wajik - brown sticky rice cake

my dad now has been the frequent readers of my blog. he gives a lot of supportive ideas about this blog and also about the photographs. he was the person who first introducing me to the world of photography back when i was a toddler. sadly, i didn't develop too much skill on it even until now. hahaha. however, one interesting idea that my dad has told me is to create more indonesian traditional sweet foods. traditional? yes. as an Indonesian, i think it's an obligation for me to master all those traditional Indonesian food or desserts, but in fact i don't. making Asian dishes is not an easy one for me, Asian dishes are so rich in spices and flavor, it feels complicated to really get a perfect balance of all those spices and ingredients. that's why, once the dish has been done perfectly, Asian dishes will give you the superb explosion of flavors in your mouth.

wajik literally means diamond shape. in case you wonder how to spell it, it should be like this: 'waa-jeek'. in terms of food, wajik is a sliced sticky rice cake, it is flavored by caramelized palm sugar and coconut milk. it is very simple to make, just cook the glutinous rice in the boiled and reduced palm sugar-coconut milk syrup until all the syrup has been absorbed, then we spread the rice into a lined baking-pan and let it cool. when it has reached the room temperature, slice it into diamond shape. i think any people would love this cake, from whatever nation you are. i mean, who doesn't like the richness of coconut milk? and who can resist a caramelized sugar?

this cake is one of our favorite among those traditional Indonesian desserts. my mom, dad, and siblings love them tweaked with durian flavor, not me though. i don't really like durian. in this post, i will give you the original recipe also the durian flavored wajik recipe. for the first-time wajik-eater, i think it would be wiser for you to try the original one first and then you may go to the next step with durian flavor. come on, try it and tell me what you think about it! :)

sweetened condensed milk pound cake

hey readers.. guess what! i'm done with all my projects, there's only one thing left for me, my exams. but fortunately, i managed to make 4 different desserts this month. prepare for it! i've posted a bougatsa for you last week and this week is pound cake's turn. hurray!

i got this recipe from Wendy in Table for 2.... or more. she invented this recipe and call it Sweetened Condensed Milk Pound Cake. the reason is simple, it is made from sweetened condensed milk. i grew up as a big fan of sweetened condensed milk, chocolate and vanilla, both has their own place in my heart. they always smell so good and always make everything sweeter. i have never imagined on using it in a pound cake until i saw Wendy's recipe. then i started to think, maybe they will match perfectly. too bad, it isn't taste that fantastic. i think i might need to add extra sauce to pour on it, or maybe adding some chocolate chips in the batter. the cake just taste so plain and boring for me because i ate it without any complementary dish. however, eating this with a cup of coffee would be a perfect way to savor this cake, just like wendy did.

out of this cake topic, i am planning my self on joining The Daring Bakers, but somehow feels a little intimidated. i am feeling quite nervous with the recipes they usually make as a challenge. it feels too complicated and i am not dared enough to make it. haha. i should join it though, but not today nor tomorrow. i think maybe next month or next two month or three. well just wait and see.. hahaha. for this moment, let's be simple and enjoy this pound cake.. :)

bougatsa without poached figs

hahaha, it is a funny post title, isn't it? well, i am having a Masterchef Australia fever again. and i guess this dessert just appeared few weeks ago in Masterclass, George Calombaris made it. guess what! he extremely hates food-blogger. i just got the info from Not Quite Nigella, she did mention it a few times though. i don't care if he hates us, i just wanted to try to make some of his recipe. but if once in a blue moon, he accidentally read this post, i would like him to kill this page as soon as he could because i haven't cooked his dish into perfection.

bougatsa is a traditional Greek dessert, according to what George said, bougatsa is the Greek version custard tarts. according to wikipedia, bougatsa is a Greek breakfast pastry consisting of custard, cheese, or minced meat filling between layers of phyllo. i faced some problems making it though. problem number 1, phyllo pastry is very rare here in Jakarta, at least that's what i've been thinking for quite a long time. problem number 2, no figs here, i could substitute it with pear but it leads me to problem number 3. problem number 3, i had no verjuice. problem number 4, i don't have semolina flour. this time i really hope George doesn't read this paragraph, he surely will despise food blogger more because he may think i couldn't find any substitute for it or he'll think i'm crazy trying to make the dish without those ingredients. however, i think there's always a solution to any kitchen's problem and also a substitute to almost every ingredients. i actually think i could make this dish with homemade phyllo pastry, pears, and perhaps a pomegranate juice to substitute verjuice. but, i couldn't make a proper phyllo pastry, i think i made it a little thicker than it should. then i decided not to poach anything to accompany the bougatsa because i was just too lazy that time. the custard ask for semolina flour, i don't have any, even worse i haven't seen semolina flour before, so i substituted it with cornflour though i think it ruined the texture of the custard.

but, let's be honest. the flavor of the custard is beyond amazing. i wonder if i make the phyllo better and perfect, this tart would be divine. what if i added the poached pear or figs, it would be magnificent for sure. not to forget the cinnamon dusting, it enriches the flavor sweetly. i will recreate this dish again someday, with poached pears and also with a pasta machine i hope, rolling pin didn't do the justice for me. somebody please buy me a pasta machine, i will pay you with homemade pasta almost everyday and this homemade bougatsa almost every week. hahaha. in the end, does any of you interested on making this bougatsa?