Kue lapis legit is a firm-textured Dutch-Indonesian version of the European multi-layered spit cake. Like the European cake — such as the baumkuchen from Germany and famous in Japan — the Indonesian version is made of flour and yolk and is rich in butter, yet differs by not being baked on a rotating spit and containing a mix of Indonesian spices, such as cardamom, cinnamon, clove, mace and anise.
Bengawan Solo is a popular bakery in Singapore founded in 1979 by Antastasia Liew who emigrated from Indonesia, and this here is their Kueh Lapis.
The cake comes in a tin and wrapped in paper. It must be kept refrigerated.
This medium cake is about 16 x 8 x 4 cm in size with around 18 layers. It has a prominent spice aroma, which was evident from the darker brown colour of the cake layers in comparison to a baumkuchen.
With such a strong aroma, we were pleasantly surprised by the mellow spice notes on the palate. While the rich flavour of butter and yolk dominate much like in a traditional baumkuchen with the same dense and moist texture, the spice came through subtly in the background with identifiable notes of cardamom, clove and cinnamon lingering pleasantly with the sweet buttery notes of the cake into the finish. Overall, the cake is dense, yet also moist and light with a delicate spice flavour that’s best paired with a floral tea such as a jasmine green tea.
This Bengawan Solo Kueh Lapis contained one medium cake. It was produced in Singapore and received as a gift from friends visiting Singapore in 2019.