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Desserts

Kuih Lapis (Steamed Layer Kuih)

Mix rice flour and tapioca flour with coconut milk and a pandan sugar syrup, colour half the batter red, then steam it in thin alternating layers for 5–6 minutes each and 20 minutes for the last, and cool for 4 hours before cutting; about 5 hours 35 minutes for 16 pieces.

Kuih lapis is the soft, bouncy steamed kuih made of thin layers of coconut batter in alternating colours, usually red and white, that children love to peel apart one layer at a time. The batter is simply rice flour and tapioca flour mixed with coconut milk and a pandan syrup. Each layer is steamed until set before the next goes on, so it takes patience but no special skill. Let it cool completely before cutting, or the layers will stick to the knife.

Squares of kuih lapis with neat alternating pink and white steamed layers on a banana leaf, one piece standing on its side to show the layers Start cooking mode

Ingredients

  • 250 g sugar
  • 400 ml water
  • 3 pandan leaves, knotted
  • 160 g rice flour
  • 160 g tapioca flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 500 ml thick coconut milk
  • 1/4 tsp red food colouring
  • 1 tsp cooking oil, for the tin

Method

  1. Put the sugar, water and pandan leaves in a saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Leave the syrup to cool for 15 minutes, then remove the pandan leaves.
  2. Mix the rice flour, tapioca flour and salt in a large bowl. Whisk in the coconut milk, then the cooled syrup, until smooth. Strain the batter through a sieve. You should have about 1.3 L.
  3. Pour half the batter into a second bowl and stir in the red colouring. Leave the other half plain.
  4. Brush a 20 cm (8 in) square tin with oil. Bring water to a strong boil in a steamer and put the empty tin in to heat for 2 minutes.
  5. Stir the red batter, then pour about 140 ml (a ladle) into the tin. Cover and steam over high heat for 5–6 minutes, until the layer is set and no longer looks wet.
  6. Stir the plain batter and pour a ladle over the first layer. Steam for 5–6 minutes. Keep going with alternating colours, stirring the batter each time because the flour settles, until all the batter is used. Finish with a red layer.
  7. Steam the last layer for 20 minutes, so the whole kuih is cooked through.
  8. Lift the tin out and leave the kuih to cool completely at room temperature, at least 4 hours. Run an oiled knife around the edge, turn it out and cut into 16 pieces with an oiled knife or a plastic knife.

Tips

  • Even layers: use the same ladle or a measuring jug for every layer, and keep the steamer at a strong boil the whole time.
  • Wipe the lid: wrap the steamer lid in a cloth so water does not drip onto the kuih and leave dents.
  • Pandan colours: for green and white layers, replace 100 ml of the coconut milk in half the batter with 100 ml pandan juice.
  • Storage: keep covered at room temperature and eat within 2 days. Do not refrigerate, as it turns hard; if it does, steam it for 3 minutes to soften.

Questions

Why do I need both rice flour and tapioca flour?

Rice flour gives the kuih body and tapioca flour makes it soft, smooth and bouncy. Together they make layers that peel apart cleanly.

Why are my kuih lapis layers not even?

Use the same ladle for every layer, stir the batter each time because the flour settles, and keep the steamer at a strong boil.

Why must kuih lapis cool before cutting?

It is still soft and sticky when warm. After at least 4 hours at room temperature it firms up and cuts neatly with an oiled knife.

Can I keep kuih lapis in the fridge?

It hardens in the fridge. Keep it covered at room temperature and eat it within 2 days, or steam chilled pieces for 3 minutes to soften them.

Is this kuih lapis halal?

The recipe is pork-free and lists no alcohol. It is not halal-certified: check that the food colouring carries halal certification.

A Dada Cooking original recipe. Quantities are metric first, with US amounts in brackets.