Gosh.. This blog is more than 2 months overdue! Many apologies for all the Bake Club members and 2 of our followers.
So here is the tale of the laborious Kueh Lapis Legit. We googled the recipe online and stumbled across Rose's Kitchen and decided to try it out.
Majority of the Bake Club members fell ill at the initially planned Bake Club so it was postponed (And no.. It wasn't because of the Coconut Cake from the previous Bake Club). Faced with 25 eggs to use up before it expires, I decided to be really brave and bake it alone. I started at 8pm on Sat night and thinking that it would be done by midnight, I actually finished baking at 2am! Yup.. Took me 5 hours to bake it!
Being the amateur baker that I am, I followed the recipe to the letter. The cake didn't turn out as it should. The recipe asked me to grill each layer for about 3 mins or less. They should have changed it to 3 mins or until it turns brown. All my layers ended up very light in colour and not very cooked. It was still a bit wet when I put on each layer. As you can see below, it didn't turn out well. It still tasted good though :P
The not-so-perfect Kueh Lapis (top view)
The failed Kueh Lapis Legit (side view)
So when the Bake Club heard about my 5 hours of baking, we decided to be really cheeky and bake it on a really wide rectangular pyrex tray instead of an 8" square tin so that it will take lesser time to bake due to the fewer number of layers we have to do.
Joyce arrived at mine first, followed by Yusuf. Nana texted to say she was still at work and would be coming later on to pick up her portion of the cake (The cheek of it!). So we divided the tasks and cracked on..
Supposedly the best butter for baking
Only free range organic eggs of course!
30 eggs for the 25 egg yolks
(just in case some gets mixed with the egg whites)
Yusuf, the expert egg yolk separator
25 egg yolks!!!
Yummm.....
Heart attack & diabetes in a bowl.
Tin of condensed milk with half a kilo of butter
&
2 tablespoon of golden syrup.
The finished mixture
Spreading a very thin layer before putting it in the oven
for another 15 times!
It is worth noting that the first layer is baked while all subsequent layers are grilled with the final layer covered to make it completely baked. Having a really thin layer each time is also crucial as it affects the final taste.
Taking a small break while keeping a close eye on the oven
We also find that we have to keep a very close watch on the oven as the thin layer can burn very easily. 2 minutes on the grill is about the right amount of time but different ovens vary so keep a close watch on it!
The finished product!
It took us about 3.5 hours from preparation to finish, 1.5 hours less than when I did it on my own. I guess it helps having 2 extra pairs of hands. It definitely helps that we were using a wider tray.
A perfect slice!
We were impressed with the results. We didn't think we would survive with a 180-degrees oven in the kitchen and it being 30-degrees celsius outside. There were times when I felt like passing out! We actually had a fan in the kitchen blowing to our faces to keep us cool.
Thank you Rose!!!
What can I say? The final product is just so yummy (It has to be with a whole tin of condensed milk!). Everyone in Bake Club agrees. My younger brother and his flatmate came over to try the cake and his flatmate, Jack, requested it to be made for his birthday. Not sure we would make it again though..
