INTRODCUTION

Wait,  if you think this rice cake should have  a flowery shape, you can always refer to this post ::Huat Kueh- Chinese Steamed Rice Flour Cake–A Cake That Brings You Luck And Prosperity

They are essentially the same type of rice flour kuih with different leavening agent. The picture above uses eno and baking powder whereas most Malay style apam beras uses yeast (both commercial or natural yeast (tapai))  and eno was recently added to have a flowery shape ..

I have to be franked that I do not like eno flavoured huat kuih as it tends to change the taste of the this rice flour cake, therefore I have decided not to use eno as a leavening agent for this Malay apam beras. Well, for this recipe, whether it smile or not are not that critical . Chinese insists the flowering of rice cake to get an auspicious meaning. For our Malay brothers, there is no such believe and therefore , blooming of this kuih is not necessary and I do not want to add unnecessary agent to the cake to destroy the flavour.

If you go pasar malam or night market, most are not “smiling” too. It was served with some shredded coconut which is very delicious. To complete my Malay and nonya kuih series, I must at least blog one of this apam recipes.

This recipe is slightly different from other apam beras recipes:

• This recipe uses commercial yeast and not tapai or wine yeast which can become rather sour if there is over proofing

• This recipe does not really need very long hours of fermentation which most recipes called for at least 3-4 hours

• This recipe does not used overnight rice. On the contrary it uses pre-cooked rice flour

This is my own recipe and I am happy with the outcome. It tasted like what is sold in the night market though the preparation are much faster.

WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: About 20-25 small praying cup size Apam beras

Yeast starter

• 6 grams of instant yeast

• 50 grams of plain flour

• 50 grams of lukewarm water

Rice Flour Batter

• 250 grams of rice flour

• 80 grams of white sugar

• 250 grams of plain water

• Colouring of your choice

Steamed shredded coconut

• 150 grams of grated coconut

• Pinches of salt

• 3-4 pandan leaves

STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Lightly greased your preferred steaming cups

• In  a bowl, mix all the ingredients of yeast starter (lukewarm water, yeast and plain flour). Stir until well mixed. Set aside at a warm place for proofing.

• In pan, put in the rice flour, sugar and water. Stir until well mix. Place on top of a stove, cook under low heat until the rice flour slightly thickens. Constant stirring is required and thickening of the batter can occur rather fast. Once it thickens, set aside for it to cool until 25-30 degrees or it would not hurt your hand when you touch the sticky batter. (Note: If your batter is too hot, it will kill the yeast)

• By now, the yeast should be frothy with  a lot of bubbles. If not bubbles are noted, do not proceed as your yeast may be dead. You will need to get some new yeast and do the dough starter again.

• Once the thicken rice flour solution is lukewarm, pour the starter dough into the rice flour solution. Stir until well combined. Divide into 3 portion, add your preferred colouring, stir until well combined. Transfer the batter to your greased steaming cups and fill until 50% full. Put the cups in the steaming tray and let it proof until it reaches at least 90% full.

• Get ready a steamer capable of steaming at least 20 minutes and bring the water to boil. Transfer the proofed rice flour batter to the steamer and steam at high heat for at least 15 minutes or when a skewer inserts into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Steaming shall be at high heat throughout the whole duration. Timing will depend on size of your cups.

• In a steamer, place the grated coconut, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and the pandan leaves. Steam in the steamer for about 10-15 minutes or until the pandan leaves are soft. Apam beras is best served with these shredded coconut .

NOTE:

• If you prefer the smiling Apam Beras, you will need to alter the procedures. Proof the three coloured batter separately, once it have been proofed until twice the volume and before sending for steaming, add 1/2 tablespoon of Eno fruit salt to each batter, stir until well combined, quickly transfer the batter to fill at least 90% of the steaming cups. Once done, steam at high heat for 15 minutes.

CONCLUSION

This recipe is very fast as compare to the other recipe but the taste will not be much compromised.. Do give it a try and see if it suits your taste buds. Possibly in my next attempt, I will add some Eno to the cake to let it flower. Having said that, it is very difficult to flower for this small cup, i would have to change to possibly muffin cup size .

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