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Homemade Kaya (Pandan & Coconut Jam)

Kaya is a popular coconut jam often found in Malaysia and Singapore. This is a Nyonya style Kaya, a green variety that is naturally coloured with pandan leaves.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine Malaysian
Servings 10 people

Ingredients
  

  • 10 pandan leaves
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 280g coconut milk

Instructions
 

  • To extract the pandan juice, wash the pandan leaves and using a pair of scissors, roughly chop into 3 - 5cm pieces.
  • Throw the pandan leaves into a food processor and blend well, adding the smallest amount of water if necessary.
  • Place the blended pandan in a muslin cloth and squeeze the pulp to extract 20ml of pandan juice.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar. Place the bowl over a pot of boiling water on low heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
  • Whisk in the coconut milk and pandan juice, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until the mixture has thickened.
  • Transfer to jars and refrigerate.

Tefal Cuisine Companion / Theromix Method

  • Wash the pandan leaves and using a pair of scissors, roughly chop into 3 - 5cm pieces and place into the bowl fitted with the Ultrablade knife.
  • Mix at speed 12 for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides and add the smallest amount of water if necessary and mix again for 30 seconds.
  • Place the blended pandan in a muslin cloth and squeeze the pulp to extract 20ml of pandan juice.
  • Wipe down the bowl and insert the whisk attachment. Place eggs and sugar in the bowl and mix and mix for 30 seconds at speed 3. Increase temperature to 90°C and cook at speed 3 for 10 minutes.
  • Add coconut milk and pandan juice and set to 100°C at speed 2 for 40 minutes.
  • At the end of cooking, let it cool for 10 minutes then quickly blend it at speed 8 for 10 seconds. If you prefer a smoother texture, mix for a further 20 seconds.
  • Transfer to jars and refrigerate.

Notes

The kaya will keep for around two months in the fridge.
To make Hainanese kaya which has stronger caramel notes, replace half the sugar with palm sugar, and instead of the pandan juice, simply knot 3 - 4 pandan leaves and cook this with the coconut milk (remove the leaves before you bottle up).
Fresh pandan leaves can be found at Asian grocery stores, or can be substituted with pandan extract or pandan essence.