Life is Great

Homemade Kaya
Makes enough to last you for weeks

• unadulterated coconut milk from 2 coconuts


• 500g castor sugar


• 6 to 7 eggs (use only B– or C–grade eggs)


• 3 pieces pandan (screw pine) leaves, knotted

Filter the coconut milk to remove impurities or shredded coconut bits. In the mixing bowl, whisk all the eggs slightly to break up the yolks. Add sugar by batches and whisk to dissolve. After the sugar has dissolved completely, add the coconut milk and whisk with all the strength you can muster till the mixture is smooth and well–combined.

Bring the water in your double boiler to boil. Slow down the fire till the water bubbles continuously, but no longer boiling. Place the top pot firmly and pour in the mixture. Include the knotted pandan leaves.

Now comes the interesting part. Come hell or high water, you have to continue stirring. Make sure to stir all the way to the bottom and sides of your pot. Yes, you’ll begin sweating and probably swearing, but keep stirring and don’t stop till the kaya slowly turns thick in texture and finally sets into the consistency of what you actually spread on your roti bakar. You will notice the color slowly turning golden brown or green, depending on the quality and age of the pandan leaves.

After this point, the time required to cook the kaya depends on how long you wish to store it. For maximum storage period of up to 4 weeks, cover the top pot and continue to cook the kaya over low flame (water no longer need to bubble) for 4 hours. This is the best approach. If you take the shortcut and cook it for say, only 1—2 hours, by the second week of storage, the kaya you retrieve from the fridge will slowly produce water after it reaches room temperature and is therefore screwed.

Next, leave it to cool and refrain from licking more than what’s left on the mixing spoon. Store in plastic or glass containers and refrigerate accordingly.