Kue lumpur
Kue lumpur is a traditional Indonesian cake made from mashed potatoes, coconut milk and eggs, which gives it a soft, silky crumb almost like egg custard. Each little cake is topped with a few raisins and strands of young coconut, and tastes rich, fragrant and gently sweet. Traditionally they're cooked on the stovetop in a special mold, but this recipe uses a muffin tin and the oven for convenience.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Rising or chilling
- 15 min
- Total time
- 1 hr 10 min
- Method
- Oven-baked
Ingredients
Batter
Topping
Oil for the pan
Instructions
Step 1
Peel the potatoes, cut them into medium chunks and steam over high heat for about twenty minutes. Steaming keeps the potatoes fluffy and dry instead of waterlogged as they would be from boiling. They're ready when a chopstick slides all the way through easily without the pieces falling apart.
Step 2
While the potatoes are still hot, mash them and press them through a sieve until smooth, then weigh out 200 g mashed potato. Hot potatoes pass through the sieve more easily and give the cakes a silky, lump-free crumb. The mash is ready when it's fine and powdery with no fibrous bits.
Step 3
Put 150 g eggs, 125 g sugar and a pinch of salt in a bowl and whisk until the sugar dissolves and the eggs turn slightly foamy. Beating the eggs with the sugar first makes the cakes lighter even without any leavening. The mixture is ready when it turns pale yellow and is covered in tiny bubbles.
Step 4
Add the mashed potato, 125 g sifted all-purpose flour and 400 g coconut milk to the egg mixture one at a time, stirring well after each addition, and finish with 75 g melted butter and 3 g vanilla extract. Adding things gradually keeps the batter smooth and free of lumps. The batter is ready when it's as thin as light cream, smooth and flows in an even stream.
Step 5
Let the batter rest for about fifteen minutes while you preheat the oven to 180°C. The rest lets the flour absorb the liquid and allows the large air bubbles to settle. The batter is ready when its surface is flat with only a few small bubbles.
Step 6
Brush each cup of a muffin tin with vegetable oil (to taste), heat the tin in the oven for three minutes, then stir the batter again and pour it into each cup until about three-quarters full. A hot pan sets the bottoms quickly and gives the cakes pretty golden edges. You've got it right when the batter sizzles gently as it hits the pan and every cup holds the same amount.
Step 7
Bake at 180°C for about ten minutes; once the tops have just set, scatter 25 g raisins and 50 g young coconut flesh, cut into thin strips, over them, then keep baking for a total of 20 to 25 minutes. Adding the topping once the surface has set keeps it from sinking to the bottom. The cakes are done when the tops are taut, the edges lightly golden and the centers wobble slightly like a flan but are no longer liquid.
Step 8
Leave the cakes in the tin for about ten minutes, then run a small spoon around the edges to lift them out. They're very soft while hot, and waiting a little helps them hold their shape. They're finished when they come out nicely round, with a soft, silky crumb and a creamy golden top.
Equipment
- Oven
- Muffin tin
- Steamer
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Sieve
- Kitchen scale
- Pastry brush
Tips
- If you have a kue lumpur mold or a deep mini-pancake pan (like the one for banh khot), you can cook the cakes on the stovetop over low heat with a lid on, the traditional way.
- Floury potatoes, such as yellow Da Lat potatoes or russets, give a smoother crumb than waxy ones.
- You can swap the vanilla for a few drops of pandan extract to give the cakes a lovely fragrance and a pale green color.
Storage
Because they contain coconut milk and eggs, these cakes are best eaten the same day at room temperature. You can refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to two days; steam them for a few minutes before serving to soften them again.
Common problems and how to fix them
- The cakes sink deeply and turn watery after coming out of the oven.
- They weren't cooked through to the center. Bake them a few minutes longer, until the centers only wobble slightly and no longer look wet and shiny.
- The crumb is lumpy and grainy.
- The potatoes weren't mashed finely enough or the flour clumped. Sieve the potatoes while they're still hot, and sift the flour before mixing it in.
This recipe is based on the common ratios for this bake and is written entirely in our own words.
