The celebration of the Lunar New Year 2020 (aka Chinese New Year) is officially over. But still, I want to wish those who celebrated a ‘Happy Chinese New Year’. This year I didn’t bake as much as I normally would. I managed to make 3 kek lapis (i.e. layered cakes) – 2 baked and 1 steamed. If you are wondering what’s layered cake, check out my post Brownie Cheese Layered Cake where I gave a short introduction of kek lapis.
Here’s 2 of the kek lapis I made this year:-
Prune Layered Cake
This cake is grilled using ‘Upper Heat’ in the oven one layer at a time. A key point that I learnt in baking layered cake is to set the temperature according to what you are most comfortable with. If you are able to control the temperature using a higher heat without it getting burnt, then set the temperature accordingly. As a general guideline, it can be within 170°C – 220°C (338°F – 428°F). Once a layer has reached golden brown, another layer is added onto it until the batter finished.
The prunes are added once for every 3 layers, with a total of 13 to 15 layers. The prunes are sliced horizontally and flattened so that it fits into the thin layers of the cake. As huge quantitiy of egg yolks and butter are used, I don’t have to use any leavenings to make the cake soft and moist. As a matter of fact, the cake taste better after a day or 2. Even it is chilled, it will not dry out easily! If you have a sweet tooth, prune layered cake might be for you!:)
Roasted Pecan Layered Cake
Of all the tree nuts, pecan is one of my favourites. It enhances the flavour of any dishes made with it, at least in my opinion ;). So, I decided to create pecan layered cake which I have not came across before. Maybe that’s because pecan is not widely available in Malaysia and it can be rather pricey too. In fact, I brought a bag of pecan back to Malaysia in order to give this cake a try! And it’s definiely worth it! I am extremely satisfied with how the cake turns out! The pecan blended well with the texture of the cake with an extra crunch and flavour! I love this cake and will be making it again!
This year I decided to share some of the dishes that I make and may not necessarily come with recipes! You can browse through such posts under ‘Just For Read‘. And this will be my first post under ‘Just for Read’ ;).
The Cooking Owl 
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