Ingrediënten
Baking tool:
- electric wafer iron,
- diameter about 15 cm
Batter (makes 18):
- 2 eggs (L)
- 1 egg yolk
- 100 g caster sugar
- 250 ml creamy coconut milk
- 50 g plain flour
- 50 g rice flour
- pinch of salt
- (pinch of vanilla seeds)
To grease:
- pandan leaves
- sunflower oil
Kuih Kapit (cupid cookies) or Love letters. These are the names the Peranakan – Chinese in Penang – have given such wafers; in Borneo they are called Kuih Sepit (Semprong in Indonesia). It is said that the names date back to a distant Chinese past. Army battalions fighting against the Mongols would have sent each other messages in this type of small rolls. Lovers would also have used them for secret communication. Could be, because the more common name Kuih Belanda points to love relations that were once deemed improper. Belanda stands for Hollands and recalls the 17th century influence of the Dutch in Malaysia.
The wafers are made over a charcoal fire in wafer irons that are romantically decorated with flowers and birds. The recipe is clearly based on Dutch knieperties (squeezed cookies), but has become wonderfully exotic. What a special message to receive from your secret love..
You can make them in that electric wafer iron that stays in your cupboard most of the time. Try to buy a few pandan leaves in an Asian shop and grease the iron with a bundle of them. Smells great! If pandan is not available you can come close to the original taste by adding a pinch of vanilla seeds to the batter and use an oiled rag for greasing.
- Beat eggs, yolk and sugar with an electric whisk in a bowl until foamy. Mix with the coconut milk.
- Put the two kinds of flour with salt (and vanilla) in another bowl and gradually add the egg mixture, beating well after each addition. Sieve the batter. Cover and leave it in the fridge for at least an hour.
- Turn the iron on the lowest heat. As soon as the pilot has gone out, oil the two plates thinly.
- For every wafer pour 25 ml of the batter onto the plate. Close the iron. Bake rather more than two minutes. Squeeze sofly after one minute. The wafers must be a golden brown on each side.
- Take the wafer from the iron immediately and roll around the handle of a wooden spoon or make a fan by folding the rounds two times all over and then press them loosely. This all should be done very fast for the wafers will be brittle in a minute.
- Leave to cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.
