Lapis Legit (Many-Layered Spiced Cake)

By RecipeLot

Spekkoek ('bacon cake') - Indonesian layered 'pies'. Despite the literal translation of the name, it contains no bacon. Location: Netherlands Keywords: Spekkoek, Indonesia, pie, cake, sweet ? Photo by Pudding4brains, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Lapis legit (Dutch: spekkoek) is a spice-flavored multilayered cake. A legacy of Dutch occupation in Indonesia, the cake is enjoyed during Eid ul-Fitr and Christmas celebrations. In the Netherlands, the sliced cake is served as dessert in Rijsttafel (Indonesian rice table). The cake has a firm texture similar to baumkuchen, but without a chocolate or sugar shell. The cake requires much patience to bake. Each layer of the cake is made by pouring a small amount of batter from a cup into the baking tin, then putting the tin into the oven until the layer has become golden from the heat. The tin is then removed from the oven and the process is repeated until all the layers have been built up. Baking the cake in a gas oven gives a better aroma than using an electric oven, but a Dutch oven with a charcoal fire on top of the lid produces the best result. If cloves or cardamom seeds are difficult to find, use spekkoek powder as a replacement. Milling and mixing the spices before baking produces a cake with an excellent aroma.

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