Kue Lumpur — potato and coconut 'mud' cakes
Kue lumpur — "mud cakes" — are small, soft Indonesian cakes made with mashed potato or sweet potato cooked into a coconut-milk and egg batter. They are baked in shallow rounds, topped with a single raisin or sliver of cheese, and pull apart soft as warm pudding. The name describes the wet, mud-like texture before baking — never the finished cake.
i. Origin & history
Kue lumpur are Dutch-Indonesian in spirit — the coconut milk and pandan are local; the technique of baking small egg-rich custards in rounds owes something to colonial cake culture. They are everyday market sweets across Java.
ii. Ingredients
Makes 12 servings · scroll the side panel to adjust
- 300 g floury potato, peeled
- 400 ml thick coconut milk
- 100 g sugar
- 100 g unsalted butter
- 150 g plain flour
- 3 large eggs
- 2 pandan leaves, knotted
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 tbsp raisins or thinly-sliced cheese, to top
iii. Method
- Boil the potato until completely soft, drain, and rice or mash to a smooth purée.
- Combine coconut milk, butter, sugar, salt and pandan in a pan. Heat until butter and sugar dissolve. Discard pandan.
- Whisk the warm coconut mixture into the potato purée. Sift in the flour and whisk smooth. Cool briefly, then beat in eggs one at a time and the vanilla.
- Pour into a greased small-muffin or kue-lumpur tin (each well about two-thirds full). Top each with 2-3 raisins.
- Bake at 170 °C / 340 °F for 25-30 minutes until set and the surface is golden but not browned. Cool 10 minutes before lifting out.
iv. Tips & common mistakes
- Floury, not waxy potato. Maris Piper, russet, or Indonesian potato — never new potatoes.
- Soft, not sloppy. The batter should be pourable but not water-thin.
- Eat warm. Kue lumpur firm up as they cool; warm is best.
v. Variations
Kue lumpur ubi uses sweet potato instead of regular potato. Kue lumpur kentang hitam uses black-shelled water chestnut (a different ingredient under the same name). Modern versions add cheese, chocolate, or pandan colour.
vi. Common questions
What is kue lumpur?
Kue Lumpur is potato and coconut 'mud' cakes, from indonesian & malaysian cuisine. They are baked in shallow rounds, topped with a single raisin or sliver of cheese, and pull apart soft as warm pudding
Where is kue lumpur from?
Kue Lumpur is from the indonesian & malaysian dessert tradition; the recipe and history are detailed above.
How long does kue lumpur keep?
See the storage note in the Quick facts panel: 2 days refrigerated.