It’s all the girls’ fault – my cousins in Kuching! They were talking about this new cake place in the city and that triggered off a craving in me for cakes.
So I ended up buying this at my regular stall at Bandong – the steamed Horlicks Honey Cake…
I’ve eaten it before quite a long time ago and I liked it a lot – but I have not been buying it as it is quite expensive. A loaf (which, in fact, is a quarter of the whole square-shaped cake) costs RM14.00.
If I’m not mistaken, I think this is a variation of the kek batek…where the chocolate-flavoured Marie biscuits are used instead of the plain ones and Horlicks is used instead of the usual chocolate.
I also bought these at 59 sen a piece…
It’s just plain butter cake with bits of cherry but I loved it a lot – very light and moist, not too sweet…
…with just a bit of vanilla fragrance – I can’t stand it if it’s too overpowering.
But all in all, I think I like this one best…
*recycled pic*
– the Apom Milo or Steamed Milo Cake. It’s relatively cheap too – 3 slices for RM1.00 and RM25 for one whole square-shaped cake. I think I will order this for Christmas…or Chinese New Year.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Oh those look delicious, what’s in the first one? Is that a cream cheese frosting?
One of my aunties makes a plain butter cake, that is similar to the one you posted.
My daughter and I will be going away for the Thanksgiving holidays, I’ll have to take pictures and post on my site. We’re visiting my mothers side of the family, lots of great cooks (and a host of great eaters too). The food that my aunties and I prepare never lasts long.
Have you ever had rum cake? We make that during the Thanksgiving holidays.
Something like Christmas pudding? Here, we use brandy mostly…but rum would be nice. My first liquor drink a long time ago – rum Coke…but I don’t drink anymore. Too expensive… 😦 The first cake is a steamed cake with layers of biscuits, Horlicks (malt drink) and dunno what else holding them together….
Have fun on your Thanksgiving holidays… Looking forward to your posts and pictures.
Sweet tooth kicking in! Lol! No matter how nice or expensive the shop cakes are,still think our very own JFV’s clan cakes still de best! I have most recipes but really too busy to bake this year so post up all the festive cakes so I can drool instead!
That’s what I mean – in my tagline on Facebook – sometimes, the old-school cakes still seem to be the bast…or something to that effect. After too much of the extra-rich and creamy cakes, some days you just feel that you have had enough… 😦 I still have Auntie Irene’s Christmas pudding in the freezer… Hehehehehehehe!!! Waiting for the right time to take it out. Yummmmm!!!!!
Goodness me..the Apom Milo look so good..just like the kek sarang semut. I like cakes that are chewy like those two. I also think that Justyn would like the Horlicks cake as he is a great fan of kek batik. How come I never see any cakes being sold in Bandong while we were there?
In the fridge… You did not notice the huge one at the back? I should have bought the nice ones to let you all try… Usually, they cut into small slices to sell – those more affordable and would not end up eating too much. We got there almost noon – maybe all sold out or they’d put them back in the fridge – scared they might spoil… They also sell kek batek and sarang semut there.
Very reasonably priced compared to cakes in Kuching. Looks moist too.
Ya, that’s most important. Some cakes in the bakeries here are so very dry…and hard, not to mention the preservatives used. These homemade ones are all pretty good.
When I saw the title, I thought you are complaining about ladies complicated cooking again. Phheeww, I guess I was wrong. Hehehe, now you make me crave for some yummy cakes.
You can drop by the stall when you’re home… They have all kinds of kek lapis, kek prune and all those.
steamed horlicks honey cake? Wow, such a unique combination. So they mixed honey with horlicks to make it? Looks yummy though
Morning to you! have an awesome weekend today XD
Same to you and you have a great weekend too. Don’t ask me! When it comes to cakes, I only know how to eat… Hehehehehe!!!!!
Is this the same place that sells the fruit cake? I’m not into chocolate cakes so no comment on the horlicks cake.
Yup, same place. Still selling those…but as you know, they do not come cheap… 😉
I love them all… anything sweet, I am in… too bad I am still in “sick” mode… otherwise I would go out and get something sweet now!
Ya…have to watch what you eat. Take care now and get well soon.
the first one looks very special as i havent seen any before 🙂
If you look at it whole, uncut…it looks like the Chinese steamed yam cake. Not very attractive but the taste is something totally different altogether. Very nice.
Milo, horlicks? Erm sounds odd to me. Simply love the Sarawak layer cake. Yumz!
Have a good weekend Art!^^
+Ant+
Ya…I know West Malaysians love those Sarawak kek lapis. They buy home by the boxes…but I would think twice about buying them. Firstly, the colouring puts me off, and then those on display on the pavement have been there for dunno how long – day in and day out, under the sun…so I really wonder how much preservatives they use. I would only order homemade ones from people that we know can make really great kek lapis…
I love Sarawak kek lapis too but sometimes scare to buy when seeing all the colourful colours. Once in awhile when craving for it I will close one eye and buy, hehehe….temptation lah!!!…
Eeeee…and the ones at Main Bazaar – at the stall for how long we also do not know, exposed to the heat of the sun. Dunno how much preservatives they use to prevent them from going bad. This stall here has a big fridge to keep all the cakes…
No, No, Arthur, not the ones at the five foot way of Main Bazzar. I always get mine at China Street shophouse. They also got big fridge to keep the cakes lah.
As long as it is colourful, no…thank you. They say Helen’s is nice. Former Maxwell Cake shop at Kuching Plaza – the hubby was in my post the other day, classmate from primary school. I’ve never tried myself though…
Have you tried the Dayang Salhah kek lapis? Across the river? I wouldn’t touch those at the Main Bazaar, but DS is the real stuff.
My friend, Ivan, bought one for me from the house…but I insisted that he, being from West Malaysia, took it back to eat himself and share with his friends. He went across river all right and bought from the house…
the honey horlicks cake looks delicious..
It does? I thought it looks quite horrible…but it really tastes good.
Very hard for me to say which one I like. In fact I like all of them. Why alang alang 59 sen a piece for the butter cake? The 3rd pix, Apom Milo looks like what we call Beehive cake. Looks moist and not like some cakes very dry and after taking 1 or 2 pieces have to drink few cups of water. Tsk!…
Yup…looks like beehive or honeycomb. They sell that too – they call it serang semut. I’m not really crazy about that cake, that’s why I would not bother to buy. 59 sen? Oops…must be a typo – will go and edit that later. The Milo cake is steamed, not baked…so they call it apom but the texture is just like cake and it tastes great.
my favourite is still kek lapis. especially made of cheese one omg!
They sell at this stall too… Nice but too expensive. Wouldn’t buy unless buying to serve during festivals like Chinese New Year.
wow, i just love that Horlicks Honey Cake!! special and i can imagine how nice the malty and honey taste it is.. but i think only available there as this is most probably a secret recipe.. the other two looks good too, but i would have more interest to try that HHC~~ :p
Too bad it does not keep too well. I bought for a friend once…and out of the fridge the whole day while we went around KL…and then she drove home to Butterworth with it…and I think it turned moldy after a day or two. Have to keep cold…
All of these malay cakes is meant to be put inside the fridge. Cannot keep outside lah, Cikgu will spoil in a day!
Ya…that’s why it’s hard to buy for people when you need to travel – real risky ad it’s most likely to go bad.
I know how to make cake batik…but instead of horlicks…i use milo and i will chill the cake in the fridge first before serving ot. It’s been awhile since i last made it. Milo mahal leh…
Ya…Horlicks isn’t cheaper either. That’s why the cake is so expensive…and these Malays, they never scrimp…they would go all out to use the best ingredients – that’s why the cakes are nice…
But some places… not nice leh their steamed cakes… 😦 macam use cheap bahan only… so usually I dun buy. If I want these, i’ll make it myself.
I dunno. All I know is I always see West Malaysian buying berkotak-kotak to take home when they come to Sarawak…and even my West Malaysian colleagues – they would order a lot to take home for the holidays – I’ve tried some of those they ordered. Not really nice…but they praised to the skies – said couldn’t get in semenanjung.
Arthur, jom we ask her to make some for us. hehehe…she jahat …know how to make but tarak make for me to try….now am still waiting for her curry chicken LOL
We’ll invite ourselves to dinner at her house the next time we meet in KL – force her to cook for us. Hehehehehehe!!!!
*HORRIFIED* Why ask for curry chicken until over here in Cikgu’s blog wan. Betul betul scary la u.*shuddering* Wokay la… see la… when I feel up to it I will cook… wait until I stop sneezing first la. Ishh~
ps: Lama tak makan ur bihun goreng. *bodek mode* U make the best bihun goreng in the world! Tarak bihun goreng, lor ma kai pun jadila.
Hmmmm…must be really good if she is actually asking for it. Come, next time we either eat at your place – you cook…or we all go and eat bak kut teh. Muahahahahaha!!!!
Blame and b-lame haha..Horlicks honey, butter and Milo cakes for Xmas..Ho Ho Ho!
The Milo one, that’s for sure – not too expensive… I think I can afford it. 😉
now am gonna blame u cos u made me crave for one! slurrrrp!!
i love cakes that are moist and dense. the first one looks good! 😉
Oh gosh! Now you can understand how I felt when the girls were comparing notes about the cakes they bought at this new place in Kuching and those available elsewhere. LOL!!!
LOL… kesian kyh. Ur not really a regular here, aren’t you? If u come here everyday, you’ll crave for more things.
No, he’s vegan, I think so he is not into most of the things that we eat. It’s a wonder he still cares to drop by and comment – so nice of him.
I have a soft spot for Malay cakes and I especially enjoy them over CNY. But RM14 for a quarter cake – that’s RM56 for a whole cake! Much like their Chinese counterparts, the mooncake, it seems that prices for Malay cakes are starting to put them into the “sometime food” category.
I cringe when I see the prices of CNY food in the few weeks before the big day. It’s hardly an affordable luxury anymore. I suppose a common coffee shop phrase these days would be “Prices of everything are increasing, the only thing not increasing are our wages”. What’s the price for petrol these days? RM1.70/litre? Sadly, the distance from Point A to Point B remains the same.
But going back to your post, the Apom Milo in the photo does look good, I’ll be adding that to my to-eat list, haha!
Nothing comes cheap these days – the saving grace is they’re really nice. Buying from the bakeries in town, we may pay about the same amount but the quality may be a lot inferior. Not worth the calories. For one thing, it’s good to put these cakes under the “sometime” food category…or even “only during festivals and special occasions”. They’re often very sweet – some may use cans of condensed milk in their cakes plus the Milo and what not – you can imagine the sugar content.
The cheesecakes at places like Secret Recipe don’t come cheap either – a slice would probably be around RM7-8 – the quarter would probably be enough to make 3-4 slices so it can be considered much cheaper comparatively.
I used to buy from Secret Recipe… but stopped once I got to know Cyn. =.= She spoiled me with cakes and cookies, which is much nicer than Secret Recipe’s in my opinion. Her cookies is to die for. I’m sure you’ll agree with me on that. 😛
I’ve tried her cookies but not her cakes. She’s in Penang, it seems. Met the Godfather already…and feeding him. LOL!!! 😀
Cake with Milo, i no like lah, don’t know why I just don’t like cakes, maybe they don’t pair with beers, kakakakakakaka, you know arthur, I just met with Cynthia this afternoon with her Breanna princess,nice woman, can keep as a friend lol
Yes, Cynthia’s very nice…but how to be friends with her when you are no friends with cakes and biscuits? LOL!!! She makes very nice ones… Ok, point noted. Now I know what NOT to buy for you when I go to Penang…
Aiyo… complain banyak… if orang kasi cookies and biscuit, ambil and baham saja. Tiru macam saya… selalu jadi labrat. Toksah cakap Cynthia, everyone loves to feed me. Rezeki jangan ditolak…
He met Cyn already – I think Cyn is in Penang…and he likes her swiss roll even though he does not like cakes…
@Kat… I used to make those cakes la… but tak berapa jadi, abit lembik. Got fed up so I dun make them anymore unless really really kempunan. 😛 Dun ask me make cake for u… later u kena food posoning. Better stick to my curry. Wakakakaka…
Ok, so curry it is!!! LOL!!! 😀
Wakakakakak… my parents dropping by. *rubs hands* I wonder wud my mum bawak for me this time to fill up my fridge? Bwhahahaha!
Sick! Eat plain porridge! LOL!!! 😀
Good morning 🙂 I like simple cakes. A cousin from Singapore once brought over kek lapis – from a shop called Bengawan Solo (I think), very nice that kek lapis. I have tried those boxed-up ones available off the shelves but not nice leh.
Xmas fruit cake and mince pies are here, there and everywhere now, but I don’t like fruit cake – too much stuff in them. Do you like them and what do you serve your Xmas pudding with? Ahhh, sticky date pudding with vanilla ice cream, yum yum loh!
I don’t like the imported fruit cake and Christmas pudding e.g. Big Sister brand. Too sweet and not enough liquor. I prefer our own homemade ones… Ya…kek lapis, not all are good. We’ve got lots at the supermarts from Indonesia – very dry, not nice…and strong cinnamon smell – not to my liking.
This kek lapis from Singapore is green and brown layers, no cinnamon smell to it. It tastes just like…cake 🙂 reason why I like it. Xmas mince pies – our Pommy neighbours (they are from Warrington, UK) will buy UK imported sweetmeat and they make their own mince pies, thus very yummy. Walkers and Kipling brands are quite good too.
X’mas minced pies that I had had fruit jam inside – no, thank you. I can make nice pies…so I’m not into those that they sell outside. Yet to fin any that is nicer than mine. Wink! Wink! LOL!!! I know the green and brown-layered cake – we have lots of those here with all kinds of fancy names. The Malays are very good at giving names to their cakes…
hahaha, you want to eat, say lah. why blame the girls??
Hahahahaha!!! Looking for a scapegoat mah! They triggered my craving for cakes with their chat about the cakes they bought…and I was not able to sample any all the way here in Sibu. 😦
Droolling at the butter cake and Milo Apom. Goshh…these really will satisfy my sweet tongue.
At my age, I have to control… Not too much sweet things. Used to love to eat cakes sooooo much.
Simple ingredients but yummy cakes! I’ve never tried steam Horlicks honey cake. I like the Milo-Marie biscuits variation…very nice. Have you tried it? The butter cake certainly looks nice 🙂
Ah…somebody into making cakes, I see. The Milo-Marie biscuits would be what they call kek batek, right?
so much moist and rich cakes!
Ya…nice eh? 😉