Honey, Honey, Honey

Mmmm… this is one of my favorite cakes – the Honeycomb Cake (S$0.70 per piece) (~US$0.40). Bought them yesterday at lunch from the old-style, traditional bakery next to the market, and had them for tea yesterday and today.

Of Indonesian origins (known as Bolu Sarang Semut in Indonesian, I think), this cake has a beautifully rich dark caramel color and unique flavor from the use of gula melaka (palm sugar). The palm sugar gives it a very distinct aromatic sweetness. But I think one might be able to get a close approximation by caramelizing normal granulated white sugar - perhaps?

(click on image for larger view)

What’s unique about this cake is its texture – it has a honeycomb-like texture. It’s not soft or crumbly like normal cakes, but is slightly springy to the bite, due to the honeycomb structure of the dough. And this is how you can tell the skill of the baker that made the cake. It is not easy to get this honeycomb effect. A really skilled baker will be able to bake a cake that has the honeycomb structure throughout the cake, whilst a less successful version of the cake may only have the honeycomb effect through the top half of the cake.

(click on image for larger view)

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