Kue Semprong (Crispy Sweet Rolls)

Well, what do YOU do on Sunday? Find someone who wants to bake, of course! This isn't just any baking day, however, it is part of my daughter's 6th grade Taste of the Hemisphere project.

Each student and partner pick a country, then make a presentation...to the whole town and then some!! Yep, there are approximately 150-200 people who attend this event each year, held by our 6th graders. The students dress in the traditional clothing of their country, write a report, make a 3-D project, color a banner, present a flag, and of course...make some FOOD! The country we have is Indonesia and the food we picked is Kue Semprong, a type of appetizer. So, these are the ingredients, simple enough. Since we couldn't find any rice flour, we settled for cream of rice hot cereal and put it in a blender until it made flour. That part worked GREAT! Then, you mix that with the sugar. Then you add the beaten eggs and mix well. Next add the coconut milk and the cinnamon. It should be thinner than pancake batter, but not much.

Now, you have to figure out how to cook the darn stuff. Not a problem if you have the two-sided flat irons that are used in Indonesia, but the closest thing we come to that is a waffle iron, which won't work. You see, traditional Kue Semprong have etchings in the flat griddles and they work a lot like an over-the-fire sandwich maker, you know...for camping. So, I had a Hillshire farms iron skillet, and another with a flat bottom, and we compromise. I heated both equally on their own burners, so it was like an open flame, and ta-da! Instant sandwich maker. Watch as we make these yummy treats...

First, you have to heat the skillets, then spray the bottoms of each. Very important because you can't have this stuff stick to either skillet.

Then, you pour about 1/8 cup of the batter onto the skillet with the impression. I did a very bad thing here when I put the hot pad on the burner. NEVER DO THIS AT HOME. I actually used it under the handle of the 2nd skillet so I didn't burn my hand. Iron skillets get hot all over!

Then, you put the other heated skillet over the top. Look at the above picture and you will see the skillet heating on the other burner. Keep them like this for a couple minutes; if you did it right, they will brown, and the skillet's impression will brown onto the "sweet roll".

If your top isn't very brown, just flip it for 30 seconds or so and it will become browned. Flip it back and begin rolling it either on the skillet or on a plate. This part has to be done right away, because they cool fast and into whatever shape you have given them. They are usually rolled, like this:


Then, they are served whole, dipped in chocolate or filled with filling. Ours are plain, and we cut them in half. Our recipe makes 50, so I quadrupled it to make at least 200 "rolls".

Can you see the Hillshire Farms impression?

Traditional Indonesians' griddles are made with impressions that identify the maker. Here is the bowlful of bounty. They taste like cinnamonny corn bread pancakes, and I liked them better hot and soft, although cold and crunchy isn't bad.

Here is the recipe, in case anybody wants to have a go at it. For a first attempt we did rather well, and only had to feed one to the dog!! He likes them as well. LOL.

Kue Semprong:

9 1/8 oz rice flour

5 1/4 oz granulated sugar

4 eggs, beaten well

1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

1/2 can coconut milk

Mix the flour and sugar thoroughly. Add beaten eggs, stir well. Pour the coconut milk and the cinnamon into the flour mixture. Stir well.

Heat the cookie mold over a low flame, grease with cooking oil. Put a small circle of batter onto the mold and close the mold. Bake over a low flame on each side until browned, about 5 minutes. Roll it right away. Cool on rack. Makes 50 rolls.

Anyone who wants the original recipe and side notes, it can be found at http://fooddownunder.com

Listed under Kue Semprong

Happy Cooking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!