KUCHING: Gluten-free, low sugar, high-quality butter and natural food colouring are among the secret ingredients that goes in her homemade Sawarak kek lapis (layered cake), which has proven to be a huge hit among the locals and in high demand during the festive seasons.
For Chinese New Year, baking queen Novi, from Sumatra, Indonesia, has received more than 200 orders.
“I bake all the cakes by myself without any helper, thus, I have to stop taking more orders. I advertise in Facebook and many of them are my repeat or regular customers,” she said.
The 32-year-old baker has been residing in Kuching after marrying her Sarawakian husband.
Novi shared that she is self-taught and that she took baby steps to improve her technique and skills over time.
“Today, I’m proud that many love my kek lapis, which consist of 21 thin layers and each layer, is baked evenly.
“This is why, I always tell people that to make a good kek lapis, it requires (a lot of) patience and passion too, as it takes about four hours to bake a one.
“Besides, the amount of cake batter for each layer must be measure precisely and spread evenly and gently. It’s not easy to master the skill. I had to keep on practising,” said the mother of two.
Apart from skills, Novi also said she insists on using only top quality of ingredients, especially the butter.
“It (butter) will affect the texture and moisture of the cake, thus, I can’t save on that (by opting for cheaper butter). I also use natural food colouring such as fresh pandan juice extracted from pandan leaves,” she said.
According to her, the Sarawak kek lapis, is actually similar to the ones found in Indonesia but here it is available in more vibrant colours and designs, which make them very unique.
On being gluten-free, Novi said that her layered cake does not contain gluten as it can be a health problem for some.
Apart from layered cakes, Novi also serves up cookies, tarts, muffins, pies and birthday cakes.