These crazy geometric cakes will make your eyes cross - New York Post

This may be a piece of cake — but when it comes to baking it, it’s anything but.

In Malaysia, there’s a delicacy from the state of Sarawak that resembles a traditional loaf from the outside. It’s when you cut into it, however, that beautifully colored shapes reveal themselves in a kaleidoscopic pattern.

This is “kek lapis Sarawak” — “kek” being the Malaysian language’s word for cake and “lapis” meaning layers. It’s a relatively recent treat, originating in the 1970s and 1980s, according to Atlas Obscura. It blends flavors including cinnamon, cardamom, star anise and cloves with butter, flour and eggs.

The process of baking these cakes tends to be highly difficult, but there’s a Sarawakian baker named Jennifer Chen who has mastered the technique. And together with her daughter, she’s taken to social media to sell them, as well as introduce them to an international audience.

“To me, it’s easy,” she told the outlet, adding that she has spent decades perfecting the touch — which includes these angular and multicolored slice displays. Other area bakers have introduced their own versions of the dessert, such as ones with Cadbury chocolate and Oreo cookies. “For a learner … I don’t think they can pick it up so soon. It’s very confusing.”

Kitchen Confidante/Facebook Kek lapis Sarawak

The process of baking one of these cakes can set you back anywhere from four to eight hours — all depending on the complexity of the design. Bakers make the cakes in deep pans and add stripes of different-colored batters. Then they cut up the cakes and rearrange them, piecing sections together with jam or condensed milk as an adhesive.

Chen, for her part, draws diagrams to map out her cakes. And even if something goes wrong in the assembly, mistakes can be fixed by figuring out a new pattern.

These cakes are as expensive as they are difficult, about $59 for one, Atlas Obscura notes. The reasons: high costs for butter and labor.

“We have to do it ourselves, and it’s very slow,” Chen told the outlet. “It’s hand-worked. We cannot do a lot.”

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