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A view of the premise. Very clean, bright and white. |
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The first thing to do is to put on the apron and the chef hat. Instant chefs! |
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We picked one of the most time-consuming cakes: Kueh Lapis.
It isn't that complicated, but it takes time because each layer must be baked individually. |
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The ingredients.
Condensed milk.. sugar.. you can tell it's going to be sweet! |
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All ready to start! |
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The first thing is to mix the milk, the salt and butter, from slow to high speed. We also need to scrap it off the side from time to time. |
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It is done when the mixture is whitish. Scrap it out... |
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... wash the pot, go on to the next step, which is to mix the sugar and the egg yolks. |
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Got to use a different head. |
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Add in the butter mixture slowly. |
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Add the flour slowly. (I think this is to the egg white mixture?) |
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The last step is to stir the two mixtures by hand. This is hard work! |
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And finally, pouring the first layer... |
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... and baking it. The first layer is baked at a different temperature. |
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The Chef demonstrates.
The mirror on top actually gives a bird's eye view. I didn't realize that until the end of the class. See all the guys standing there? They didn't realize either. :-P |
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And the first layer is done! (This is a little under-baked, actually.)
We then need to wrap the container in aluminium foil. |
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Sometimes bubbles appear, you got to pop it. |
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Spreading a layer evenly with a Chinese soup spoon. The layer will turn oily due to the heat from the previous layer. |
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And "dropping" the container to make the surface even and to let the new layer fill up any holes in the previous layers. |
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From the second layer onwards, we need to put the container on a tray of
water in the oven.
Prasad is checking if the water needs to be topped up for his tray. |
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Once we start baking the layers, it's a matter of waiting 5-8 minutes per layer. There's nothing to do... |
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... barring an industrial accident...
(Luckily it's only flour.) |
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... so, time to clean up... |
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... or take the test! |
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Each group is given 10 mystery ingredients to identify. |
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The model answer. Technically, "flour" is the right answer for 1-3. |
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The group with the most correct answers — 5/10! — get an apron each as their prize. |
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The Chef shows off one of her creations. |
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After a really long time, we are done with all the layers!
Praveen and I started slow, but we finished first. We shall not reveal our secret! :devil: Cut the edges, flip the container over and remove it... |
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... then peel off the paper... |
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... and cut it.
Or, play Ticket-to-Ride! (Suggested by Eng Hua.) This is actually the bottom. We need to flip it one more time. The top looks more polished. |
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Last refreshments before going off.
The lesson was supposed to end at 4pm, but we ended at 6:30pm! (We just poured the first layer around 3:30pm...) |
Notes
Camera: Sony TX5