Layered Nutmeg and Cinnamon Cake

While wandering the main library the other day, I found a book that screamed ‘pick me up.’

It’s called “Learn to Cook: Classic Asian Cakes and Desserts.” I picked it up mainly because I was curious to see what kinds of desserts it would include. I’ve got a serious sweet tooth, no mistake about that – dessert is probably the best way to introduce me to a new flavor of food.

Among the many flavorful recipes I found this one, a relatively simple cake that requires just a little more patience than most I’ve seen, but sounds very tasty indeed.

Layered Cinnamon and Nutmeg Cake

Serves 4

½ cup sugar
5 egg yolks
3 ½ ounces flour, sifted
1 ½ cups thick coconut milk
3 tablespoons melted butter
½ cup freshly grated nutmeg
½ cup cinnamon powder

Beat the sugar and the egg yolks together until the sugar dissolves completely, then stir in the flour. Gradually stir in the thick coconut milk, mixing to combine thoroughly

Dip a brush in the melted butter and paint the sides of a small, deep cake pan about 6 inches in diameter, or a loaf tin about 7x3 inches. Pour in 2-3 ladles of batter to make a thin layer about ¼ inch thick.

Sprinkle the top with 2 teaspoons each of grated nutmeg and cinnamon. Set the cake tin inside a baking dish of hot water and bake in a 350 degree F oven until just set, about 5 minutes. Remove the cake tin from the oven and brush the top of the cooked layer with melted butter. Pour in more batter to make another thin layer and sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon. Return to the oven and cook until set.

Repeat until the batter is all used (should be 12 thin layers), brushing the top of each newly cooked layer with butter before adding batter and spices.

When the last layer has cooked, remove from the oven and set aside to cool in the cake pan. When cool, loose the edges with a knife and turn the cake upside down onto a serving dish. Serve chilled with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Source: Learn to Cook: Classic Asian Cakes and Desserts, © 2004 Periplus Editions

Notes from the Hare

One manner of getting thick coconut milk is to grate the flesh of 1 coconut (which should yield about 3 cups of grated coconut) and adding 1 cup of water to it. Knead thoroughly a few times, then either squeeze it firmly in your fist or strain it through muslin or cheesecloth.

Slightly simpler would be to get a can of coconut milk and mix it with water in a 1:1 ratio. If the canned milk has oil floating on top, it’s gone bad. If there is a semi solid mass on top, that’s fine – coconut milk tends to separate, so this can just be mixed back into the milk.

Finally, while the recipe specifically calls for cinnamon and nutmeg, I can’t help but wonder how this would taste if made with five spice powder…