My Sarawak “Style” Layer Cake Story

I love to watch ‘The Great British Bake Off’ and see how well I can do with the challenges the contestants are given. This week looked really hard so I was excited to give it a try! The recipes were very daunting, with all the steps and ingredients.. some recipes called for as many as 20 egg yolks and it takes hours to make.. Literally.. I was in the kitchen for over four hours.

So I started my research into ‘Kek Lapis Sarawak’. Also known as a Sarawak Layer Cake. My cake was made outside of Malaysia so it must be called a Sarawak “style” layer cake..it’s a geographically protected cake : ) Made mostly for celebrations and special occasions because of the cost and time to produce, the cake must have at least two colors and multiple layers. These cakes are also known for their geometrical patterns and designs.

I found a recipe that I liked and got started. The first problem was that I really should have had a kitchen scale for measuring out my batter equally. My second issue was the color scheme.. I was going for a “Fall Celebration” look, and got a weird, sandwich looking vibe.. Next time I will use more colors and make sure they match better..

Now comes the part that is so different and difficult..each layer must be poured in to the cake pan and baked individually..so the layers are actually fused together. This is really stressful because if you burn a layer, all the layers below it are ruined as well. I stood near my oven throughout the whole process and checked the cake repeatedly.. I never burned it : ) Each layer cooks for about 6-8 minutes. The recipe I made had 9 layers but due to poor planning, I ended up with 7.

Layer by layer the cake is constructed…brushing each completed layer with a mixture of butter and condensed milk ..then gently pressing the layer down with a spatula to remove air and keep it flat..

When the cake is finished it is cut in to symmetrical strips..

and rearranged to form your pattern. The pieces are “glued” together with condensed milk and the cake goes in to the fridge to chill.

The final result is a pretty cool and somewhat delicious cake.. lots of mistakes were made and it isn’t really how I pictured it but next time will be better. The math aspect and planning an intricate design was difficult for me..It really is as hard to make as they say it is..but totally worth the time : )

I thought it was really fun to try a technique that I was unfamiliar with and to learn a bit about the history of this cake. As a technical challenge, I think I passed even though there were a few problems : )

Amy Danielle

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