Microwaved Kaya Recipe

I was blog hopping the other day and came across this Kaya Recipe. For those who don't know, Kaya, (comes from a Malay word which means "rich") is distinctively Malaysian. It is traditionally made by continuously stirring over gently boiling water in a double boiler until the custard becomes thick and golden brown (or green, depending on the level of caramelisation of the sugar). This could take sometimes up to a couple of hours!

I remember my mom, standing for hours by the stove, stirring the rich golden mixture with a wooden spoon. When it's done, the kaya is served as an accompaniment to her trademark glutinous rice or pulut tai tai. Yummmm...

When I saw how easy and quick this recipe was, I had to try it.

Ingredients:

Eggs

Sugar

Coconut Milk

The ratio is 1:1:1.

So, I used:

8 large whole eggs

400g white sugar

400ml canned coconut milk

4 screw pine or pandan leaves, knotted for flavouring.

Whisk eggs and sugar in a microwaveable bowl, large enough for all the ingredients to be combined. Add in the screw pine leaves. If you don't have this, you can also use natural vanilla essence.

Method:

Zap eggs and sugar in the microwave oven for 2 minutes.

Remove. Stir.

Repeat twice.

Add in coconut milk. Stir to combine.

Repeat the above steps, carefully stirring in between zaps. The mixture can become VERY bubbly hot so be careful when stirring.

I continue to cook the custard in the microwave oven for a further 6 minutes, stirring every 1 minute until the mixture is thick and creamy, or a desired consistency.

Total cooking time: 18 minutes.

Makes two 500ml jars.

See how easy it is?

Verdict: Just a little tad too sweet. I will use half the amount of sugar next time, and maybe try using brown sugar instead. Overall, great! Just like mom's, minus the hassle. (Or what I would like to believe anyways!)

Kaya toast... delicious!

Thanks Grace!