Kuih Kapit aka Love Letter
Chinese New Year is fast approaching. At this time of the year, it is traditional for the young to visit and pay respect to senior members of their extended families, usually parents, grandparents, uncles and aunties. To entertain visiting families, each household will stock a wide range of cookies and cakes. Kuih Kapit aka Love Letter is a clear favourite among the many types of goodies found during Chinese New Year.They are a wafer like, sweet, fragrant and crispy biscuit made from eggs and coconut milk. The batter is heated in a special iron mould that presses (kapit) the batter together and heated on a charcoal stove to create a super thin crispy wafer. These days, an electric version of the iron mould is available which facilitates the making of kuih kapit at home.Kuih Kapit is also called "love letter", attributable to the way the biscuit is folded (see photo) or rolled into a scroll, just like a letter that lovers used to communicate with each other in the ancient days.
Video Link : https://youtu.be/qOsdxbm8Rso
INGREDIENTS
2 medium sized eggs
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons rice flour
1 teaspoon tapioca flour
65 ml coconut milk
15-20 ml water
METHOD
1. Whisk egg and sugar together till light and creamy. Add rice flour and tapioca flour and combine well.
2. Add coconut milk and water and mix thoroughly.
3. Lightly grease both sides of a love letter mould with cooking oil. You only need to oil it once.
4. Heat the mould till hot. Place a tablespoon of batter onto the centre of the mould. Spread the batter thinly using the back of the spoon. Close the mould tightly and bake the batter for 60- 80 seconds.
5. Once golden brown, use a spatula to remove and fold the biscuit (see photo). You could also use a chopstick to roll the biscuit into a scroll. Once cooled, the biscuit will be very crispy.
Cooking Hint:
If you put too much batter onto the mould, the excess will spill over to the sides. Use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut off the excess after you have folded it. If you plan to roll the love letter, use a wooden spoon to remove the excess before removing and rolling. After a few tries, you will be able to use the right amount of batter.
Note: I bought my electric Kuih Kapit aka Love Letter mould from CK Tang in Singapore manyyears ago. If you are in the United Kingdom, you will be able to buy it on Choy’s Kitchen Shop very soon.