Updated February 25, 2008
Originally posted December 7, 2006
No, this is not a section of an ant colony. This delectable item is a cake that you simply must try!
Malaysian Honeycomb Cake
In Malaysia, this is called a “honeycomb cake”. It gets its name from the interesting honeycomb-like patterns caused by bubble trails baked into the cake. The texture is like a sponge cake, with more bounce and less crumble.
Malaysian Honeycomb Cake is similar to the Indonesian Bika Ambon but the Malaysian recipe calls for the sugar to be caramelized first, giving it a darker color. The cake is sweet with a hint of bitterness from the caramel. That’s one of the reasons I like this honeycomb cake so much.
The other thing I like about it is, it doesn’t call for a lot of ingredients, and is fairly easy to make. The only hard part is making the caramel sauce. Other than that, it’s a piece of, well, cake!
This Malaysian Honeycomb Cake recipe comes from Jo’s Deli Bakery, an excellent site for baking enthusiasts.
Malaysian Honeycomb Cake Recipe
Ingredients
210g sugar
240g water
80g butter
6 eggs
160g condensed milk
180g all-purpose flour
2½ tsp baking soda
(What’s that? Still haven’t gotten that digital kitchen scale yet? Tsk tsk!)
Method
1. In a saucepan over low heat, caramelize the sugar until it turns a dark golden brown.
Making Caramel Sauce for Malaysian Honeycomb Cake
2. Slowly and carefully pour the water into the caramel. CAUTION! The caramel is very hot and the water will quickly boil and steam. Stir until the caramel is dissolved in the water and it becomes a thin syrup. Remove from heat.
Pouring Water Into Caramel Sauce for Malaysian Honeycomb Cake
3. Add the butter and set the pan aside to cool.
Melting Butter in Caramel Sauce for Malaysian Honeycomb Cake
4. Preheat oven to 350*F.
5. Mix together the egg and condensed milk in a bowl.
6. Sift the flour and baking soda together into the egg and milk. Mix well.
7. Pour the caramel butter sauce into the batter and mix well.
Pouring Caramel Butter Sauce in to Malaysian Honeycomb Cake Batter
8. Pour the batter into a greased, 9-inch round cake pan. Let it sit for 5 minutes for the bubbles to begin developing.
9. Bake at 350*F with bottom heat only (no convection!) for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
10. When the cake is cool,turn it out onto a plate. Slice and serve.
Malaysian Honeycomb Cake
Here’s a video I did a couple years ago of the whole process of making the Malaysian Honeycomb Cake:
I’d like to see you readers out there try this Malaysian Honeycomb Cake recipe out for yourselves. You won’t be disappointed!
Aloha, Nate
>Oooh, that does look delicious but awfully sweet. I’ll have to cut small slices when (not if) I try this.
hi,i’ve tried out ur recipe and it is great ! btw,need ur kindly advice, how to make the honeycomb hole more bigger？
>I have a regualr GE oven which has a stovetop.
I will try it again. Hopefully it will have more lubang/honeycomb.
Thanks Annie!
Sandrine
>One word. WOW!
never seen this method before! Have bookmarked to try 😀
>I have never had one of these cakes, but I love the “ant colony” comparison…lol…. what a great cake to serve at a tea party…spring fling…or just to family.. 🙂
>Your cake looks so delicious. My mouth is watering. I have to try this one. I have such a sweet tooth. Lovely recipe and for a second it did look like an ant colony – not to me, but to my 5 year old. Lol!
>Oh it looks absolutely delicious! I’m drooling right now, lol.
By the way, I have added you to my links, I hope you can add me too. Thanks.
You two have a great weekend. 😀
>Nice! When I first read the title I thought it was a recipe for a cake featuring actual honeycombs. I have two and I’m not sure what to do with them except save them for snacking. This looks delicious though.
>i didn’t this cake called honeycomb cake until today! thanks for the step to step! maybe I eat this cake in but don’t bother to find out the name or maybe was told in chinese name!! this cake really look good!
>This looks absolutely delicious! i am saving the recipe right away. A must try. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe with us.
>I’m Malaysian but hardly eat honeycomb cake, but after see this post, I think I will give a try and bake it myself. Thanks for kind sharing.
>I just wanted to let you know that i baked this cake for my guests on Sunday and everybody loved it! It turned exactly like in your picture. The only frustrating part was waiting for the sugar to caramelize, and right when I was ready to give up, it started to change its color and made me happy:) I will definitely make this cake again and again. thank you for sharing the recipe!
>@Mommy Gourmet – it’s not a super moist cake, but it is dense.
@ella – you may start with small pieces but you’ll want more, trust me!
@sandrine – good luck! Hope it comes out better the next time.
@Trinigourmet – let us know how it turns out for you!
@dabooklady – I bet it would go real well at a tea party.
@liza – thanks!
@Emile – go for it! I’d love to know how it comes out.
@farida – now that is the kind of comment we love!
>I am definitely going to have to try this!
>Hi Annie, this “kue sarang semut” or “caramel cake”, as it is called in Indonesia, is delicious! I thought it would be very difficult to make, but the way it was shown in your video looks very easy. I am now motivated to try to make it soon..:-)
>@jackie – thanks for the info! Let us know how it turns out for you.
>Hi Annie
I hv eaten this cake (not the Bengawan Solo version) before and have been searching for this recipe for ions. Thanks for sharing.
Your fellow M'sian
Annie
>OMG. I have been looking for this recipe FOREVER. I stumbled upon this blog by accident and now I can't thank you enough.
I made the cake yesterday and it looks EXACTLY like yours does and tastes just as I remember it.
I cannot wait to share this cake with everyone I know.
Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!
>@annie, M-dot – you're welcome, you're welcome, you're welcome! 😀
>I used to eat this cake all the time in my childhood days. Ohhhh yummy!! Wish me luck as I try out this recipe for the first time today 😀
>The cake was divine….Mmmm 🙂 Thanks to your clear instructions, this was indeed the easiest cake to make!
>@Kathy – thanks for telling us about your results. Now go and tell your friends about us 😉
>I'm from malaysia and just returned from a trip there a week ago. I miss the food already. I googled for this recipe and came across your video. My mum was quite impressed having nailed the recipie on the first try. Thanks for posting the video.
M from AB, Canada.
omg, this looks incredible!