Recipes
Cenil (Steamed Tapioca Cakes)
These chewy, coconut-dusted Indonesian sweets are as fun to make as they are to eat.
- Makes
48 one-inch squares
- Time
2 hours 30 minutes
These steamed tapioca cakes are a bouncy, sticky, gloriously Q dessert. The Javanese treat gets rolled in shredded coconut and drenched in palm sugar syrup (though maple syrup makes a suitable substitute). For perfect cubes, choose a baking dish with straight sides. A 1:1 gluten-free flour can be swapped in for the all-purpose.
Featured in “That Chewy, Bouncy Texture You Love Has a Name” by Cathy Erway in the Spring/Summer 2025 issue. See more recipes and stories from Issue 204 here.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups tapioca starch
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. vegetable oil
- Food coloring, in two different colors
- 2½ cups sweetened shredded coconut
- ¼ cup sugar
- Gula melaka syrup (palm sugar syrup), or maple syrup, for drizzling (optional)
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Instructions
Step 1
Nestle a steamer basket in a large wide pot and add enough water to nearly reach the bottom of the steamer. Bring to a boil.
Step 2
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the tapioca starch, flour, oil, and 2 cups of lukewarm water until smooth. Divide the mixture between two 8- by 6-inch baking dishes. To each dish, add 2–3 teaspoons of the food coloring of your choosing and stir until the color is uniform. Cover each dish with foil, then use a toothpick to poke a few holes in the foil.
Step 3
Place the baking dishes in the steamer basket. (If they don’t fit side by side, cook one at a time.) Steam on high heat, replenishing the water level as needed, until the cenil is opaque and set yet jiggly, about 30 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the dishes from the steamer, and set aside until completely cool. (If any water has pooled on top of the cenil, gently tip it out.)
Step 4
Place the shredded coconut in a medium bowl. Place the sugar in a small bowl. Run a butter knife around the edges of one of the dishes, then invert the cenil onto a parchment-lined cutting board or baking sheet. Cut into 1-inch squares, wiping the knife as you go for clean edges. Gently toss the squares first in the coconut, then in the sugar, then transfer to a platter. Repeat with the second dish of cenil. Serve drizzled with gula melaka syrup or maple syrup if desired.
- Nestle a steamer basket in a large wide pot and add enough water to nearly reach the bottom of the steamer. Bring to a boil.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the tapioca starch, flour, oil, and 2 cups of lukewarm water until smooth. Divide the mixture between two 8- by 6-inch baking dishes. To each dish, add 2–3 teaspoons of the food coloring of your choosing and stir until the color is uniform. Cover each dish with foil, then use a toothpick to poke a few holes in the foil.
- Place the baking dishes in the steamer basket. (If they don’t fit side by side, cook one at a time.) Steam on high heat, replenishing the water level as needed, until the cenil is opaque and set yet jiggly, about 30 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the dishes from the steamer, and set aside until completely cool. (If any water has pooled on top of the cenil, gently tip it out.)
- Place the shredded coconut in a medium bowl. Place the sugar in a small bowl. Run a butter knife around the edges of one of the dishes, then invert the cenil onto a parchment-lined cutting board or baking sheet. Cut into 1-inch squares, wiping the knife as you go for clean edges. Gently toss the squares first in the coconut, then in the sugar, then transfer to a platter. Repeat with the second dish of cenil. Serve drizzled with gula melaka syrup or maple syrup if desired.
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