Bika Ambon Medan Recipe
Bika ambon is a traditional cake from North Sumatra with a signature honeycomb-like cavity structure, bright yellow color from turmeric, and a deep aroma of lemongrass, pandan, and kaffir lime leaves baked right into the crumb. Despite its name, this cake was born in Medan, and it has long been a must-buy souvenir every visitor brings home from the city.This recipe uses Accelist Pangan Nusantara Egg Powder (both Whole Egg Powder and Egg Yolk Powder) in place of fresh eggs. Egg Yolk Powder gives the batter a stable, rich yellow color and a tender, soft crumb, while Whole Egg Powder provides the structure that keeps the cake from collapsing once it's out of the oven.
Ingredients
Method
- Make the Yeast Starter: Combine warm water, instant yeast, sugar, and flour in a small bowl, stirring until no lumps remain. Let it sit for 15 minutes at room temperature until the surface is foamy and smells pleasantly yeasty. No foam after 15 minutes means the yeast is dead. Start over with a fresh batch.
- Simmer the Aromatic Coconut Milk: Pour the thick coconut milk into a saucepan and add the torn kaffir lime leaves, bruised lemongrass, knotted pandan leaves, and turmeric powder. Cook over low heat, stirring the whole time to prevent the coconut milk from splitting, then remove from heat once it reaches a gentle boil and strain out all the solids.Let the coconut milk cool fully to room temperature before using it. Hot liquid poured into the batter will damage the flour proteins and stop the yeast from working.
- Dissolve the Accelist Egg Powder: In a bowl, whisk Egg Yolk Powder (45 g) with 55 ml of cold water until completely smooth. Do the same for Whole Egg Powder (26 g) with 78 ml of water. Once both are fully dissolved, whisk them together for 2 to 3 minutes on low speed, either by hand or with a mixer, until the mixture looks slightly aerated.
- Mix the Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the tapioca flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, and vanilla powder. Stir with a spatula or whisk until everything is evenly mixed.
- Incorporate the Egg Mixture: Pour the dissolved egg mixture into the dry flour blend and stir gently until combined. The batter will feel grainy and thick at this point. That's normal.
- Add the Coconut Milk: Pour the cooled aromatic coconut milk into the batter gradually, whisking as you go, until there are no lumps left. The batter will loosen and turn smooth.
- Add the Starter and Margarine: Pour the foamy yeast starter into the batter and stir to combine. Add the melted, cooled margarine last and stir gently until fully absorbed. Pass the entire batter through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean bowl to get a perfectly smooth consistency.
- Rest the Batter (Fermentation): Cover the bowl with a clean cloth or cling wrap and leave the batter to rest for 2 hours at room temperature, away from drafts or cold spots. A well-fermented batter will have light bubbles on the surface and smell noticeably more aromatic. Give it one last gentle stir before baking.
- Prepare the Pan and Oven: Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F) for at least 15 minutes. While it heats up, lightly grease a 20 x 20 cm (8 x 8 in) baking pan with margarine or oil and line with parchment paper.
- Bake: Carefully pull the hot pan out of the oven, pour the batter in, then slide it back in. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes at 200°C (390°F), leaving the oven door slightly open (about 1 cm / ½ in) to let steam escape — this helps the top bake evenly to a golden finish. To check doneness, insert a skewer into the center; if it comes out clean, the cake is ready.
- Cool Before Slicing: Take the pan out of the oven and leave the cake inside it to cool completely at least 1 hour. Slicing while it's warm will cause it to fall apart. Once cooled, the texture firms up, the honeycomb layers become clearly visible on each cut, and the cake is ready to serve.