Kaya Toast
Kaya toast is a breakfast built on three things: thin slices of bread toasted until it crackles, a thick smear of kaya, and a slab of cold butter that is still solid when it hits the plate. It comes with two soft-boiled eggs, a dark soy sauce and a white pepper shaker, and a cup of strong coffee. Sweet, salty, buttery and faintly savoury all at once.
Ingredients
- For the kaya: 4 egg yolks
- 200 ml thick coconut milk
- 120 g caster sugar
- 2 pandan leaves, knotted, or 1 teaspoon pandan extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- To serve: 8 thin slices of white bread
- 80 g cold butter, sliced thick
- 4 eggs, for soft boiling
- Dark soy sauce
- White pepper
- Strong coffee
Method
- Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a heatproof bowl until pale and smooth. Add the coconut milk and salt and whisk again.
- Set the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. The bowl must not touch the water or the eggs will scramble.
- Add the knotted pandan leaves and stir constantly with a spatula for 30 to 40 minutes. The mixture will thicken gradually into a smooth, glossy jam the colour of dark honey.
- It is ready when a line drawn through it with the spatula holds for a second and the jam coats the back of a spoon. Remove the pandan and pour into a clean jar.
- For the eggs, lower four eggs into boiling water, cook for 6 minutes, then transfer to cold water for one minute before cracking into a bowl.
- Toast the bread until it is dry and crisp, ideally over a flame or in a dry pan rather than a toaster. It needs to be stiff enough to hold the butter.
- Spread a generous layer of kaya on one slice, lay the cold butter on top, and close the sandwich. Cut into two.
- Serve with the soft-boiled eggs, dark soy sauce and white pepper, which you mix together in the bowl and eat with a spoon.
Notes and tips
- The jam is not difficult, only slow. Stirring without stopping is what stops the eggs from setting into lumps; a spatula that reaches the corners of the bowl matters more than technique.
- If the kaya does go lumpy, push it through a fine sieve while still warm. Nobody will know.
- Cold butter is not a mistake. It should stay solid inside the hot toast so you get the contrast.
- Pandan gives kaya its green tint and its perfume. Without it the jam tastes good but plain.
- Toasting over an open flame, which is what the coffee shops do, gives the faint char that makes this recognisable.
Questions
How long does homemade kaya keep?
Three weeks in a sealed jar in the fridge. It contains raw egg, so it must be refrigerated, and it should be discarded if it smells sour or separates.
Can I buy kaya instead?
Yes, and the shop-bought version is a decent shortcut. The homemade one is less sweet and has a stronger pandan note, which is why it is worth the forty minutes at least once.
What kind of bread?
Thin sliced white bread, ideally a soft milk bread. Wholemeal and sourdough both fight the jam and the butter.
Are the eggs supposed to be raw?
No. Six minutes in boiling water gives a white that is just set and a yolk that is still liquid. If you prefer them firmer, cook for seven.
Cooked it? Tell us how it went on the contact page — corrections and regional variations are always welcome.