Martabak Manis: The Indonesian Street Sweet Treat

Yes, the chocolate + cheese combination is an actual thing.

Also knows as the King of Indonesian Street Food, Martabak can be served as a savoury treat or a sweet Indonesian twist to a giant pancake, often enjoyed as a late-night snack. Today, we'll go for the guiltier option, Martabak Manis.

Manis is the Indonesian word for sweet, and true to its meaning, it is packed with all our favourites, like chocolate, condensed milk, and cheese, which may sound a little strange at first, but trust me – it is so worth it.

PREP TIME - 60 mins | COOK TIME - 10 mins | SERVES - 2 people | FUN LEVEL - 10/10

Ingredients

200 gram all purpose flour
1/2 tsp dry yeast
45 gram white sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
200 ml warm water
1 tbsp melted butter
1 piece egg
3 tbsp white sugar
Hagelslag or chocolate sprinkles (Go for Ceres Meises if you can!) – optional
Cheddar cheese – optional
Condensed milk – optional
Crushed peanuts – optional

Oh, and before we get down to business, here are a couple more things you'll need

You’ll need a cast-iron skillet. If you don’t have one, using a non-stick pan will do. You need a lid though because you’re going to steam it.
The consistency of the batter is the key. If your batter is too thin, then your Martabak’s texture will be too soft and too light. If your batter is too thick, then the texture will be too dry.
You can keep this in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days and you will still have that crispy edges.
If you decide to flip it when you want to cut it, apply some butter to the top side. But I personally prefer to cut it into a square shape size.

Ok, let's get started! Here's what you need to do...

In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, yeast, baking powder, salt and baking soda together. Don’t let the salt gets direct contact with the yeast.
Pour in the melted butter and egg to the dry ingredients. Add the warm water while whisking it with your baloon whisk. Make sure that the water isn’t too hot, otherwise you will cook the egg. So keep whisking while you pour the water.
Cover the batter with wet clothes and set it aside for 45-60 minutes.
Heat a 20 cm non stick pan using a very low heat. This batter will be enough to make at least 2 pieces of Martabak. Using your ladle, pour at least 3 scoops of ladle to the pan. Push the mixtures using your ladle so it will stick to the edges of the pan to make the crispy edges.
Cook for about 4 minutes or until you can see the bubble form on the top and you can’t see any batter left of the top. And then scatter 3 tbsp of sugar to the top of the Martabak, turn off the heat and cover the pan with a lid. Let it cover until the sugar has melted.
Move the cooked Martabak to the chopping board, and now this is where the fun begins. You can use any kind of topping that you like, but here's what's in the classic version.

First things first then apply 1 tbsp of butter as the base of the topping, then scatter some chocolate sprinkles or meises, and top it off with grated cheese.

🍫+ 🧀= 👯‍♀️

Grated fresh cheese slowly melting into the chocolate sprinkles is heaven.

Again, these toppings are optional so you can put as much or as little as you want. Traditionally, this dish will also include crushed ground peanuts, grated cheddar, and condensed milk. While the Martabak is still hot, it will melt together nicely into one sweet mess.

Now you can slice the Martabak as you like. You can slice it like a pizza, you can slice it horizontally and vertically and turn it to square-shape-size, or for a more traditional style, you cut it in half and flip it. It's up to you!

So, how did you do? If you tried this recipe, loved it, or hated it, please share your comments/suggestions with us in our Prezly Cookbook Community here or get in touch with Klarissa, your Prezly inspiration buddy ↓