Learn how to easily make this Malaysian kek sarang semut without having to caramelize any sugar on the stove. Recipe can be made in the oven or air fryer.
What a weird name for a cake I know!! Kek means cake, sarang means nest, semut means ants in Malay language. Gula means sugar and hangus means burnt/caramelized. It all has to do with its appearance of the cake and after you cut the cake. When you just cut the cake vertically, you will see some honeycomb texture running up and down, almost like the one in Bika ambon. When you cut the cake cross-section (horizontally), it resembles the ants nest..which is full of little holes (that makes me itch my skin when I look at it lol!). I didn’t do the cross-section photo though! Despite its “disgusting” look, you might think, this cake has an incredibly soft and bouncy texture that my two kids love a lot!
WHY YOU WILL LIKE THIS KEK GULA HANGUS RECIPE
1. SAVE YOU A STEP ON HAVING TO CARAMELIZE SUGAR
Many recipes for this kek gula hangus call for caramelizing the sugar before making the cake. I did not caramelize the sugar beforehand. I use coconut sugar instead of regular white sugar, which works like a charm. The sugar actually does caramelize during the baking process anyway, so it does give that nice dark brown color to the cake.
2. CAN BE BAKED IN THE OVEN OR AIR FRYER
This is actually the first time I baked a cake in an air fryer and it turned out wonderful.
3. CAKE IS NOT OVERLY SWEET OR BITTER
Despite the scary dark brown color you see in kek gula hangus, the cake doesn’t taste burn or worse bitter. The amount of sugar calls for in this recipe doesn’t make the cake overly sweet either. Coconut sugar is actually less sweet compared to regular sugar.
INGREDIENTS
1. ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR
You can use either bleached or unbleached all-purpose flour
2. BAKING SODA
Baking soda helps to leaven and brown the cake in this recipe. I did not use as much as many recipes call for because it gives the cake that metallic taste that I don’t like
3. EGGS
Use any large eggs anywhere between 55-60 grams are good to go
4. CONDENSED MILK
Condensed milk adds that creamy sweetness to the cake
5. COCONUT SUGAR
I use coconut sugar in this recipe to avoid having to separately caramelize regular white sugar. It contributes to the dark brown color and I simply love coconut sugar
6. BUTTER
Butter helps to keep the cake moist
HOW TO MAKE KEK SARANG SEMUT IN THE OVEN OR AIR FRYER
1. PREHEAT: Preheat oven or air fryer at 350 F. Line the pan with parchment paper or alternatively, grease the bottom and sides of the pan with some butter.
2. DRY INGREDIENTS: Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt to combine. Set aside.
3. BEATING: Next, use a hand mixer or stand mixer with a whip attachment to beat the eggs, condensed milk, water, sugar until combined and slightly pale and foamy. Gradually add in melted butter until just combined.
4. COMBINE WET AND DRY: Fold in 1/3 of the flour mixture into the egg mixture and continue until you use all the flour. Sift the mixture through a strainer to ensure the batter has no lumps.
5. BAKING IN AN AIR FRYER: Remove the inner basket of an air fryer. Place a metal trivet inside the air fryer box.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan.
Set the pan on top of the trivet and lower the temperature to 350 F and bake for 20 minutes and then lower temperature to 330 F and bake for another 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
6. BAKING IN THE OVEN: Place the cake on the 3rd rack from the top and bake at 350 F for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
7. SERVING: Wait for 20 minutes and then remove the cake from the pan to let it cool down completely. Slice into serving size.
This kek sarang semut is a very easy cake to bake and ingredients are not difficult to find. I’m pleased with the result!
DID YOU MAKE THIS KEK SARANG SEMUT RECIPE?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
Recipe inspiration is from here. I adapted the recipe by changing some methods and the amount of some ingredients.
Please weigh ingredients with a digital kitchen scale instead of using measuring cups as they are not very accurate especially when it comes to recipe that requires precision.
INGREDIENTS
Dry ingredients:
- 65 gr all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp salt
Wet ingredients:
- 3 large size eggs - about 55 gr each
- 125 ml water
- 75 ml condensed milk
- 100 gr coconut sugar - gula Melaka
- 65 gr melted butter - plus more for greasing the pan
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven or air fryer at 350 F. Line the pan with parchment paper or alternatively, grease the bottom and sides of the pan with some butter
Prepare the batter:
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt to combine. Set aside
- Next, use a hand mixer or stand mixer with a whip attachment to beat the eggs, condensed milk, water, sugar until combined and slightly pale and foamy. Gradually add in melted butter until just combined
- Fold in 1/3 of the flour mixture into the egg mixture and continue until you use all the flour. Sift the mixture through a strainer to ensure the batter has no lumps
Baking in an air fryer:
- Remove the inner basket of an air fryer. Place a metal trivet inside the air fryer box. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan. Set the pan on top of the trivet and lower the temperature to 350 F and bake for 20 minutes and then lower temperature to 330 F and bake for another 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean
Baking in the oven:
- Place the cake on the 3rd rack from the top and bake at 350 F for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean
Serving:
- Wait for 20 minutes and then remove the cake from the pan to let it cool down completely. Slice into serving size
2 comments
Hi Marv, love your recipes they are authentic and so delicious! I had a problem with the Sarang Semut yesterday, it didn’t come out with the honeycomb like texture…. rather it came out looking more like Nian Gao on the inside.. Delicious nonetheless, but im just wondering what could have gone wrong? Any tips?
Hi Jeana, So sorry to hear of the problem. Hmm…is there any chance that the baking soda might be expired? You can test it out with about 1/2 tsp of baking soda and pour some hot water on it and it should sizzle vigorously almost immediately. If it doesn’t, the baking soda is no longer good.