SWEET & CRISPY ‘KUIH KAPIT’ by CHEEZALEA

What is Kuih Kapit ‘Love Letters’ …?

Kuih Kapit or known as Love letters in English is a Malay traditional wafer snack (kue or kuih) made by clasping egg batter using an iron mould (Waffle iron) which is heated up on a charcoal stove. It is commonly found in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.

The mould each has two plates that are clasped tightly together and attached to long handles for manipulating over a charcoal stove. The moulds could be plainly flat, corrugated or etched with animal motifs such as fish, roosters and snails that are both auspicious and decorative.

History and Origin

The Kuih Kapit or known as love letters demonstrate the colonial link between the Malaysian and the Netherlands, as it commonly found in most major cities in Indonesia. It is believed to be derived from the Dutch egg roll wafer. The word Belanda, meaning Dutch in Malay, points to the egg rolls’ Dutch origins. The Dutch have a vast biscuit repertoire, which includes thin wafer biscuits similar to Kuih Belanda or Kuih Kapit. Many biscuit and cake techniques were passed to Malays by the Dutch, English, and Portuguese. These biscuits may have been brought to parts of Malaysia and Singapore from Penang, Malacca by the Peranakan Chinese who, not knowing the name of the Dutch snack they had encountered, simply called it Kuih Belanda or Kuih Kapit.

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