. Strain into a medium sized pot. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula until the batter begins to thicken slightly but still runny enough to pour.

Add the taro and give it a quick stir. Pour onto the baking tray, level surface with a plastic spatula and steam on high heat for 30 minutes. 

Ingredients for Top Layer

1½ cup all-purpose flour

250 gm sugar

3 whole eggs

250 ml coconut milk

500 ml water

A few drops of purple colouring

Yam flavouring – optional

Directions

Mix the ingredients and stir until smooth. Strain into a medium sized pot. Cook over low heat until the mixture thickens slightly but still runny enough to pour.

Pour over the taro layer. Cover the top of the baking tray with a cling wrap then steam on high heat for another 40 minutes. After 30 minutes, take of the cover of the steamer and steam (uncovered) for 10 minutes.

Take out from the steamer and remove the clip wrap. Leave to cool before cutting into diamond-shaped or rectangle-shaped pieces with a plastic knife.

Baked Cream Cracker Cake (Bingka Cream Cracker)

Not everyone loves cream cracker. But this baked cream cracker cake is soft, moist and deliciously rich. This is my daughter’s favourite cake and pink is currently her favourite colour.

It’s so much easier to make this cake, just need to mix everything together and bake. The cake tends to be rather soft when you first take it out the oven. If you find it is under baked then simply return it into the oven to continue baking till completely done. Still tasty though! Enjoy it after it cools down for a firmer texture. This cake can be eaten during breakfast, as an afternoon snack or just as dessert. 

Baked Cream Cracker Cake

Ingredients

140 gm cream cracker
85 gm all-purpose flour
1 cup castor sugar
3 whole eggs
700 ml evaporated milk / coconut milk (500 ml coconut milk + 200 ml water) 
1 tbsp butter – softened
½ tsp pink colouring
½ tsp vanilla extract
A pinch of salt
½ tsp sesame seeds

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 180C for about 15 minutes. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan with vegetable oil and pop in the oven for 10 minutes.

In a food processor, blend the cream cracker together with the flour until fine crumbs are achieved. Set aside.

Blend eggs, sugar, evaporated milk, butter, pink colouring, vanilla extract and salt to mix well. Add the mixture of flour and cream cracker. Blend well to make sure the batter is evenly mixed.

Take out the baking pan from the oven and pour the batter into the baking pan. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Bake for 1 hour until golden brown.

Remove the cake from the oven and cool on wire rack for 30 minutes. Unmould and leave to cool for another 1 hour or so. Cut into rectangular pieces. 

Enjoy!

Steamed Caramel Cupcakes

The school holidays are a good time to encourage the kids into the kitchen to cook. They will love measuring, mixing and baking their own treats. It may make a mess but it will be lots of fun for them and there will be a tasty treat at the end of it to share.

It is also a great way for your kids to spend some time away from the TV and build their confidence in the kitchen. So get your kids in the kitchen to create these tea time treats, perfect for 8-14 year-old to show off their cooking skills.

This recipe yield 35 small cakes. Steam cooking the cakes yields an extremely soft and spongy texture. 

Steamed Caramel Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
1 cup hot water
2 whole eggs
½ cup cooking oil
2 tbsp margarine/butter
2 tbsp sweet condensed milk
1 tsp baking soda/sodium bicarbonate

1½ cup all-purpose flour

Directions

To make the caramel syrup, place the sugar in a small heavy-based saucepan and heat over low heat until the sugar caramelizes and  turns golden brown. Remove the pan from the heat. Pour the hot water onto the caramel (be careful not to get burned as the caramelized sugar will start to splutter).  Return the saucepan to the heat and boil the caramel over low heat for a few minutes until completely melted and a syrup is obtained. Set aside to cool.

Sift the flour and baking soda into a mixing bowl. Put aside.

In a blender, combine the eggs, sweet condensed milk, oil and margarine / butter. Then blend well for about 3 minutes.

Add the cooled caramel into the mixture and blend slightly to mix well.

Pour the liquid mixture into the mixing bowl. Gradually incorporate by stirring gently with a whisk to make a smooth batter.

Spoon the batter into small lightly greased cup, three-quarter full then tap a few times. Steam over high heat for 15 minutes. (do not open the steamer during the steaming process or the cake might collapse). Put the steamed cake on a wire rack to slightly cool down before unmoulding.

If you are using a baking pan then steamed it for 45 minutes.

Glutinous Rice With Pandan Custard Layer

I grew up watching my aunt or my late grandmother making trays of different types of kuih for Chinese New Year or Christmas. But it wasn’t until much later after I got married that I learned to make and appreciate the desserts I had from childhood. I learned to make this sweet tasty dessert 3 years ago. They go extremely well with a cup of coffee in the morning or as an afternoon snack.

I seldom get to use fresh pandan / screwpine leaves as I only go to the market in the weekend. Pandan extract gives natural colouring to the 'kuih'. This 'kuih' can be kept for up to 2 – 3 days if refrigerated however refrigerating will make the glutinous rice layer to become slightly hard.  So just pop it in the microwave for a couple of minutes and let it cool before consuming.

Making it is a little hard work but it seriously is worth it. I am the only one that eats it in my household so I normally make it only for catering or potluck. You can also substitute the white glutinous rice with black glutinous rice. You have to whisk the custard layer continuously while cooking. Do not let it overcooked or else the pandan custard layer will be clumpy and uneven. In order not to let water droplets fall onto the surface of the pandan flavoured custard, you must wrap the baking tray with a cling wrap during the steaming process.

You have to try this amazing recipe. Enjoy!

Glutinous Rice With Pandan Custard Layer
(Kuih Talam Seri Muka)

Ingredients for Glutinous Rice Layer

500 gm glutinous rice – soak for at least 3 hours

300 ml coconut milk

300 ml water

2 tsp salt

Directions

Prepare a 10"x10"x2" baking tray and line with plastic wrap.

Drain the rice into a large sieve and rinse. Pour into the baking tray. Set aside.

Mix the coconut milk, water and salt then give it a quick stir. Pour into the rice and steam over a high heat for 30 minutes or until cooked.

Remove from the steamer and fluff the rice with a fork. Use a spatula to press and compact the rice layer. Make sure there are no holes/air bubbles and gaps in the rice, especially the sides. Ensure that enough pressure is applied when compacting the glutinous rice layer. This is to prevent it from falling apart when it is cut. 

Ingredients for Custard Layer

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tbsp rice flour

1 tbsp corn flour

250 ml coconut milk

500 ml water

2 whole egg

250 gm castor sugar

10 pcs of screwpine leave – wash, blend & strain the juice (I used ½

tsp pandan paste)

Directions

Mix the all-purpose flour, rice flour and corn flour, coconut milk, water, eggs, sugar, pandan juice / paste. Stir until smooth. Strain into a medium sized pot. Cook over low heat until the mixture thickens slightly but still runny enough to pour.

Pour onto the glutinous rice layer. Cover the top of the baking tray with a cling wrap then steam on high heat for another 40 minutes. After 30 minutes, take of the cover of the steamer and steam (uncovered) for 10 minutes.

Take out from the steamer and remove the clip wrap. Leave to cool before cutting into diamond-shaped or rectangle-shaped pieces with a plastic knife.

Baked Pandan Cake (Kuih Bingka Pandan)

This is a traditional Malay desert with a custard-like texture and flavoured with fresh pandan flavour and coconut milk. Pandan always goes well with coconut milk. It’s such a beautiful combination. It’s really easy and quick to make.  

This cake is also called Kuih Kemboja because of the traditional bronze mould used for the preparation of this cake that resembles a plumeria flower.

I made this cake yesterday for Hub and my daughter. They love it very much especially the crusty burnt edges.  

Baked Pandan Cake (Kuih Bingka Pandan)

(Adapted from Azie Kitchen)

Ingredients

2 cups plain flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup of pandan water

3 cups coconut milk (2 cups boxed coconut milk & 1 cup water)

3 whole eggs

2 tbsp unsalted butter - melted

½ tsp salt

½ tsp of pandan paste

3 tbsp sesame seeds

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180C.

To prepare the pandan water, wash 5 – 6 pieces of pandan leaves and cut into small pieces then blend together with 1 cup of water. Strain then set aside.

Put all the ingredients except for the sesame seeds in a blender and blend until smooth.  Mixture should turn into a thick slurry.

Grease the baking pan with a tiny bit of oil then transfer it into the oven. When the oil is in the baking pan is hot, take out the pan then pour the batter into the baking pan up to the brim and sprinkle sesame seeds on top then baked for 45 minutes (on upper and lower heat).

The cake will puff up on baking but when it cools down, it will sink a bit.

In the final 10 minutes of the baking time, switch the oven’s control panel to upper heat, this is to brown the surface of the cake so that the edges of the cake will be light golden brown and crusty.

Allow to cool completely.  Cut and serve.