Making Homemade Caramel Kaya (Coconut Egg Jam) is easier than you think. This Homemade Caramel Kaya is amazingly smooth and creamy, with a delicious rich caramelised taste. This aromatic coconut jam goes perfectly on toasted bread. Enjoy!
Crack 4 eggs into a mixing bowl and lightly mix with a whisk. (Do not beat). Then add in the sugar and continue to mix.
Next add in the thick coconut milk (santan). Continue to lightly stir and mix till all the sugar has dissolved. Then using a sieve, strain the egg mixture into a bowl and set aside. Then prepare to cook caramel.
Cook Caramel:
Put the sugar to caramel in a small pan and put on a stove top. Using medium low heat, allow the sugar to melt naturally. Do not stir. Let the sugar melt completely and turn into golden brown. Then add in the water and just shake to dilute the caramel into a running mixture.
Remove from heat and pour into a heat proof bowl.
Cook Homemade Kaya:
Pour in the egg mixture into a non stick pan. Using low heat, start to cook the egg mixture and stir continuously until the whole mixture becomes thick. When you see some steam coming up, gradually add in the caramel and continue to stir non stop till the mixture thickens further, is smooth and is of thick pouring consistency.
Then add in the knotted pandan leave. Use a ladle to press on the pandan leaf and continue to stir for just another minute and we are done! Remove the pandan knot and pour our ready made kaya into a container.
Let kaya jam cool down completely, then cover and transfer to chill in the refrigerator.
This rich and aromatic kaya jam is perfect for toast and a cup of coffee. So Enjoy!
When making caramel, don't overcook the sugar syrup as it can burn and turn bitter. Once the syrup turns the desired colour of caramel, turn off the heat.
The resulting colour of the kaya varies depending on the extent of the caramelization of the sugar. So, to have a beautiful colour for the kaya, cook the caramel till it turns golden brown in colour.
For this recipe, only add the pandan leaves at the end of the cooking process as we only want the fragrance from the leaves. If add too early, the green colour will make the colour of kaya dull.
As coconut milk tends to turn rancid quite easily, it is best to keep homemade kaya in the refrigerator and use within two to three weeks at most.
For kaya to last longer, transfer into clean, sterilized glass jar or container and cool completely before refrigerating. With this method, the kaya can keep at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the fridge for up to a month.