Kuih Lapis

Kuih Lapis or in english , they call it nine layer kueh ..it's made up of nine layers.. the traditional one usually comes in pink and white but now there are a varieties of colours, green and white and combination of a few colours. When i was small, i remember eating this kueh layer by layer..i will peel off each layer and eat and i think a lot of children during my time do that too. For the recipe, see below..

Ingredients ( from Nyonya Flavours )
180gm rice flour
150ml water
200 ml thick coconut milk
1/8tsp salt
some pink and orange red colouring

To make syrup:
180gm sugar
350ml water
2 pandan leaves

Method:
1. Combine the rice flour and water in a bowl and set aside to soak for 1 hour
2. Meanwhile make the syrup. Boil sugar, water and pandan leaves until sugar dissolves, leave to cool slightly, maybe for about 15mins
3. Add these syrup , thick coconut milk and salt into the soaked rice flour mixture and mix well. Sieve and divide the batter into two. Colour one portion pink.
4. Greased a 8" steaming round tin, pour 1/2 cup of the white batter on the heated tray to coat it evenly about 1/4cm thick. Stean for about 5 mins or until set.
5. Then pour another 1/2 cup of pink batter over the white batter, cover and steam for another 5 mins.
6. Repeat, alternating pink and white layers intil the last layer which is orange red.
7. Steam the last layer for about 15mins, opening the lid every 5 mins.

Test for doneness:
Generally , 3-5 mins is sufficient to set the layer. The layers may fail to bind if they have been steamed for too long. I used a spoon gently touching each layer to check whether if it has set and for each layer, i measured the quantity about 80ml for each layer ..just to have a more balanced looking layers. Cool completely before cutting.