10 of Asia's Most Popular Cakes: Putu Cake and Lapis Cake Make the List

The Croatian culinary guide website, Taste Atlas, released a list of the 10 most popular cakes in Asia in November 2023.

This list includes several Indonesian cakes, one of which is Kue Putu, which achieved a score of 4.3 out of 5. This score placed Kue Putu as the third most popular cake in Asia according to Taste Atlas.

Kue Putu is made from glutinous rice flour colored with pandan leaves and filled with palm sugar in the center. It is steamed and served with grated coconut. This traditional cake is usually sold by street vendors.

Besides Kue Putu, other Indonesian traditional cakes on the list are Kue Lapis and Lapis Legit, which received scores of 4.1 and 3.8 points respectively.

"Kue Lapis is a traditional Indonesian dessert also popular in Malaysia, Suriname, Brunei, and Singapore," wrote Taste Atlas in its report.

Kue Lapis has a chewy texture made from rice flour, sago, sugar, coconut milk, and various food colorings to create its layered appearance.

Lapis Legit is a traditional Indonesian cake consisting of 18-30 layers. As its name suggests, this cake has a rich flavor made from a mixture of egg yolks, sugar, flour, and butter.

"Essentially, Lapis Legit is the Indonesian version of the European split cake, but it's not baked in a rotating pan, but rather in a square pan," said Taste Atlas.

The top-ranked cake in Asia was Japanese cheesecake. This traditional Japanese cake received a score of 4.4 out of 5 points.

Taste Atlas explained that this cake, often served as a dessert, has a sponge-like texture and is softer than typical cheesecakes.

Generally, Japanese cheesecake is made by incorporating whipped egg whites into the cake batter (eggs, milk, sugar, and cream cheese), then baking it using the bain-marie method.

"This cake was created by Japanese chef Tomotaro Kuzuno, who went to Germany in the 1960s and discovered Käsekuchen, a type of German cheesecake," said Taste Atlas.

Here is the complete list of the 10 most popular cakes in Asia according to Taste Atlas as of November 2, 2023:

1. Japanese cheesecake (Japan): 4.4 points
2. Bibingka (Philippines): 4.3 points
3. Kue Putu (Indonesia): 4.3 points
4. Kasutera (Japan): 4.2 points
5. Kue Lapis (Indonesia): 4.1 points
6. Sans rival (Philippines): 4.1 points
7. Banh da lon (Vietnam): 3.9 points
8. Lapis Legit (Indonesia): 3.8 points
9. Banh chuoi (Vietnam): 3.8 points
10. Kutsinta (Philippines): 3.7 points

(See also: Serabi and Pisang Goreng Make the Top 10 Best Sweet Treats in the World According to Taste Atlas June 2023)