Caramel Kaya (Malaysian Coconut Egg Jam)

Caramel Kaya (Malaysian Coconut Egg Jam)

   November 29, 2019       Lyn Alina

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When I was still living with my mum, I used to help her to make kaya for the filling of kaya bun.
My brother was running a small bakery at that time, so, kaya bun is one of his regular product.
Our home made kaya is made of Gula Melaka or palm sugar, coconut cream, white sugar, salt, pandan leaves for pleasant aroma and of course, eggs.
Corn flour is added to thicken the kaya.

After I was married, I'd never made kaya.
But, there is one store bought kaya that I especially like.
It's called Auntie Rosie's kaya, a product of Gardenia.
The kaya is rich in flavors, and there is one particular taste that I really like in their kaya - that is the aromatic, deep flavor of caramel.

I am planning to make cakoi, or Chinese fried churros for our breakfast tomorrow, to be eaten with my home made kaya that I made today.
It was first trial, and thankfully it turned out well.
The taste is exactly the same with Auntie Rosie's.
Here is the secret...add more caramel in your kaya, then you'll get a dark browned, luscious kaya.

Kaya is not only a favorite spread for our morning kaya toast, it is a versatile coconut egg jam to add flavor in our bun, steamed bun, pan cake, crepe and much more.
If your kaya is too thick, you can add hot water, whisk and heat it while stirring continuously until you get your desired thickness.

After this I will definitely make my own kaya.
My Hubby is very enthusiastic to prepare roti telur ( sliced bread dip in egg mixture and fry with little oil or butter) to be eaten with my home made kaya.😂😂
I didn't espect that he like it very much because my Hubby is not a fan of sweet-based spreads, not even the famous Nutella spread!
Last time, whenever I bought an Auntie Rosie's kaya, I was the one who had to finished it all.
No matter how many weeks it sat in my fridge, my Hubby did not bother to touch it because store-bought kaya tends to be too sweet for his sensitive teeth.
My version is not too sweet and I cooked my kaya a little bit longer, to get a thicker consistency, so that the kaya won't cause my bread to be soggy when I spread on it.

To prepare the kaya, first you need to prepare the caramel first.
Preparing caramel can be challenging.
We don't want a burned caramel, it's the deep amber color that we are looking for our caramel, so it is important to control the heat when making caramel.
There are tips in making successful caramel available. 
From a few blogs which I stumbled upon, some of the bloggers prepare the caramel without adding the hot water, which means once the sugar turned the deep amber color, you need to straight away add the hot caramel into the thicken kaya mixture.
If you prefer to make your kaya by using this method, you have to cook the kaya mixture first and when the kaya mixture starts to thicken, prepare the caramel.
But for me, I used to make wet caramel - a caramel that requires addition of hot water when prepared for my steamed fruit cake and honeycomb cake (kek gula hangus).
Basically the method of making caramel is when a lot of smooth foams appear on the surface and the dissolved sugar has turned to deep amber color, turn off the heat and immediately pour in hot water and stir quickly to prevent the caramel from crystallize.

Without wasting anymore time, here it is...

My homemade caramel kaya recipe that I'm very excited to blog about it.
If you're a fan of kaya, it is worth to make it on your own.
Happy cooking! 😄😄

CARAMEL KAYA

(MALAYSIAN COCONUT EGG JAM)

Yield : approximately 500 grams.

Ingredients:

3 large eggs

1/2 cup of sugar

1/2 teaspoon of salt

200 ml of coconut cream (I used KARA)

3 pandan leaves - knotted

2 tablespoons of corn flour - add with 1/4 cup of water

For Caramel :

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of hot water

Instructions:

1. Prepare the caramel first.  In a clean wok, pour in sugar and cook under medium heat. Constantly watch the process and do not leave the stove unattended as the sugar can quickly burned.  Usually pan does not distribute heat equally, so you may notice that sugar at the bottom and the edges brown first.  Use a heat proof spatula  or whisk to push the liquefied sugar away from high heat region on your pan so it won't burnt.  When it is gently foaming, turn off the heat and immediately pour in hot water.  Stir continuously to mix the caramel with hot water.  Set aside and let the caramel cool.
2. In a  bowl, cracks in eggs, add in sugar and salt.  Whisk until the sugar dissolved.
3. Pour in coconut milk and corn flour mixture.  Stir to combine.
4. Pour in the egg batter into the wok containing the caramel.  Add in pandan leaves.
5. Cook under medium heat, stir continuously until the kaya is thicken, about 40 minutes.
6. Kaya is ready to be used and once it is cooled, store in a jar and keep it refrigerated.

Step -by-step to prepare the caramel

The making of caramel kaya

#NOTE#

Kaya can last up to 1.5 months if stored in the refrigerator.

MALAY VERSION

RESEPI KAYA KARAMEL

Menghasilkan : lebih kurang 500 gram kaya

Bahan-bahan:

3 biji telur Gred A

1/2 cawan gula pasir

1/2 sudu teh garam

200 ml krim santan - saya pakai KARA

3 helai daun pandan - simpul

2 sudu besar tepung jagung - bancuh dengan 1/4 cawan air

Untuk Karamel:

1 cawan gula pasir

1 cawan air panas

Langkah Penyediaan:

1. Mula-mula kena sediakan karamel dahulu.  Tuang secawan gula ke dalam kuali (boleh gunakan kuali anti lekat), dan masak sambil kacau menggunakan whisk atau senduk kayu sekali sekala menggunakan api sederhana sehingga gula larut dan bertukar warna coklat keemasan dan timbul buih-buih kecil di permukaan.  Padamkan api dan tuang air panas dan kacau rata.  Biarkan karamel sejuk.
2. Sementara itu, pecahkan telur ke dalam mangkuk, masukkan gula pasir dan garam.  Kacau rata menggunakan whisk.
3. Masukkan krim santan dan air bancuhan tepung jagung.  Kacau rata.
4. Tuang adunan telur ke dalam kuali yang mengandungi karamel yang telah sejuk dan masukkan daun pandan.
5. Masak menggunakan api sederhana, sentiasa kacau sehingga kaya pekat (lebih kurang 40 minit).
6. Sejukkan kaya dan kaya sedia dinikmati dan simpan kaya di dalam botol dan simpan di dalam peti sejuk.

#NOTA#

Kaya yang disimpan di dalam peti sejuk boleh tahan sehingga sebulan setengah.