Apom Balek

Pancakes made with Gula Melaka

This recipe was included at the very last minute, on the last day of our cookbook
photoshoot. My sister Angela and I felt that we would not do justice to our mother’s
memory if we had left this out. She had made apom balek very frequently in the later part
of her life. The recipe kept resurfacing in her files but I was discouraged from testing it
because I did not think I would know how to. Thankfully, Angela had the gumption to
just try it out.

makes 8 servings

50 g or 1¾ ounces light brown sugar

250 g or 8½ ounces gula melaka
(scraped or grated)

10 tablespoons coconut water

300 g or 2 cups plain flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

2 cups coconut milk

½ egg, beaten

Coconut or vegetable oil
for brushing pan

1.   Place the light brown sugar and gula melaka in a small
saucepan. Stir in the coconut water. Bring the mixture to
a gentle boil.

2.   Stir to dissolve. Then leave syrup aside to cool.

3.   Combine the plain flour and baking powder, then sift
into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre. Pour in the
syrup, a little at a time, followed by the coconut milk and
the beaten egg. Whisk to a smooth consistency.

4.   Heat a nonstick pan and add some of the coconut
or vegetable oil. Turn down the heat. Scoop a ladle of
the batter and pour on the pan, enough to form a
pancake about 6 cm or 2.5 inches in diameter. Cook the
pancakes until bubbles appear on the surface. Remove
the pancakes from the nonstick pan and fold each one
over into half. Repeat.

4.   You can serve the apom balek pancakes with the
banana sauce that goes with apom bokuah (page 290).

302  Growing Up in a  Nonya Kitchen ~ Sweet Rewards