Newbie Nonya Explores Secret Recipes — Sugee Cake
FYI, this was going to be a recipe on Sugee Cake. But Mother and I had a furious argument about sharing her recipe.
Writing Newbie Nonya Cooks, was a way to share some of my favourite Chetti Melakan recipes and document my cooking journey. To Mother, Sugee Cake was out of the question. I was conflicted, nay AM conflicted, which was why it took me the longest time to write this story.
But she said something curious that stuck with me:
“It took me a long time to get this recipe right, on my own. Every person I asked gave me half of their recipe or refused to share it with me. This Sugee Cake recipe I’ve finally gotten it right after making it for many years. I’m giving it to you, my daughter, my favourite child”
Okay she didn’t really mention the last sentence but it counts if she said it through her eyes. She didn’t see why should she give away her recipe so freely when others didn’t do the same. If you’re new to this blog and my family, you must be wondering what is so great about Sugee Cake? What is a sugee?
My extended family prizes the Sugee Cake. Its a mainstay at weddings and on the cake tray at Deepavali parties. When it first comes out of the oven it is a divine scent of baked almonds. Every bite is moist with a little crunch.
Everyone either wanted the recipe or wanted a slice of it. According to Mother, nobody could make it better than her late aunt, Mak Cho. Mother NEVER admits anyone cooks anything better than hers. So Nenek Mak Cho’s Sugee Cake must be pretty great!
Question: where is Nenek Cho’s Suggee Cake recipe?
No seriously, where is it? Nenek Mak Cho never gave out any of her recipes when she was alive. Ever. Its lost to us now. This isn’t the only case of lost recipes. A colleague’s late great Aunt was an excellent cook in her prime. Unfortunately, she never wrote any it down or passed it to her grandchildren. All these old Peranakan recipes are now gone.
Back to Sugee Cake, will we ever taste Nenek Mak Cho’s legendary cakes? Nope.
That’s the problem with preserving a culture where food the forefront of it. We horde these recipes for ourselves and by the time we want to share them, it’s too late. But out of respect for Mother’s wishes, I’ll hold on to her recipe for now.
But wait, there’s more!
I’m not leaving you empty handed. It is not a Sugee Cake recipe, but it’s the next best thing: lessons I’ve learned to bake a delicious cake. Gathered these quick tips from countless (and I mean countless) of failed cakes. For example, the one time I had a craving for chewy brownies and ended up with a cardboard cake. Took me three tries to get my chewy brownies to an edible level. If you’re thinking of baking a cake and if you’re worried if it’ll turn out alright, hopefully these tips might help save you from a disastrous first try:
- For a fluffy cake texture, separate the egg yolk from the whites. Beat the egg whites till stiff then fold it into the cake batter before putting it into the oven.
What you’ll get: chiffon cake-like texture.
2. When baking a fruit cake or a carrot cake, prevent the chunky ingredients from sinking to the bottom of the pan by first coating it with flour. If it still sinks, you might have to adjust the amount of fruit/carrots/nuts.
What you’ll get: fruit/carrots in every bite.
3. For a cream cheese frosting, adding lemon zest is not enough. Cut through the richness with lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Add equal part cream cheese and mascarpone cheese (if you can get it) for a light texture to it. Spread that frosting on carrot cake, red velvet or even on bread if you need to break the monotony of peanut butter and jam.
What you’ll get: cream cheese frosting that you can spread on anything. Even on my first attempt at brownies.
Happy baking some sweet treats!
Glossary
- Sugee Cake — cake made with semolina flour
- Chetty Melaka — a community of peranakan indians with a hybridised culture
- Deepavali — festival of lights. Or as I know it intimately as the festival of food
