Featured as part of our Cooks and their Books series.
This fascinating cake is not difficult to make, but you do need patience for the special cooking method. The layers, each hardly thicker than a wafer biscuit, are baked and then grilled one at a time. Be prepared to hover over the oven for a couple of hours — preferably when the weather is cold enough to make this a comfortable occupation! Some people prefer a light-textured cake, while others prefer a pudding-like texture which is richer and sweeter. If the former is to your taste use the recipe as printed. But if you prefer a sweeter, moist cake that most Indonesians consider the acme of their sweetmeats, then use only 75g (½ cup) plain four and four egg whites instead of eight. The cake is served in very small, thin slices as it is so rich.