Traditional Malay Cakes of Penang: Kuih Bahulu and Kuih Bingka

Penang’s Malay cakes carry the flavour of home kitchens, festive gatherings and neighbourhood memory. Kuih bahulu and kuih bingka may look modest beside elaborate desserts, yet both reveal how local cooks worked with eggs, coconut, flour, tapioca and aromatic leaves to create food suited to celebrations and everyday hospitality.

For Malay families in Penang, kuih is closely connected with adat, the customs that shape social life. Cakes may be served to visiting relatives, shared after prayers, packed for a journey or prepared for Hari Raya. Their recipes also move through generations, changing slightly according to household preference while retaining recognisable textures and aromas.

These traditions have a natural place in conversations with Australians of Malaysian heritage. In Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, pandan leaves, grated coconut, tapioca and gula Melaka are available through Asian grocers and community markets. A tray of homemade kuih can become a familiar part of an Australian morning tea while preserving a distinct Penang connection.

The place of kuih in Penang Malay life

Traditional Malay cakes are more than recipes copied from a cookbook. They belong to a living food culture shaped by kampung relationships, religious occasions and the practical knowledge of home cooks. The same cake can mark a wedding, a visit from an elder, a festive open house or an afternoon when neighbours gather to talk.

Penang’s history adds further depth to these foods. Malay settlements around the island and mainland developed through migration, trade, farming and family networks. Figures such as Datuk Jenaton are part of the wider story of Malay settlement and identity in Penang, reminding us that heritage includes land, ancestry, community leadership and domestic traditions.

A cake recipe can therefore act as a small historical record. The ingredients show what was available, while the method reflects cooking equipment, household labour and local taste. Passed between mothers, grandmothers, aunts and daughters, these instructions often survive through demonstration rather than written measurement.

Kuih bahulu and the art of the mould

Kuih bahulu is a small baked sponge with a crisp or lightly firm exterior and an airy centre. Its classic form comes from a heated mould, traditionally made from brass or another heavy material, with cavities shaped like flowers, shells or fish. The mould must be heated and brushed carefully so the batter rises without sticking.

The basic mixture is simple: eggs are beaten with sugar, then combined with flour. The real skill lies in the whisking, the heat and the timing. A well-made bahulu has a gentle sweetness and a warm egg aroma, with enough structure to hold its shape. Some households add vanilla or pandan, although the plain version allows the toasted flavour to stand out.

Baking bahulu is often a shared activity. One person prepares the batter, another manages the mould, and someone else watches the cakes as they colour. This teamwork makes the process suitable for festive preparation, when several batches may be needed for visitors. In an Australian kitchen, a modern bahulu mould or small madeleine tin can provide a practical alternative, though the texture may differ from cakes baked over traditional charcoal heat.

Kuih bingka and its coconut richness

Kuih bingka is softer and heavier than bahulu. The best-known versions use grated cassava, coconut milk, eggs and sugar, with pandan providing a fresh green fragrance. Some recipes use tapioca flour or include pieces of young coconut. The mixture is poured into a tray and baked until the centre is set and the top develops a golden crust.

Its texture is central to its appeal. Bingka should be tender and slightly springy, with a rich coconut taste that lingers after each bite. The edges may be firmer and more caramelised than the middle, creating a pleasing contrast. It is usually cooled before being cut into neat pieces, making it easy to serve at gatherings or wrap for transport.

Australian cooks can adapt the recipe to local conditions without losing its character. Frozen grated cassava and canned coconut milk are widely available in larger Asian supermarkets, while fresh pandan can often be found in specialist grocers. In Melbourne’s Footscray or Sydney’s western suburbs, shoppers may find the ingredients alongside other Southeast Asian staples; in smaller towns, frozen or bottled alternatives can help maintain the flavour.

Ingredients, memory and adaptation

Pandan, coconut and gula Melaka connect many Penang kuih to the wider Malay Archipelago. These ingredients create a sensory vocabulary that is easy to recognise: grassy fragrance from pandan, creamy depth from coconut milk and a rounded caramel sweetness from palm sugar. Eggs and flour add structure to bahulu, while cassava gives bingka its distinctive chew.

Recipes are rarely fixed in a single form. One family may prefer a softer bingka with extra coconut milk, while another may bake it longer for darker edges. Bahulu may be made smaller, less sweet or scented with citrus. Such variation is not a loss of authenticity; it shows how food remains alive as it travels between households and countries.

For Australian Malay families, preparation can also become a way to connect generations. Children may help line a tray, grate coconut or arrange cakes for guests. At a Ramadan bazaar in Lakemba, a community celebration in Brisbane or a Malaysian food stall in Adelaide, these flavours can prompt conversations about grandparents, hometowns and family journeys.

Preserving a heritage through food

Heritage work gives everyday foods a place beside major historical events. PenangMalay.com documents Malay identity, ancestral links and community history, helping readers see how cultural continuity is built through places, names, stories and practices. Research into Penang’s past also benefits from understanding the pressures faced by Malay communities, including the effects of British rule and land ownership and changing social conditions.

Recording a kuih recipe can support this wider preservation effort. A useful account may include the name of the cook, the village or neighbourhood where it was made, the occasion for serving it, and the tools used. Photographs of moulds, handwritten recipes and family gatherings can add details that a list of ingredients cannot capture.

Digital community projects depend on careful contributions from families, researchers and local historians. Those involved in preserving photographs or oral histories can use the heritage project login when managing material for the site. The purpose is not to freeze Penang culture in the past, but to make its knowledge available to younger people in Penang, Australia and elsewhere.

The continued making of bahulu and bingka demonstrates how heritage survives through use. A cake baked in a Melbourne home, served at a Sydney open house or shared after a family gathering in Perth can carry the memory of Penang without needing to reproduce every old circumstance. Its aroma, texture and story keep a connection active across generations.