Kuih bahulu are the airy Malay madeleines so fluffy, crunchy, and easy to eat, that they’ve become staple Chinese New Year goodies. Our version however, adds a unique twist...

The secret ingredient? Rose syrup! Along with the added floral fragrance, it has a happy side effect of colouring the kuih an auspicious and pretty shade of pink. Furthermore, you don't need an oven! Just the BRUNO Hot Sand Maker to cast the spring blooms in these adorable and pretty shapes.     

Delving into the deets

Prosperous pink

To attain a brighter shade of pink we added a few drops of red food colouring to the batter along with the bandung syrup. You can omit this step but the colour won’t be as vibrant.  

Batter buddies

We've found that the best way to showcase the bandung's flavour and shade is to juxtapose it alongside its traditional counterpart. Simply make a normal batch of batter then split it into two portions flavouring one with the bandung and the other with vanilla. Apply the batters into the Hot Sand Maker optional plate (petit gateau/ fish) side-by-side for a two-toned appearance, or mix them with a skewer for a classy marbled look.

Baking tips

• Try not to overfill the moulds, ideally, attempt to fill each only ¾ full. 
• Don’t fret if any of the moulds have overflowed, if only a little has leaked, you can wipe up the excess with a paper towel. If a more substantial amount has spilled, proceed to bake anyway, you can break off the excess cake after it has cooled.
• Try to keep your Hot Sand Maker relatively clean. Crumbs will accumulate as you bake subsequent batches, so wipe these off with a dry paper towel. Too much residue may burn and make your kuih bitter. 

Recipe (makes 28 with the petit gateau plate)

Steps:

Blending the batters

1. Sift the plain flour into a mixing bowl, and mix in the baking soda and salt.
2. In another large mixing bowl add the eggs and sugar, then beat these together with a hand mixer until it is foamy and all the sugar has dissolved. 
3. Add the oil to the beaten eggs, and fold the flour into the mixture with a spatula.
4. Separate the batter into two bowls of roughly equal portions (~180 g each). 
5. To one of these, mix in the vanilla extract.
6. Add the rose syrup and red food colouring to the other batter and mix those in too. 

Baking the blooms

1. Equip your BRUNO Hot Sand Maker with the Petit Gateau or Fish plate attachment.
2. Let your Hot Sand Maker run for 1 minute to warm it up. 
3. Brush each of the moulds with oil. 
4. Pour ~½ tbsp of the vanilla batter and ~½ tbsp of the rose batter side-by-side into each of the horizontal Petit Gateau moulds. If you are using the Fish plate add ~1 tbsp of both batters into each mould instead. 
5. Close and clip the filled Hot Sand maker and set the timer to cook for 2 minutes. After the cook time has elapsed, leave the Hot Sand maker closed for another 1 minute for the kuih bahulu to continue cooking via the residual heat.
6. After the extra minute, gently unlid the Hot Sand Maker, if there is any more visible uncooked batter, close and cook for another minute. 
7. Otherwise, gently flip each of the kuih with a spatula, then close and bake for 1 minute more. If you’re using the Fish plate, laterally rotate and switch the positions of the two kuih, then cook for one more minute to achieve even browning. 

Rinse and repeat

1. Remove the cooked kuih bahulu from the Hot Sand Maker with a spatula and set it to cool on a wire rack. 
2. Repeat steps 3 to 7 until all the batter has been baked into fresh and crunchy kuih. Serve immediately, or store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.