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This must be one of the most instagrammable kue I’ve ever made! This sweet potato kue lapis earns its place on the table before you even taste it. The layers stack up in that soft ombré, the beautiful shades of purple, orange, yellow came from the natural colourings of the sweet potatoes used in this recipe. Every layer is distinct enough to peel apart to eat, exactly how I ate the kue lapis since young. It’s really time-consuming to make this dessert kue but looking at the final result, I would say it’s totally worth it.
In this version of the kue lapis, the layers turn out denser due to the sweet potatoes. The flavours infused by the earthy sweet potatoes were perfected with the pandan leaves and coconut milk. While I was mixing the kue batter, the kitchen was already filled with the aroma. My family kept asking for it, I knew they can’t wait to taste it when it’s done.
To achieve the different coloured layers, three types of sweet potatoes were used, namly purple, orange and yellow sweet potatoes. Unlike the green kue lapis I made before, though equally time-consuming, this version requires more steps. Such as the steaming of each type of sweet potatoes, mixing each with the sweet syrup, and then added to three separate portions of the rice flour, before dividing the kue batter further into nine portions.
Making kue lapis with nine different layers each steamed separately requires a lot of patience and precise measurement. To ensure the layers do not turn out too thick or too thin, I made sure I used the right size cake pan which can then fit nicely into my large bamboo steamer. Dividing out the layers in precise measuring cups help to smoothen the process.
Tips on making sweet potato kueh lapies
- I used three different colours of the sweet potatoes in this recipe. You can of course only use one or two types of sweet potatoes, according to your liking.
- Grease the cake pan before pouring in batter, this ensures the cake can be easily removed from the cake pan later.
- The flour in the batter tends to settle at the bottom, so before pouring the batter to steam, give it a good stir first.
- Divide the batter into nine separate cups or bowls so it’s easier to manage during the steaming process.
- I used a bamboo steamer, which is great as it doesn’t form any water condensation which might drip onto the kue. If you do not have a bamboo steamer, do wrap the cover with a cloth to absorb the condensation and every now and then, wipe off any water condensed on the cover.
- During steaming, do not touch the surface of each layer of kue. I did it a couple of times and touched it when it’s still setting, the layer of that kue later cracked when cooled.
- Steam the kue on low heat. The minutes provided in the recipe below is a guide, and might differ depending on the level of heat, the type of steamer pot used and the size of the cake pan.
- After cooked, the kue will be sticky due to the rice flour. Place the kue on a plastic plate and use a greased knife or plastic knife to cut the kue to avoid it sticking to the surface.
Ingredients to make sweet potato kue lapis
- Sweet potatoes – I used all three colour of sweet potatoes – purple, orange and yellow. You can of course choose the ones you want to use or available to you.
- Rice flour – Rice flour is gluten-free, and gives a slightly chewy, stretchy texture to the kue.
- Tapioca flour – Another gluten-free flour made from the cassava root vegetable, it helps the kue to bind together, giving it a light and bouncy texture.
- Coconut milk – A typical ingredient used in making kue. It gives an extra aroma to the kue.
- Stevia sweetener – Used as a low-calorie alternative to regular sugar.
- Salt – Used to elevate the overall taste profile.
- Pandan leaves – Crowned as the ‘vanilla of the east’, and typically used in making kue for its unique fragrance.
- Vegetable oil – Helps grease the cake pan and the cutting knife to avoid the kue from sticking.
How to store sweet potato kue lapis
If kept in an airtight container at room temperature, the kue is good for up to 2-3 days. If stored in an airtight container in the fridge, you can keep it for up to 5 days. It will turn harder so be sure to steam it for a few minutes to soften before enjoying it.
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Sweet Potato Kue Lapis 番薯九层糕
Ingredients
Purple layer
- 50 g purple sweet potato, medium-sized
- 80 g tapioca flour
- 60 g rice flour
- 120 ml coconut milk
Orange layer
- 80 g orange sweet potato, medium-sized
- 80 g tapioca flour
- 60 g rice flour
- 120 ml coconut milk
Yellow layer
- 80 g yellow sweet potato, medium-sized
- 80 g tapioca flour
- 60 g rice flour
- 120 ml coconut milk
Syrup
- 500 ml water
- 120 g stevia sweetener, can increase up to 200g
- 3 fresh pandan leaves, washed and knotted
- ¼ tsp salt
Others
- vegetable oil, for greasing the cake pan
Instructions
- Bring to boil 120 g stevia sweetener, 500 ml water, 1/4 tsp salt, and 3 fresh pandan leaves until the sweetener melts completely. Set aside to cool. Then divide the syrup into 3 portions.
- Peel and cut 50 g purple sweet potato, 80 g orange sweet potato, and 80 g yellow sweet potato into smaller pieces.
- Put all the sweet potatoes into a heat proof dish. Steam the sweet potatoes on high heat for about 20 minutes until fork tender.
- Mash each of the 3 types of steamed sweet potato and 1 portion of the syrup in a blender.
- Mix together 60 g rice flour, 80 g tapioca flour, 120 ml coconut milk and the blended purple sweet potato syrup mixture. Divide the batter into 3 equal portions.
- Do the same steps for the orange and yellow sweet potatoes. Altogether you will have 9 portions of the sweet potato batter.
- Grease a heat proof cake pan with vegetable oil.
- Boil water in a steamer pot on high heat. Then add the heat proof dish, cover and steam for 5 minutes. This is to ensure the dish is consistently heated to optimise the cooking of the batter.
- Stir the first bowl of batter before pouring the kue batter into the cake pan. Turn to low heat. Cover and steam for about 7 minutes for this first layer. The cooked layer should look jelly-like.
- Wait for 1 minute before pouring in the next colour layer. Stir the batter in the bowl before pouring into the dish. Turn to medium-low heat. Cover and steam for about 5-7 minutes. Repeat the same step for every layer, until all layers are done.Note: If the water is running low in the steamer, add more water.
- For the last layer, steam for about 12-15 minutes until the kue is completely cooked and set.
- Let the kue lapis cool completely in the cake pan. Once cooled, run a plastic spatula along the sides to loosen the kue. Flip and unmould onto a plastic surface.
- Cut into desired shape with a greased or plastic knife and enjoy!
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