Thousand layer cake Recipe
Irresistibly delicious: a thin slice of Indonesian thousand layer cake that melts on the tongue. Make your own lapis legit!
Servings: 20 slices
Ingredients
- 8 eggs
- 375 grams unsalted butter at room temperature
- 300 grams soft white sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 225 grams flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1.5 tsp cloves
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp cardamom
- 0.5 tsp aniseed powder
Equipment
- 20 cm springform pan (8 inch)
Instructions
Make the cake batter
- Separate the egg yolks and whites in two bowls. In a fat-free large bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff.
- In a clean bowl, beat the butter with the caster sugar and salt until fluffy. Add the egg yolks and beat until smooth. Add the flour in three parts, continuing to mix.
- Carefully fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter with a spatula. Repeat with the other two egg whites. Divide the mixture into two bowls.
- In the first bowl, add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract into the batter; this will form the base of the light layers of your thousand layer cake. In the second bowl, fold the spices through the batter; this is the base for the brown, spicy layers of your cake.
Baking the thousand layer cake
- Line the base of the springform tin with parchment paper. Spoon a first, thin layer of the brown batter onto the base of the springform pan and spread it out with the back of a spoon. The layer may be a few mm thick (but certainly no more than 5 mm/0.2 inch). Bake this first layer for about 4-5 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 180°C/350˚F (fan-assisted only).
- Now change the oven setting from lower-upper heat to grill (in my case it was set at 200°C). Spoon an equal amount of the light batter onto the baked cake base. Spread carefully, taking care not to damage the previous layer. The heat will melt the batter and make it easier to spread. Bake under the grill for at least 4 minutes until cooked.
- Repeat the above step for the brown and light dough alternately until the batter is used up. Make sure you always use the same amount of batter for a new layer, baking under the grill until each layer is golden brown and cooked.
- Allow to cool completely before slicing.
Tips
Not sure if your thousand layer cake is cooked enough? After baking the last layer, cover with aluminium foil and bake for a further 10 minutes at 150°C/ 302˚F(top heat only).
How to store
Properly wrapped (first in cling film and then in aluminium foil or a plastic bag), the thousand layer cake will keep for up to 5 weeks in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer. At room temperature, it will keep for 3-4 days.