Bolu Kukus

Bolu kukus, or steamed cake is one of the toughest cake I have ever tried to make!! When reading the recipe, it look very simple. In reality, it's NOT that easy! There are lots of hidden trick to it in that cake that not many people can explain. When a friend of mine, Sally showed off her beautifully cracked bolu kukus on her blackberry picture, it reminded me of my mom's bolu kukus when I was a kid. It's been more than 20 years since the last time I ate my mom's bolu kukus.  So I tried making it, since it look so simple.

- First attempt, total failure. The cakes beatifully cracked inside the steamer BUT when I opened the lid, it shrunk and become so tough it's not even edible. Fate: trash can.

- Second attempt, another total failure, same result as first attempt.

Then I ran to my mom for help. She gladly made the cake for us but, since she is into au naturale, mom didn't use any kind of emulsifier so the cake has flat top, but at least it tasted good and didn't end up like my cakes.

- Third attempt, i used my mom's recipe, followed every single step EXCEPT I added more soda as per recipe that Sally used which came from NCC Indonesia website but I didn't add emulsifier. Result, same as first and second attempt. Fate: trash can.

There were couple more attempts that end up with the same result. So I got so fed up with it I almost gave up using steamer. Thinking that oven is my best friend, and not fated to use steamer. When I found out that NCC has a basic cake class and reading the course description, I decided to join and learn how to make cakes using emulsifier and steam cakes. That class is my life saver and enlighten me on what to do with steam cakes. Yay!! So I rushed home and try making the cake again.

- Nth attempt no 1 : cake didn't shrink, but end up like my mom's with flat top. Okay... not exactly the result I was looking for.

-Nth attempt no 2: cracked open a tiny bit, still not the result I was looking for but at least it's a little improvement.

Then it got me thinking. The recipe said to put all the ingredients in the bowl and just mix it. Since I followed my mom's step of beating the eggs and sugar together, then add flour then the soda, maybe that's why. So I tried using the same recipe again.

- Nth attempt no nth: same as Nth attempt no 2. Turns out I didn't beat it long enough and my mixer didn't mix the ingredients really well when i found some unmixed residue at the bottom of the bowl as i was pouring the batter into the molds.

Then, I decided to look for other recipes on the mailing list archive. Found ibu Fat's new recipe that she hasn't post on her blog. So, I decided to give it a try.

- Nth attempt no nth square: Finally!!!!! It blooms and cracked beautifully! Yay!!! I was sooo happy! O-M-G!!! I love ibu Fat of NCC! After Nth attempt and god knows how many kg of flour, eggs, sugar, and soda that I used, it gave me the beautiful bolu kukus result. Hip hip hooray!!

Enough of my long rant, here is the recipe.

Bolu kukus ibu Fat

225 gr sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp emulsifier
250 gr flour
1 tsp baking powder
150 ml soda
1 tbsp coco powder (optional)

1. Put all the ingredients together in a bowl, except for the coco powder. and beat for 10 minutes until very thick and pale.
2. In a small bowl, mix the coco powder with water. Add a little bit of the batter and mix with coco powder mixture.
3. Pour batter into molds and top with chocolate batter.
4. Steam for 10 minutes.

Note: You don't have to use chocolate for topping. Any color and flavoring wont effect the result but it's for aesthetic purposes. Colorful will make it look pretty. Good luck!!