bika — West Sumatra, Indonesia

Bika is a small, dense cake of rice flour, coconut and palm sugar, cooked until its edges caramelize into a deep amber crust while the centre stays soft. It is sold as a snack, warm, wrapped or eaten on the spot rather than served as part of a main meal. It is reported from West Sumatra, where it is a fixture of local markets and roadside stalls, made in batches through the morning and sold as they come off the mold. Cakes close to it, under other names, are made elsewhere in Indonesia, but this account follows the West Sumatran preparation as described by cooks there. A batter of rice flour, coconut milk sweetened with palm sugar, egg and a little yeast or leavening is left to rest, then poured into small individual molds — traditionally shallow metal or clay cups heated over charcoal from below, sometimes with heat applied above as well so the cakes set on both sides at once. Grated coconut folded into the batter adds texture, and a pandan leaf lends a faint green fragrance. The exact shape of the mold, the ratio of coconut to rice flour, and the shade of the caramelized crust vary from one stall to the next, and cooks disagree on how dark that crust should be allowed to go. What is constant is the cake's short life: it is meant to be eaten within the day, while the crust is still faintly crisp and the inside still moist.