Eastern Indonesia is indeed famous for its staple food, namely sago. Likewise, most of Papua’s special foods are made from sago. But did you know that there is also a modern delicious dessert that is a typical Papuan souvenir? The cake is named lontar cake.
The name lontar cake does not mean that this cake is made from lontar leaves. The cake usually prepared on celebration day holds various stories you deserve to know.
History of Lontar Cake
Lontar cake is a typical Papuan cake originally brought by Netherlands soldiers in 1910. The name of the lontar cake comes from the Netherlands language, namely the ronde tart, which means round cake and refers to the shape of the cake.
Furthermore, this cake has been passed down from generation to generation by the people of Papua and has become a special food there. However, due to the difficulty in pronouncing the name of the cake in the Netherlands, over time, the cake became known as lontar cake.
Fakfak Special Food
According to history, this lontar cake was introduced by Netherlands soldiers in the Fakfak area. They teach the local people how to make lontar cake because the delicious taste makes the fakfak people like this cake.
Then the lontar cake became one of the special food of fakfak. It didn’t take long, the story of this delicious cake spread to all corners of the Papua region. Until now, lontar cake has become a favorite food for the people of Papua, which is usually used as a dessert during celebrations.
The Difference Between Lontar Cake and Milk Pie
Lontar cake ingredients include butter, milk, eggs, vanilla, sugar, and flour. Initially, the main basic ingredients, butter, milk, and wheat flour, were brought directly from the Netherlands. Now all these ingredients can be obtained easily.
At first glance, the lontar cake looks the same as the milk pie. Even though there is a difference between lontar cake and milk pie. The difference between lontar cake and milk pie is their texture and size. Lontar cake has a thicker and softer texture than milk pie.
A characteristic of the lontar cake from Papua is that the size of the lontar cake is larger than milk pie. Usually, the people of Papua make lontar cake in large mold. The way they cut it made it resemble slices of pizza.
How to Make Lontar Cake
The process of making lontar cake is easier than one might imagine. The first step is to make a lontar cake skin. First, you need to prepare lontar cake ingredients, for skin ingredients, use wheat flour, margarine, and chicken eggs.
Grease the mold container for making the lontar cake skin with enough butter. After the skin dough is springy and not too soft, then the skin dough is rolled into thin pieces. Then transfer the skin dough to the mold container.
The ingredients for the filling are sweetened condensed milk, warm water, vanilla, egg yolks, and sugar. Prepare the filling by mixing all the ingredients until well blended. Filter using a filter with small holes. Then transfer it directly into the mold where the skin dough has been placed.
Now the lontar cake is ready to be baked in the oven. When the lontar cake is cooked, chill it briefly, then you can eat it with your family.
Lontar Cake as Souvenirs
When visiting a gift shop, you will find lontar cake there. As one of Papua’s specialties, it is only natural that lontar cake is the choice of souvenir for tourists.
Unlike the lontar cake made by the local community, the lontar cake available as souvenirs is also made in small sizes. This mini lontar cake is deliberately made to make it easier for tourists to bring this cake back to their place.
So, if you visit Papua, remember to bring lontar cake as a souvenir for your family.