Showing posts with label Kueh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kueh. Show all posts

Wednesday, 10 October 2012

Bentng (Three Layer Egg Custard Cake)


I don't know what Bentng means or why this is called Bentng. It is made from only 3 main ingredients - eggs, coconut milk and sugar. Of course there is a little bit of flour to bind the custard and pandan juice for fragrance and coloring. In terms of taste, imagine how kaya (coconut jam) tastes like. It is very similar tasting as the ingredients are the same as kaya. And the texture is soft and smooth. Totally yummy!



As far as measurements are concerned, it is pretty simple too. One bowl of eggs, one bowl of sugar and one bowl of coconut milk. To cut down on sugar, my Aunt reduces it to three quarters of a bowl. You could cut down more if you like.



The Bentng sold in town these days are not as tasty as the ones I used to eat when I was a child. This is due to cost cutting whereby the vendors use less eggs and more flour. So it would be more worthwhile to make Bentng at home. 




This recipe was given to me by my Aunt and I was very fortunate to learn the method from her a few months ago.

Bentng (Three Layer Egg Custard Cake)

Ingredients :
- 1 bowl eggs
- 1 bowl coconut milk
- 1 bowl sugar (I scaled this to 1/2 bowl)
- 4 tablespoons flour (see notes below)
- 7 to 8 pandan leaves blended in some water to extract juice
- some yellow coloring (optional)
- some green coloring (optional)

Method :
- Beat eggs and gradually add sugar while beating.
- Beat until sugar dissolves.
- Add coconut milk and stir to evenly mix the batter.
- Add flour and mix.
- Strain the batter and divide into 3 equal portions.
- For the green batter, add 1 teaspoon of flour into the pandan juice first (I forgot to do this step) and then add to the batter and stir. You can add a bit of green coloring to get a more intense color.
- Add a bit of yellow coloring to the other two bowls of batter (if using coloring).
- Oil the baking pan and pour in the first layer of yellow batter. Steam for about 10-12 minutes
- When the yellow batter is almost firm, gently pour in the green batter and steam for about 10-12 minutes.
- Repeat with the last yellow batter.
- When to batter is fully cooked, remove pan from steamer and cool.
- Cut into diagonal shape and serve.
- May be chilled in the fridge before serving.

Notes :
- the bowl I used is about 200ml in volume each.
- you need to adjust the amount of flour according to the volume of the batter. In my case, if I use a bigger bowl, I would most likely add another 1 or 2 tablespoons of flour. Don't put too much flour or else the kuih will be hard.
- before pouring in the 2nd batter, ensure that the first layer is almost firm. If you pour in too early before it firms up, the batter will bleed into each other (see photo below). And if you wait too long until the batter is fully cooked, then the layers won't stick together and will separate when you slice the kuih.
- there is no necessity to use coloring. It is just to intensify the color as natural pandan will give you a very light green and the yellow of the eggs will depend on the intensity of the yolk's color.
- if you use a removable bottom or springform pan, it would be easier to remove the kuih.

I was impatient and poured the yellow batter too soon. The green batter bled into it :(

This batch is better but still there were some green spots.

This is how it looks like in the pan. Quite messy, I will use removable bottom or springform next time.

This kuih is also nice eaten cold from the fridge.

I am submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest, Terengganu Month hosted by Lena of frozen wings.


Monday, 8 October 2012

Mohor (Steamed Sweet Potato Buns)


When I was a kid I loved mohor. I loved the sweet and yeasty smell of this steamed bun. My grandaunts made Nyonya kueh as a vocation and this was one of their specialties. 

Traditionally, the mohor is made with white sweet potatoes and I decided to jazz things up a bit by using the orange colored one. You could use the purple sweet potato too but be sure to use only half portion of purple to half portion of white. Why? Simply because the purple sweet potato has a much stronger smell and it will be too overwhelming.

This kueh is very easy to make as it has only 5 ingredients - flour, egg, sugar, sweet potatoes and yeast. Your special equipments would be 12 small moulds, a steamer and an ice cream scoop (or use two spoons).

This recipe is courtesy of my Aunt who also taught me the method.

Mohor (Steamed Sweet Potato Buns)

Ingredients :
- 200 grams plain flour
- 1 large egg (I used 2 eggs)
- 160 grams fine sugar (I reduced to 120 grams)
- 230 grams sweet potato (skinned, cubed and cooked before weighing)
- 1 soup spoon fresh yeast (recipe here) 

Equipments :
- 12 small moulds (I used teacups, oiled)
- Steamer
- Ice cream scoop to scoop batter or use two spoons
- Tongs to remove hot moulds from steamer


For quick method using instant yeast :
2 teaspoons instant yeast
50grams plain flour
Warm water 

Method :
- Mix flour, yeast and water to form a paste.
- Leave to rise until double in volume.
- Use this in place of fresh yeast.


Method :
1. Boil the sweet potatoes until soft and mash. Leave to cool.
2. In a mixing bowl, add yeast, eggs and sugar. Mix until well combined.
3. Add mashed sweet potatoes and mix well. 
4. Add flour and gently mix until well combined. Do not over mix.
5. Cover and leave to rise for about 8 hours (if you use instant yeast time taken will be shorter) or until dough had tripled in volume.
6. When dough has risen, give it a stir (it will deflate) and cover for one hour for it to rise again.
7. Oil your moulds so that it will be easier to remove the mohor after it is steamed.
8. Using an ice cream scoop or two spoons, scoop the batter into the mould until 3/4 full.
9. Steam for 10 to 12 minutes. The mohor should "smile" i.e. split when it is cooked.

Update (I was reminded of this after Wendy's comment) :
This mohor is great dipped in fresh grated coconut. Mix fresh grated coconut with sugar and salt. Dip the mohor into the coconut as and when you eat. My mother likes it like that :)

I was told that the mohor is cooked when it "smiles", that is the top will split into 3. Some of my moho didn't smile but upon testing they were cooked. Maybe using the ice cream scoop made the dough more compact and that's why it didn't smile (???).

Peel and cube sweet potatoes.
Boil until soft and drain.
Mix yeast, eggs and sugar.
Add mashed sweet potatoes and mix well.
Add flour and gently combine. Do not over mix.
Cover with another mixing bowl and leave to rise for about 8 hours (if you use instant yeast time taken will be shorter) or until dough triples in volume.
Eight hours later.
Give it a stir and it will deflate. Leave covered for one hour.
One hour later.

Scoop batter into well oiled moulds.
Cooling after 10 minutes of steaming.
Didn't smile like the traditional mohor should.
Only one smiley faced mohor turned out.
The purple ones looked funky and smelled a little bit funky too.

I am submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest, Terengganu Month hosted by Lena of frozen wings.