I cannot remember how long has it been that my mother has been making kueh lapis for the lunar new year every year. Kueh means cake, and lapis means layers, so kueh lapis is a type of layered cake. There are different types of kueh lapis including rainbow coloured ones, but in Singapore it refers to the brown layered type also known as Spekkeok, and it has Dutch-Indonesian origins. It is tedious to bake as it is done layer by layer, and typically has more than ten layers.
My mom has been wanting to pass down her recipe to someone, and we thought my partner could observe the process this year. I had the idea that I should document it with a proper camera. Rituals are the sort of thing we seem to take for granted because they take place year after year, but as we all age I am starting to acutely feel the impermanence of it all. I am trying harder to bring my camera to these seemingly mundane occasions.
I took plenty of photos and some videos, but I thought I could share a selection of them here:
I can see the age of this mixer, so I asked my mother how old is the machine. Apparently it is a couple of decades old:
Instead of a cooking timer she uses this retro looking clock:
Preparing to stir the mixture containing flour, beaten egg whites, egg yolks, and butter:
The first layer of the cake:
Putting on another layer of mixture on top of a baked layer:
Taking a peek through the oven:
Almost done, preparing the nth layer:
My mom preparing to flip the cake:
The completed cake sliced into half:
I am glad I took the opportunity to document the process. I don’t think I know how to take good photos yet, but all it matters is the intention to freeze a moment with some tenderness. Looking at the photos I wished I had been much more aware of the impermanence of life much earlier on. I would have loved to take more photos of my grandmother cooking and making rice dumplings. Things she did that happened so often for so much of my life, and they are unreachable now.
Don’t forget to document the moments that are precious to you, now.