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Delicious Kaya Jam Cocktails
A friend and neighbour started to make home-made kaya from her kitchen. This inspired me towards a creative spate of using this signature Singaporean / Malaysian breakfast cure for more than just buttered toast.
Kaya jam, as it is often called, is a breakfast institution in Singapore and Malaysia. The pastel verdant curd is generously smeared over slabs of chilled butter press between toast and eating for breakfast in the morning. The coconut-rich, egg-based curd is infused with pandan leaves releasing its colour and subtle flavour. The final product looks like a light coloured pistachio spread.
After many hours of using and, often, misusing the kaya in a variety of cocktails, these are the strongest options developed. More will be added over time as further explorations into the happy marriage of kaya jam and cocktails unfold.
You can access all of my recipes here.
The Highs
The Lows
Kaya Lychee Martini
Ingredients
- 50 ml good quality vodka (eg Ketel One, Grey Goose etc)
- 25ml Lychee Liqueur
- 25ml Kaya Jam
- 100ml Lychee juice
- Ice
Tools
- Cocktail shaker
- Teaspoon or bar spoon
- Jigger or measure
- Martini glass (at least 250ml or 8 oz)
- Small strainer or cocktail strainer / Hawthorne strainer
Instructions & Method
Chill your martini glass by loading the glass with ice and water 2/3 of the way up the martini glass. Place a generous amount of ice inside of your cocktail shaker. And your vodka, lychee liqueur and lychee juice to the ice in the cocktail shaker. Measure and add your kaya jam to the cocktail shaker.
Shake your cocktail mixture together until you can hear the sound of the ice cracking inside the shake ago from a light high-pitched noise to a more dull thud. This should take around 30 seconds.
Remove the ice and water mixture from your martini glass. You may want to shake your martini glass try to remove residual water inside of the glass.
Remove the lid of your cocktail shaker and, as appropriate, strain the contents of the cocktail shaker into your martini glass to your desired fill level. You should usually stop pouring about 2 cm from the lip of the martini glass.
Drink and enjoy.
What you should get?
Lychee martinis are an increasingly popular martini choice for people who enjoy juice-based, slightly sweet cocktails. A good lychee martini is only slightly sweet and – in fact – more aromatic balancing subtlety and slight sweetness. The vodka will add a touch of dryness to the lychee juice balancing out the sweetness. The lychee liqueur should amplify the lychee essence of the drink. You could make this martini without the liqueur but it will not be the same. The Kaya Jam will also be subtle and slightly creamy roundedness to the cocktail. You should still be able to taste the subtle sweetness of the lychee and the slightly herbaceous and nutty flavour of the pandan leaf in the kaya.
This is not a martini that will knock you over from the first sip. It is more subtle and balanced. However, the three shots of alcohol will play their role after sinking two!
Shaken Kaya Colada
Ingredients
- 50ml golden light rum or dark rum
- 25ml coconut rum (optional)
- 150ml pineapple juice
- 50ml kaya jam
- 2 heavy dashes Angostura bitters
- 5 drops lime juice
- Freshly grated nutmeg
- Ice
Tools
- Cocktail shaker
- Jigger or measure
- Teaspoon or bar spoon
- Grater or Microplane
- Tumbler glass (at least 300ml or 11oz)
- Small strainer or cocktail strainer / Hawthorne strainer
Instructions & Method
Fill your cocktail shaker with a generous amount of ice. Also, fill your tumbler with a generous amount of ice. Decant the rum including the coconut rum (if you are using it), pineapple juice and lime juice in your cocktail shaker. Place your kaya jam and Angostura bitters in the cocktail shaker.
Close your cocktail shaker and vigorously shake the cocktail mixture until the sound of the ice goes from a high pitched noise to a more dull FUD. This will usually take around 30 seconds.
Remove the lid of your cocktail shaker and, as appropriate, strain the contents of the cocktail shaker into your tumbler glass to your desired fill level. Collect your grater or Microplane and grate a light dusting of nutmeg from a height over the top of the cocktail mixture. You do not want to use too much nutmeg because it can overwhelm the kaya so emphasis on light dusting.
Serve chilled and enjoy.
What you should get?
This is a fresh interpretation of the classic piña colada. The piña colada is usually made in one of two ways. The classic version does not actually include coconut cream or coconut milk. However, the more famous piña colada which is richer and creamy and texture is originally from Puerto Rico.
This interpretation of the piña colada merges the idea of using the classic piña colada while bringing in a lighter version of the creamy elements from the Puerto Rican cocktail.
You should have a lighter cocktail than the Puerto Rican creamy version which can be quite heavy and filling – almost like a milkshake.
You should be able to get a kick from the rum, keep the sweet juiciness from the pineapple but, importantly, enjoy a subtle hint of coconut from the kaya jam.
The bitters is there to help amplify the aromatics of the kaya jam. The nutmeg adds a warmth that plays well with the overall sweetness of the drink.
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