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Sunday, August 1, 2010

Batik Cake or Hedgehog Slice



A cake requested by my mother in law. The only cake ever requested.

Each time she come back from US, she’ll talk about this marie biscuit cake, filled with some Milo fudgy sauce. I had no idea what it was, and I searched on the internet. Actually 2 years ago, I already found out that the cake was called Batik Cake, but I never made it. Until this time that she came back.

I finally made it. It's the one of the few stuff I made since she came back last Nov 2009, yeah it's more than half a year since I made this. As you can see those natural lighting photography was so bad, definately it was from ages ago

There are many versions on the internet, and I found that, some made it with eggs, some without. To me, with eggs should taste better. Some use cocoa, some don’t. Well, I can jack up the Milo and condensed milk content and do away with the cocoa powder, extra sugar and extra water. Well, I just don’t like to keep half opened up stuff as much as possible. So, to use up everything in one attempt has always been my preference.

And I also found out that it is called Hedgehog Slice in Australia. Maybe some Malaysians ciplak(pirated) it and gave it a local name, batik cake. You know la, please visit Petaling Street.

The condensed milk u see here, is Full Cream Condensed Milk, bought by Lydia’s nanny from Singapore.

You may substitute with the local sweetened creamer.

So, here are the ingredients
1 pack 250gm Marie biscuits (I got mini maries, u can use regular maries)
1 pack 200gm Milo , or u can use any malted chocolate drink like Ovaltine or Vico
1 can 397gm Sweetended Condensed Milk
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
150gm butter, about 2/3 cup

What I did was,
1. Prepare one 7 inch square pan. Fully lined with non stick baking paper. Make sure the paper is much higher than the pan.
2. Lightly beat eggs. Put in Milo, and condensed milk and whisk until well combined.
3. Pour egg mixture into a non stick pot/pan , put in butter. On medium low heat, cook while stirring all the while until mixture starts to thickens. Reduce to low heat.
4. When the egg custard is cooked, it looks grainy and thick. Remove from heat.
5. Spread one layer of custard into the pan. Arrange marie biscuits onto custard.
6. Repeat step 5 until all biscuits or custard are used up. A thin layer of custard is enough for the interlayers.
7. When the layering is all done, fold in the high collars of the paper. Press down and compact the cake with ur hands.
8. Chill in fridge overnight before cutting.



Well, at first she said, it was it. But as she ate on..she said, not quite like it. The one she ate years ago was softer. The biscuits were softer, no biscuit feel at all, it's homogenous. Well, I've never eaten this before so I didn't not know how to gauge.

Hmmm... ok, next time I know what to do. I'll use evaporated milk instead so that there will be more liquid.




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100 comments:

  1. Haha u know, it was one of the very first few cakes I made when I was younger (like during schooling days) I still remember chocolate orange cheesecake was my first, apple cake was 2nd and this could come in 3rd or 4th. I've always loved hedgehog cakes. Haven't made it for a super long time. I doubt I even have the copy of the recipe.. argh!!

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  2. Wendy, the cake is very very beautiful. Can't believe you took the effort the break the biscuits in half every other layer to get the brick-effect pattern when you slice open the cake. It's a beautiful masterpiece!

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  3. Looks very pretty and loaded with calorie and flavours!
    Some really good puer tea would be marvelous to enjoy with these slices.

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  4. Hi Wendy. Your cake looks very neat. The taste must be good too.

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  5. This is the first time to see this cake. How does anyone come up with a creation like this? I am guessing it has to be one of the Malays creation for Hari Raya... It has that feel all over it...:)

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  6. This cake is very neatly done and look yummy. I'm drooling already. ;p

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  7. Looks pretty with the layered biscuits. I think I saw this cake in a magazine long time ago, must check my book shelves whether the recipe still there.

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  8. Oh wow, this looks marvellous! So tempting and easy to make too. Thank you for sharing & enjoy your day.
    Cheers, kristy

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  9. Wendy, your cake looks really nice, I like the pattern of the cake, however I haven't tasted Batik Cake before, it's a new to me, will try to bake one day.

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  10. wow wendy! looks beautiful!! aku suka sangat kek nih taw! kalau bagi seloyang pong aku boleh abiskan sorang! muahahahaha...

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  11. Swee San,
    Ha!!! So long ah? I think this cake was a fad 10 years back gua, cos my MIL ate this many many years ago.

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  12. Quinn,
    I didn't want certain parts to be without the biscuit, and I know if I don't arrange the sides with halves, the cake will have biscuits in some pieces, but none in some pieces.

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  13. Angie,
    Actually the amount of ingredients are pretty similar to a cake, just made differently.

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  14. Home Kreation,
    Okla, the taste. Need to improve.

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  15. Shirley,
    I doubt it. I guess it's a pirated version of hedgehog cake.

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  16. Min,
    Don't need to bake.... just cook the custard on pan, and then assemble and chill.

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  17. Hana,
    Dah nak posa ni, buat la seloyang ke dua loyang ke.
    Sedap buka posa ngan ni.

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  18. Very nicely done! Like the brickwork! If only the biscuits would not soften, then with every bite, you can feel the crunch and that would be great!

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  19. The first time I tasted this cake was at my school teacher house during Hari Raya. Thas was ages ago. Been seeing this popping up at a lot of malay ladies blog. I like the way you arranged the biscuits. They are so neat and so well done.

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  20. Busygran,
    My MIL said the cake was laid in, not mixed in, so I made it based on her experience ot eating this.
    It was slightly crunchy, of which is not that right, according to my MIL. It should taste like a cake, with no biscuit felt in the mouth.

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  21. Gert,
    Thanks. Wow, you in school? Wah wah wah.... let's not talk about how long this was. kekekeke.

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  22. hi, the other day my colleague made this, she did it without condensed milk.. just biscuits, milo, eggs, butter... but yours look definitely nicer, the layers are so even...

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  23. Yea I know that was gazillion years ago :)

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  24. This one looks interesting, with marie biscuits layered in between, must be yummy

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  25. reanaclaire,
    Thanks, I'm still looking for "the" recipe that will please my MIL's tastebud. Cross my fingers that I'll find it.

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  26. neyeeloh,
    It's yummy for me, but it's lacking softness, according to my MIL.

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  27. "Maybe some Malaysians ciplak it and gave it a local name, batik cake. You know la, please visit Petaling Street." I LOL'ed at this. Yea, the slogan "Malaysia Boleh" is so versatile. Can be used anywhere, anytime. LOL!

    Just as I was about to sleep after a tiring day, you just made me sit down solely to leave you a comment! LOL! Lately, I have so many things to say here ... Hmmm ...

    I made kek batik almost 2 years ago with SeaDragon's recipe (http://cornercafe.wordpress.com/2008/11/22/kek-batik/). He said it's a Sarawak specialty wor ... (I've been wanting to try Sarawak's kek belacan for a long time. But when I was in the States, I couldn't get a hold of Parisian browning essence. Now that I know Cold Storage carries the product. I can easily go downstairs during lunch break at work to buy one. Will try it when the mood strikes me. You want? I can help you get one first, then pass it to you when we meet up again next time.) Since it was my first time tasting kek batik, I felt it was pretty decent. Fudgy, soft and somewhat cakey to me. I remember at that time, I kept telling myself, "Must be the crackers that gave the cake that cakey feel." In the U.S., there isn't Marie biscuit. So, I used graham crackers, the closest to both Maries and digestives. No Asian grocer around where I lived, so I used choc-flavored Ovaltine, with some cocoa powder mixed in. I tweaked SeaDragon's recipe to adapt to my situation.

    Here's my kek batik: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ocbcb/3197558972/in/set-72157612526791181/

    I admit, though, I probably scrambled the custard by a wee bit during cooking, accidentally. Surprisingly, I can still recall that hadn't affected the final outcome. I brought the cake over to my American family friends' and we all loved it!

    Mine doesn't look as presentable as yours. Ya know what, this is something I'd like to revisit since it's been eons I last made it. The prob is my fridge has this no-vacancy policy around pretty much 24/7. Oops, looking at the cake, I suddenly crave it! When the opportunity comes, I'll revisit SeaDragon's recipe. Personally, I'm satisfied with it. Perhaps, you can try it and see if this is what you want?

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  28. I love all the levels, so neat and beautiful to look at! I bet guest are impressed.

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  29. waaaaaaaaa u just blow my mind off leh....thumbs up

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  30. it looks delicious,this one looks easy to make.so i need to use the evaporated milk instead of sweet condensed milk?

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  31. Jennifurla,
    Err... only family members ate this, no special guests :)

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  32. Manglish,
    Make sure you pick up the pieces so that you can blog.

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  33. Pei-Lin,
    You know what, actually my recipe is based on a humongous amount of tweaking from Sea Dragon's. My custard mixture looked almost like his, but slightly runnier and my MIL complained, it's not moist enough to soften the biscuits. I even reduced one egg because I didn't use the water in his recipe.
    The taste of mine is actually pretty good, just that it's not soft enough, according to my
    MIL. To me, it's fine enough cos i've never tasted the supposedly real thang.

    I'm curious to try out a mix and bake version that I've got from the internet, that uses nestum as well.

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  34. Oi Lai,
    If you like the feel of biscuits to be there, stick with this recipe.
    If you like the biscuits to be no longer crunchy, but taste like cake, then use evaporated milk(the whole can) plus 200gm sugar, to replace the sweetness in the condensed milk.

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  35. Pei-Lin again,
    About the Parisian browning essence...
    Errr.. I have no interest in the sweet tooth cake woh. Corner Cafe said, try only if have sweet tooth. I don't have, so better not.
    Thanks for the offer.

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  36. Hmm, I love the look of this 'Hedgehog Cake'.....its' so artitic. I'll definitely try this next weekend since I also bought home some original Milkmaid Sweetened Condensed Milk from Singapore as suggested by you when I went there in June......hehe, thanks Wendy for the sharing! xoxo

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  37. Would love to try this as I have a big can of opened Milo. Milo and condensed milk is a very good combination.

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  38. My ex-colleague made this many yrs back...and my mum made it too about 5yrs ago...couldn't remember it well but thought it was too sweet! I asked about the recipe and it was just by mouth I got the recipe...so long time ago...ermm...I remembered only marie biscuits, butter, sugar, milk, milo...but no eggs woh...so didn't have to cook it even. Just mix milo mixture with water and layer it with the biscuits, then chill. I remember there's even one version with broken up biscuits, looked like they'r being simply mixed with the milo with a spoon and pressed. Anyway, yours is the prettiest I've seen!

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  39. i've heard of hedgehog slice but hedgehog cake seems creative and fun :D it looks delicious ^^

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  40. Wendy, i have not try this cake before, this cake look neat and nice.

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  41. Mumto4Angels,
    Oh... what a waste to use that in here, cos the condensed milk will go unnoticed in here, unless you bought a lot lot la.
    I'd rather use that real condensed milk for Dulce de Leche or Condensed milk cake.

    But anyway, it's up to you, it's just my thought about it.

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  42. Anne,
    Chocolate sure rings the bell in you.
    Hahahah!!!

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  43. Meldylocks,
    Well, I was given a verbal recipe by my MIL too.
    She just told me, Marie biscuits, milo and milk, all arranged nicely, layer by layer. But she didn't know the rest.
    I guess this recipe was so wide spread that it went on with each person's prefered throw in amount, and some ppl won't tell you everything one ma.. so when one ambigous recipe goes about, it gets altered here and there, becos ppl were trying to guess what was in it.

    At first, I thought this was going to be super sweet, but when I tasted the custard,,.. eh... sweet la, but not cloyingly sweet.
    And once it was layered with the biscuits, and chilled, it was fine. Just don't gobble down a huge piece. It's meant to be savoured slowly, small piece each time.

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  44. Grub,
    Oh my mistake!!!!
    It's supposed to be hedgehog slice and not cake.
    I'll ammend this.

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  45. Beautiful and very neat decorated.

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  46. Kemas betul cake batik u Wendyy..kwn i tgk..terus nak buat jugak..hehehe..
    Mentang2 la nama kek batik..u letak atas kain batik ye.. :p

    Wenddy..bleh x i nak request dari u resepi chinese carrot cake..slalu i tgk byk chinese kat singapore buat..u tau kan..boleh x?

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  47. DG,
    Thanks

    Zeta,
    Kain sarong aku, kekekekeke.

    Chinese carrot cake, kat blog Sonia ada
    http://nasilemaklover.blogspot.com/2010/03/fried-white-radish-cake-simply.html

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  48. nice... i plan to make this coming saturday hehehe u not believe me? kekeke

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  49. hey wendy,
    if you would like the buscuits to be softer i would suggest dipping them in milk,either condensed milk+water(if you would like to control the sweetness) uht milk or evaporated milk would be fine, depends on your preference. This method is used in a cheesecake with marie biscuits layers and its great, the biscuits are soft and blends right in, hope you try it and i hope it ur mother in law will love it :)

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  50. paulakana,
    thanks for this tip.
    I'll try this next time.

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  51. I think it's because u used mini marie biscuits. If you had used the large usual size marie biscuits and break them into quarters, the chocolate mixture will be able to be absorbed better into the broken-sides of the biscuits. The edge of marie biscuits are quite hard, so the less edge the better. Try big marie instead of mini ones-- Lydia.

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  52. Lydia,
    Thanks for the suggestion.
    My MIL said, the biscuits are laid whole instead of broken up. Even if I were to use large biscuits, I'll still leave them whole, cos I'm making this for her.
    But I think overall, my choc custard mixture lacks moisture. I've seen some recipes adding in water. I'm ok with the slight biscuit feel of it, just my MIL that wants it to feel soggy instead of even slightly crunchy.

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  53. I have experience doing this cake batik in two ways..non cooked and cooked. :)..the noncooked style was my mom's way..

    the cooked style was learned at school ( kerat ekonomi rumahtangga-kemahiran hidup)..to soften the biscuit, have to cooked it with the custard mix :)..then it will be soft.U put the biscuit last after all the ingeredient.anyway your's look more tempting and wait for me to try it also, ok!

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  54. CatlinaFly,
    Yeah, I saw in some blogs, they put the biscuits into the custard to heat up. I believe the heat and the steam will soften it.
    But due to my MIL's request, that it should be laid out layer by layer, cooking it will not be suitable.
    Thanks for the suggestion.

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  55. hi wendy, i've try out ur recipe..but mine using 18inches pan so the layer is thin..;)..belum makan lagi pun...tunggu berbuka puasa..can't wait to try it!

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  56. Catlinafly,
    Selamat berbuka puasa nanti ye.
    And I'd love to hear the feedback.
    Thanks for trying.

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  57. thanks for the recipe!!
    do u mind if i post it in my blog?

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  58. Anonymous,
    It's alright as long as it's not totally copy and paste and you credit me in your post.

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  59. Very interesting and has a traditional feel to it. Marie biscuit is my favorite childhood biscuit. Dip in Milo or coffee, yum!

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  60. Hi...I came across this recipe when i try to google something easy and simple for me to make for my daugther's school teacher party. I make this kek batik for her and she said it was gone in second. she asked me to make this cake for every function in her school. :)

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  61. cntiknye..nmpk bselera nk mkn,time susun bskut kt loyang kne tekan tak bskut tu bg padat? sy wt slalu tak mnjadila..comot n ssh nk potong..

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  62. Anonymous,
    Pada langkah ke-7, anda perlu tekan kek lepas anda lipatkan kertas yang berlebihan.
    Semoga kek seterusnya menjadi ye!

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  63. cantiknye kek ni..dah lama cari..thanks...nak try lah..

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  64. I just did 1 kek batik yesterday after my friend suggested to follow your recipe and step, however my kek batik doesnt turn as beautiful as yours, still taste good though. :-)
    I really like to browse thru your blog. You such a great cook.

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  65. Ayu,
    Happy Ramadhan to u.
    Glad the cake tasted good.
    Must be patient to arrange the biscuits and spread the chocolate filling.
    I'm sure you will be happy with your next kek batik

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  66. This looks pretty unique, such a gret recipe to share!

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  67. Hi, Wendy. :)
    Can I use Nestle Ideal Evaporated Milk to replace the condensed milk? and how much evaporated milk should I use?

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  68. Su Sin Ting,
    Frankly,
    I have never used Ideal milk for this.
    But if I am not wrong, you can try to substitute with 200gm of Ideal and 200gm of sugar since condensed milk is 50% sugar.

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  69. OMG, how awesome is this recipe. This one is so getting made. Infact, I think I'll nip right into the supermarket and gather the items and make this today itself. Its so simple and looks absolutely sinful. Will let you know how it went!

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  70. Curious Cook,
    U must be a Milo lover, LOL.
    Will be glad to hear about it

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  71. wow..the cake is so beautiful..thanks for the recipe..

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  72. wendy, i made this yesterday and keep it in ice box overnite. this morning when i try to cut it, i found the custard still soft and sticky and not hard like chocolate. am i doing it correctly ah? i read your comment it should be soft. but how to cut it leh?

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  73. kinoko,
    It is soft, but not soft like custard, something like a lepat ubi or kuih bingka. That texture.

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  74. hi sis..nice to know u, dis cake look gorgeous..i nk try nanti..

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  75. awesome! i am sure it take a lot of time.

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  76. May I ask, why my cake still very wet aft chill in fridge? Anythg wrong? Do u chill in freezer? Thanks :)

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  77. anonymous,
    No, in freezer will be "freeze" not chill.
    Chill in the the fridge.
    It's wet? Now you got me really confused. The mixture itself is so thick before assembling, it won't water down, instead it will only be absorbed into the biscuits.
    The cake must be sliced when cold, eaten when cold. It might be moist, but not wet.

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  78. Mayb I should said moist instead of wet. I thk mine is too moist. It is very moist until whn i cut, it wil stick on the knife :( I know it need to be eaten whn cold.

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  79. Anonymous,
    hmm.. sticking to the knife? Mine was fine. It has so much butter that having it sticking and not in clean pieces is a mystery to me. It might stick a little like kuih, but not like cheesecake.
    If it's like cheesecake,then I suspect ur custard paste is not cooked enough.

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  80. I made this every year and I now I'm getting a request from my relative for Raya. I had tasted the best kek batik back in college. But I can't never made it like it no matter how I change my ingredient. I guess it's the one like your MIL said. The biscuit is moist and doesn't taste like biscuit at all. It's like the chocolate buttery taste had absorb into the biscuit.

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  81. maybe dipping the biscuits in black coffee? thats how my mother used to do it

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  82. Anonymous,
    Oh great! thanks for the tips ;)

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  83. Ive tried many different Batik cake recipes and this is my favourite by far!!

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  84. Hi Wendy, I added three quarter cup of boiling water to dissolve the chocolate and milo powder first and subsequently added the rest of the ingredients. Also I used regular size marie biscuits. The good thing is that the biscuit is soft after it has hardened. Just to share with you. Ade

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  85. Zo Zombify,
    thanks for letting me know :)


    Ade,
    thanks, I'll try with some water next time.

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  86. Hi Wendy,

    I have tried this batik cake last Saturday and its turn out very nice.
    My kids love it so much & thanks for sharing with us.

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  87. What is the difference if I use ovaltine?

    Milo in australia is not my favourite so I never actually buy them. =)

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  88. Cally,
    I don't know what's the Ovaltine taste like over there. Can't advise much. Basically won't be too much different

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  89. I just made this but with a few modifications, I linked you on my blog:http://lifessketchbook.blogspot.com/ because your batik cake picture is so beautiful :)thanks!

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  90. This is my childhood cake! They used to sell them in Satok 'sunday market' in Kuching when I was a kid near 25 years ago! Yes, some vendor has more crunchy marie biscuit and some has very cakey biscuit. We were told that the biscuit needs to be dunk very very quickly in milk, think less than 1 second. It was only twenty cents apiece back then, now we only get 2 pieces for rm1. Oh and this is the type of cake which taste better the longer you chill it, we used to make them a week in advance.

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  91. Hi! Wendy. I tried this recipe last weekend. I replace condensed milk with evaporated milk with no added sugar. Besides, I replace Marie biscuit with Julie Golden cracker. The result and taste is nice. SM

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  92. Hi Wendy,
    I apologize in advance, as I didn't read through all the comments, so I don't know if you got an answer to making the biscuits soft yet.
    I just made a biscuit cake the other day, and I think the answer to softening the biscuits, is dipping them first (as fast as you can!) in milk or coffee. I would even recommend dipping fast in a cold or lukewarm liquid, so they won't get too soggy and won't fall apart before layering.
    After a night in the refrigerator, they should be soft enough.
    I made mine with a mixture of cooked chocolate cream (ditched cocoa+ sugar+ shortening, and a tiny bit of water), mixed with whipped non dairy cream (just because of dairy intolerance, please do use the real thing!).
    I know of another version, with a very simple no bake cheesecake filling.

    I hope it helps :)

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  93. Hi Wendy....thanks for this lovely recipe! http://pengskitchen.blogspot.sg/2015/09/kek-batik-hedgehog-slice.html

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  94. My mum used to make this a lot... the biscuits are soft because they are soaked in between layering. The sequence goes layer pudding, arrange biscuits, pour milk all over and repeat. In your case I guess you could use milo instead of milk. If it starts getting too wet you can always pop in the freezer for a few minutes before carrying on.

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