Learn how to make thin and ultra crispy Indonesian kue kembang goyang or also known as kuih loyang or kuih rose in Malaysia and Singapore. All the tips you need to know.
I used to think that making kuih kembang goyang or kuih loyang is a whole-day event (a.k.a difficult!) with my skill. Boy, was I wrong! It is actually easier than I thought. You need to know all the tips though to make this successfully. The first few kuih loyang you may not get them right straight away, but you will get the hang of it once you get into an action! Read on people!
KUIH ROSE (ROSETTE COOKIES)
This kue/kuih is known by many names. They are called kembang goyang (shaking flower) or sometimes kembang loyang in Indonesia, known as kuih loyang or kuih rose in Malaysia and Singapore. Some people call them rosette cookies or honeycomb cookies, or flower cookies, or beehive cookies in English. See what I mean? 🙂 These rosette cookies are all over Asia with different names.
The origin of this kue is definitely from Europe, the rosette cookies, which are cooked by dipping the iron mould into the batter and then deep-fried. In Southeast Asia, as you may have guessed, coconut milk is used as part of the adaptation to the original European rosette cookies. I will be using the term kuih loyang and kembang goyang throughout this post.
KUIH LOYANG MOULD (ROSETTE IRON)
My mom brought me the kembang goyang iron mould with brass finish from Indonesia. Mine is a single mould. You will find some with three moulds attached to one stick, which makes production much faster. Fortunately, since these cookies are of European origin, the mould are widely available. Simply get any rosette iron with any pattern you like.
INGREDIENTS
1. EGG
Use any large chicken egg (white or brown, doesn’t matter) about 55-60 grams in weight without the shell. The measurement doesn’t have to be exact, but just to give you an idea what’s the large means.
2. SUGAR
The sugar calls for in this recipe is just perfect. My mom who doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth actually love this kuih loyang and she thinks the sweetness is simply perfect. Feel free to adjust to your liking.
3. COCONUT MILK
The addition of coconut milk makes the kuih loyang so aromatic. Use either fresh coconut milk or canned unsweetened coconut milk (not the one for drinking).
4. SALT
A small pinch of salt sure brings out the flavor .
5. RICE FLOUR
Get the Asian rice flour, usually comes in this packaging. Please not that it’s RICE FLOUR, NOT glutinous rice flour / sweet rice flour / mochiko flour, it’s totally different and you won’t get the same result. It actually says RICE FLOUR on the packaging.
6. COOKING OIL
Use any neutral tasting oil like canola or vegetable oil so it won’t affect the taste
HOW TO MAKE KEMBANG GOYANG – KUIH LOYANG
1. PREPARE THE BATTER
– Place egg, sugar, coconut milk, and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk until combined
– Gradually add in the rice flour in 3 batches and continue to whisk until the batter has no lump and smooth. Strain the batter if you can’t get rid of the lumps. Cover and rest the batter for 15 minutes.
2. THINGS TO PREPARE BEFORE FRYING THE COOKIES
– Preheat about 3-4 inches of oil in a deep pot or saucepan over medium heat. We need to be able to dip the kuih loyang mould in there without touching the base of the pot or pan. Place the mould in there to be preheated.
– Line a small plate with an absorbent paper towel, this is to pat the excess oil from the mould later.
3. FRYING THE COOKIES
– Give the batter a stir every time before you dip the mould.
– Remove the preheated mould from the oil and pat on the absorbent paper towel and then dip into the batter once, NOT all the way. The top of the mould shouldn’t be touching the batter. This is important or the kuih will get stuck on the mould.
– Dip this into the oil immediately without touching the base of the pot or saucepan. Count to 15 seconds and then lift the mould up and the kuih loyang should slide off into the oil easily.
– Let it fry until LIGHT golden brown only. Please take note that the kuih loyang will still be very soft when you lift it out from the oil. They will crisp up later. Don’t try to fry until they are crispy or you will get burnt kuih loyang. This is important to note!!
These kuih loyang are a bit too dark already, don’t fry until they are this dark brown
– If the mould has been sitting cold for a while, dip it back into the oil to preheat it a bit and then pat on an absorbent paper towel and dip into the batter again, the same process again and count to 15 seconds and lift the mould up. Continue until you run out of batter. Don’t forget to stir the batter.
Perfect golden brown kuih loyang
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. WHY KUIH LOYANG / ROSETTE COOKIES GET STUCK ON THE MOULD
This usually happens when the mould / iron is not warm enough. All you need to do is to dip the mould back into the oil to preheat it and then dab excess oil on a paper towel before dipping into the batter again.
2. HOW TO REMOVE STUCK KUIH LOYANG
You can use a chopstick to gently help the kuih loyang to slide down into the oil if it doesn’t do that after frying for 15 seconds. That should do the trick.
3. KUIH LOYANG IS STILL SOFT DURING FRYING
YES, they won’t get crispy until you lift them out from the oil and come into contact with the air to crisp them up. They will still be soft when you are frying them and lifting them out from the oil.
POSSIBLE VARIATIONS FOR KUIH LOYANG
ADD FLAVOR: You can add flavor like pandan, which will naturally give a more muted green color to the kuih loyang. Simply use about 3-4 pandan leaves to blend with the coconut milk and then squeeze out any extra liquid from the leaves and discard the pulp. You can use powdered flavor like cinnamon, matcha, beetroot powder too if you like.
ADD COLOR: You can use food coloring for a more fun color if you like.
HOW TO STORE KEMBANG GOYANG
Let the kuih loyang cool down completely before storing. They can be stored in an air-tight container or zipper bag and retain its crispiness for up to 2 weeks. Anything longer the kuih may start to get soggy and ooze out some grease.
Recipe is adapted from MyKitchen101. Such a great recipe. The kuih loyang stays ultra crispy even after 2 weeks in air-tight zipper bag!
DID YOU MAKE THIS KUIH LOYANG RECIPE?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
Kue Kembang Goyang - Kuih Loyang (Honeycomb Cookies)
Ingredients
- 1 large egg (about 55-60 gr)
- 50 gr sugar
- 75 gr coconut milk
- ¼ tsp salt
- 100 gr rice flour
- Cooking oil for deep-frying
Instructions
Prepare the batter:
- Place egg, sugar, coconut milk, and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk until combined
- Gradually add in the rice flour in 3 batches and continue to whisk until the batter has no lump and smooth. Strain the batter if you can't get rid of the lumps. Cover and rest the batter for 15 minutes. Transfer the batter to a deeper container if you have one, this is just to make it easier to dip towards the end when you don't have much batter left
Things to prepare before frying:
- Preheat about 3-4 inches of oil in a deep pot or saucepan over medium heat. It's important to control the level of heat as well. You don't want the oil to be too hot or not hot enough. After frying a few pieces, you'll figure this out too. We need to be able to dip the kuih loyang mould in there without touching the base of the pot or pan. Place the mould in there to be preheated
- Line a small plate with an absorbent paper towel, this is to pat the excess oil from the mould later
- Prepare another large platter lined with an absorbent paper towel, this is for you to place your fried kuih loyang
Frying:
- Give the batter a stir every time before you dip the mould. Remove the preheated mould from the oil and pat on the absorbent paper towel and then dip into the batter once, NOT all the way. The top of the mould shouldn't be touching the batter
- Dip this into the oil immediately without touching the base of the pot or saucepan. Count to 15 seconds and then lift the mould up and the kuih loyang should slide off into the oil easily (you'll be surprised when this happens - a little happy dance!). Let it fry until LIGHT golden brown only. Please take note that the kuih loyang will still be very soft when you lift it out from the oil. They will crisp up later. Don't try to fry until they are crispy or you will get burnt kuih loyang. This is important to note!!
- If the mould has been sitting cold for a while, dip it back into the oil to preheat it a bit and then pat on an absorbent paper towel and dip into the batter again, the same process again and count to 15 seconds and lift the mould up. Continue until you run out of batter. Don't forget to stir the batter
Storage:
- Let the kuih loyang cool down completely before storing. They can be stored in an air-tight container and retain its crispiness for up to 2 weeks!! Anything longer the kuih may start to get soggy and ooze out some grease.
8 comments
My batter keeps sticking to my mould.. what could be the cause?
Hi Sara, your mould was not hot enough and so the batter wouldn’t release. Please make sure you preheat it each time before you dip it in the batter.
Love your step by step recipe,must try soon.thank you.
I hope it turned out great for you 🙂
Hi, love ur recipes and am about to try this one for CNY. Is the measurement correct in the recipe – 75g coconut milk or 75 ml? Same question for the rice flour, is it 100g?
Hi Fran, 75 gr coconut milk is correct. I usually weigh my ingredients, though I found that 75 ml and 75 grams for liquid is pretty close. The rice flour should be 100 grams and not 100 ml 🙂
Thank you so much! Followed this recipe and it’s yummy! The first few came out a bit soft at certain bits at first,even when cooled down. Then I realised that my cooking oil was probably too hot,and it was ok after I lowered the temperature 🙂 thanks for the recipe!!
Hi Fran, the first few are always the “experiments” for me. I’m glad you figure it out. I’m glad you like and thanks for the feedback 🙂