Watalappam වටලප්පන්

Custard or cupcake? although the name literally means cup cake, this Sri Lankan dessert deeply resembles a European style flan or pot au creme in texture, but brought to a whole new level with the use of spices and coconut!

Yield: 6 x 150ml ramekins
Active: 10 minutes
Total: 7 hours - overnight
Heat: 0/5
Dietary: Dairy free, Gluten free

Significance of the Dish

Some of my fondest memories of my time in Sri Lanka were the sweet treats I ate during the many Buddhist, Tamil, and Christian holidays celebrated on the island. Amongst the array of sweet options that I adore, one stands out far above the rest; Watalappam. From its Indo-Malay origins, Watalappam (meaning cupcake) is a Crème Brûlée or flan-like custard made from kithul jaggery, a type of palm sugar, and spices. The sweet silky custard explodes with the warm tastes of cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves. When I made it for my Canadian friends, they described it as a pumpkin spice-like flavor (which makes sense considering they share a lot of the same spices).

Ingredient Guidance

• Kithul Jaggery: Sri Lankan Jaggery is darker than most palm sugars. If you cannot source it, Muscovado sugar or another type of palm sugar would be a good replacement, but do not use white sugar!
• Cardamom: make sure its green cardamom and not other varieties
• Eggs: use large sized eggs for the recipe (large sized eggs weigh roughly 50g, 20g is the yolk, 30g is the white)
• Coconut Cream: If you cannot source it, you can make your own by putting good quality coconut milk in the fridge to let the fat content (the cream) separate from the water below

Ingredients

• 4 whole eggs + 2 yolks (6 eggs total)
• 500 ml of coconut cream
• 225g of Kithul jaggery/palm sugar
• 6 - 8 cardamom pods
• 1/4 tsp of ground nutmeg
• 1 cinnamon stick roughly 5cm
• 2 cloves
• 1/4 tsp of salt

Mise en Place

Dry roast the whole spices in a small pot, then coarsely grind them in a mortar and pestle along with the salt and the ground nutmeg .

Methods and procedure

1. Mixing - Add the coconut cream to a pot along with your coarsely crushed spices, and bring it to 80°C. 

2. Add Jaggery - Dissolve the palm sugar (jaggery) into your coconut cream and spice mixture.

Note: it does not need to dissolve completely but you want to make sure that there are no large, crystallized chunks like you often find in brown sugar.

3. Infuse - Let the flavor infuse for about 10 minutes.

4. Add Eggs - In a mixing bowl, separate 2 egg yolks from the whites, and add the remaining 4 whole eggs to the separated yolks.

5. Combine Eggs & Coconut Milk Mixture - Mix the coconut milk into the eggs. Strain the mixture, and divide the batter into the ramekins.

6. Ramekin Bath - Place the ramekins in a tall tray and fill it with hot water to halfway the height of the ramekins (water bath).

7. Bake - Bake in an oven at 320f for 40-45 minutes or until there is a slight jiggle (like when cooking a Crème Brûlée).

Note: If you use cold water for the water bath, it will affect the cooking time and it will take longer, but will still work.

8. Rest & Cool - Let it cool down to room temperature before putting it in the fridge for at least 6 hours, best overnight. Consistency should match the video below:

Variants

• With or without cashews?! A debate that goes around the room every time this dish is served in my family. Half the room wants cashew nuts mixed in because they like the texture it brings. The other half prefer a perfectly smooth custard. The choice of course, is up to you. If you are adding them to the dish, chop 3 tbsp of raw cashews and sprinkle them in once the watalappam has been cooking in the water bath (baine marie) for about 30 minutes. If you mix them into the batter from the start, they will all just sink to the bottom of the ramekins.
• Served in the ramekin or out? If you want to unmold these custards it is possible but you have to oil the ramekins beforehand. I prefer to forgo the extra oil and serve it in the ramekin itself. Less work and fewer calories.
• You can also whip the leftover egg whites from the 2 egg yolks in the recipe and fold it into the batter for a lighter result.

Making Ahead and Storage

Best to make this recipe one day ahead so that the watalappam can sit in the fridge overnight. Once made, you can keep them covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.

You can also freeze them in the ramekins. When thawing, take it out the night before and place it from your freezer into your fridge. The following day, place them for 30 minutes at room temperature before serving.

Pairings

This is a great dessert to end a spicy meal as the fat from the coconut cream and smooth texture helps to sooth the taste buds.

AUTHOR - ARNOLD KUIPER

Co-founder of Snout & Seek. Born and raised in Sri Lanka, Arnold's passion for food stems from both his Dutch and Sri Lankan roots. A graduate of Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa, Arnold's career in the culinary industry has brought him from the Netherlands to Canada, where he now teaches at a cooking school.

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