kaya

Kaya

malaysian coconut egg jam

Make this once and you’ll want to have it on hand all the time. The flavors of pandan, coconut, and caramel will take you to a new level of consciousness.

Kaya on toast, served with eggs, is a popular breakfast in Malaysia and Singapore. Have it for breakfast, for afternoon tea, or with a spoon right from the jar if no one’s looking. Kaya is also used as the filling between the layers of my Pandan Cotton Soft Cheesecake.

Ingredients:

5 eggs

200 g (7 oz) sugar

1 ¼  cups coconut cream

¾ tsp pandan paste

2 tablespoons corn starch combined with 2 tablespoons water (slurry)

 For the Caramel

60 g (¼ cup) sugar in a small sauce pan

Method:

Pull a stool up to the stove, and put on some music you like, or an audio book. You are going to be here for a while…

Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat them with a fork until homogenous, but not foamy.  Set it aside.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the coconut cream, pandan paste, and sugar.

Over medium-low heat, stir the coconut cream mixture until small bubbles form around the edge of the pot. Lower the heat and keep it as low as possible.

Temper in the eggs—With a small ladle, pour a little of the coconut mixture into the eggs, whisking the egg constantly. Keep adding more coconut cream to the bowl, a little at a time, whisking, whisking, whisking. When the amount in the bowl is about equal to the amount in the pot, carefully pour the mixture from the bowl into the pot, all the while stirring the pot with a silicone spoonula or wooden spoon.

Cook the coconut/egg mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes.

Pour in the cornstarch slurry and continue to stir. If you’ve ever made pudding or custard from scratch, the method here is pretty much the same. Keep cooking over medium heat, constantly stirring, scooping up from the bottom and folding over, while big bubbles lazily pop and the kaya thickens. Just keep stirring, or the bottom will scorch.

When the kaya is thick and approaching the consistency of peanut butter, place the pot with the sugar on the stove and turn the heat. It’s critical that you do not stir the sugar while it’s cooking, or it will crystallize and you will have to start again. Every now and again, you can give the pot a gentle swirl to help the sugar melt evenly. When you’ve got a rich, golden caramel, carefully and slowly pour it into the pot with the thickened kaya. Watch out, because when the caramel hits the custard, it can spatter. Trust me, this stuff is hot!

Mix it well and set the pot aside for the mixture to cool down. When it’s cooled down from hot to warm, scrape it into a food processor or blender and process until the kaya is very smooth. Then, put the kaya into a jar or other container and put it in the fridge to chill.