Bolu Karamel Sarang Semut

Yield: 9-inch bundt pan / 12 servings

Category: Tea Cakes

Cuisine: Indonesian

Reference: What To Cook Today

Bolu Karamel Sarang Semut (Burnt Sugar Honeycomb Cake)

Ingredients

• 400g Sugar
• 400ml Hot water
• 160g Unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan
• 130g All-purpose flour, plus more for coating the pan
• 130g Tapioca starch
• ½ tsp Baking soda
• ½ tsp Baking powder
• ¼ tsp Salt
• 4 Eggs
• 160ml Condensed milk
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract

Steps

1. If you bake with oven, you can use 9-inch bundt cake pan that is at least 3 inches tall, 8-inch tube pan, 8 x 3 inches round pan.
2. For conventional oven, preheat oven to 200°C (392°F). For convection oven (top and bottom heat), use bottom heat only or if you can't adjust, lower the temperature by 15°C (59°F). Preheat with an empty baking sheet placed at the lowest rack in your oven, for at least 15 minutes.
3. Grease the bottom of the pan. Line the pan with parchment paper at the bottom for easier release. If you use a bundt or tube pan, grease and flour the pan. Tap out excess flour.
4. Caramelize the sugar: Put the 400g sugar on a saucepan over low-medium heat. The sugar will slowly melt. Swirl the pan around as it helps to speed up the caramelization and to prevent the sugar from getting burn. Control the heat. If the sugar burns, the cake will taste bitter. Don't stir as the sugar will crystalize.
5. Once the 400g sugar has turned golden brown, slowly pour in the 400ml hot water. It will bubble vigorously. Keep stirring over medium heat until dissolved and then add 160g unsalted butter and stir until butter almost melt. Remove from the heat and keep stirring until the butter melts completely.
6. Let the mixture cool down before adding to the batter.
7. Whisk the dry ingredients, 130g all-purpose flour, 130g tapioca starch, ½ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp baking powder, and ¼ tsp salt, and set aside.
8. Use a hand whisk to beat the 4 eggs, 160ml condensed milk, and 1 tsp vanilla extract until a bit foamy. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture alternating with the caramel sugar. Strain the batter to get rid of any lumps.
9. In the video, I suggested to rest the batter for at least 30 minutes. This is no longer necessary as I didn't see any difference in terms of honeycomb texture.
10. Place the cake pan on the preheated empty pan at the lowest rack in the oven and lower the temperature to 190°C (374°F) and bake for 40 minutes and then move to the middle rack and bake for another 8-10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
11. Wait for 20 minutes and then remove the cake from the pan to let it cool down completely before slicing the cake.