Tea and cake

There are two types of kuih lapis that I know of: Nonya and Indonesian. Both share the basic chararcteristic of discernable layers, hence their name which means "layer cake". However the first consists of steamed layers of rice flour, sugar and coconut cream, whereas the Indonesian version is a more tradtional baked version, but with spices including cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, mace and possibly saffron. Both are steamed or baked in layers, making them a major pain in the rear end to make. The Indonesian version is also traditionally an expensive luxury, whereas the other is easily and cheaply available in Malaysia and Singapore. Both evoke strong memories of my childhood. Kuih lapis was and is my favourite Nonya kueh, and I spent many happy hours slowly peeling the many layers. The Indonesian version I associate with my grandfather who lived in Indonesia and would bring these back for us. This was a much rarer treat.

All this leads up to today's afternoon tea which included a slice of kuih lapis purchased in Rotterdam on a recent trip. This was a factory-baked rather than homebaked version, so lacks the rich butteriness and strong spice aroma I associate with this cake. However the spice profile was spot on, and was sufficient to bring back many memories. In general I was surprised by the amount of Indonesian foods even in mainstream Dutch grocery stores, with many types of kropok, spice pastes, boil in the bag lemongrass-flavored rice, bami goreng and other fried noodles in the ready to eat section.