Sarawak Local Cake Making for Foochow Mothers

The Beehive Cake was a hot cake in the 80's in Sibu. Every mother wanted to make it and the recipe was circulating around very fast.  And condensed milk , one of its main ingredients flew off the shelf.
I remember trying to make it myself and my first attempt turned out well. the cake was spongy and sweet and very delicious. I had used my mother's China made, multiple task-over-the-stove-top oven.

The recipe called for "burning" the sugar of in Bahasa Malaysia, "angus gula" and many women raised their eyebrows? Wah, they said, "Make Malay cake need to burn sugar...?" Actually it was to "caramelize the sugar", a culinary term.

But any way this beehive cake started to show itself during Chinese New Year open houses and many other family occasions.

Then came the layered cakes, especially the San Char cake, one layer of san char, one layer of cake mix and so on and so forth. It was quite easily made but a lot of eggs are required.

San Char reappeared in the supermarkets and cake ingredients shops. San Char became popular again. Before then many people did not like the taste of san char or Haw Flakes.  Or did they find the San Char too old fashion? San Char is made from Hawthorn, a sour fruit easily found in Fujian, the ancestral home of the Foochows.

For these two cakes, a lot of condensed milk is used. But we actually have to reduce the amount of sugar.



Cross section of a simple San Char Cake




Slices of bee hive cake and san char layer cake....Nice for afternoon tea.

In Malay homes it is almost compulsory for wives to make cakes for their husbands when they return home from work. Some wives even make 15 to 20 layers for their local kek lapis to show their commitment and love for their husbands.


Children are always really proud if their mothers can make cakes like other mothers. Probably by local Sarawak standard, good housewives make a variety of good cakes.

P/s The Methodist Women's Fellowship has run a good Home Economics Course for many decades in Sibu. It is a good way to help Foochow women, whether highly educated or not. Indirectly, the course also helps women to be more mindful about becoming good mothers etc. Cake making and other culinary arts have been taught in that programme. Tailoring at the beginning was a very important course offered in teh 50's.