Kueh Puteri Sarlat

双层班兰糯米糕

Also known as Glutinous Rice Sarlat

Nonya cuisine is also famous for it's Kueh (Cake or dessert ). Nonya desserts are varied and extraordinary. They are strongly Malay influenced - made from local ingredients such as sweet potato, yams, agar agar, gula Melaka (palm sugar), coconut milk, glutinous rice - and Chinese ingredients such as red beans, green beans or mung beans. The ubiquitous vanilla bean used for essence is replaced by a local plant leaf Pandan or Pandanus (Screwpine leaves), giving Nonya desserts it's signature quintessence!

Kueh Sarlat is a two-layered dessert with glutinous rice steamed with coconut milk and topped with rich custard made from eggs, pandan juice and satan.

Ingredients

Bottom layer

500g glutinous rice (soaked 2 hours)

150ml coconut milk

200ml water

1/2 tsp salt

some blue-pea flower colouring

Top Layer (coconut egg custard)

5 eggs

500ml coconut milk

200g sugar

1/2 tsp pandan paste

50g rice flour

2 tsp corn flour

1/2 tsp salt

Method

1. Bottom layer: Drain glutinous rice, place it in a cake tin with a bed if pandan leaves. Add coconut milk, water, salt and stir.

2. Steam it for 30 minutes, then sprinkle with the blue-pea flower colouring. Continue to steam for another 15 minutes till cooked. Allow to cool slightly, then press the warm glutinous rice using a piece of banana leaf to make it compact.

3. Top layer: In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar till dissolved. Add the coconut milk, pandan paste and continue to whisk, gradually add the rice flour and corn flour bit by bit till completely well mixed. Add salt.

4. Pour the mixture by shifting on the warm steamed cooked glutinous rice. Steam it for 25 to 30 minutes till set. Leave to cool completely before cutting into pieces.

**I used a 8x8 square pan.

Source: 爱上小娘惹 by Baba Philip Chia