Timphan: The traditional cake

Indonesia's Aceh Province is home to the traditional cake known as Timphan, which has been preserved to this day. Not only is this multi-flavored cake made from sticky rice flour offered on special occasions, but my family (who are originally from Aceh) also frequently eats it as a snack.

This time, I'll attempt to depict a variant of a traditional cake stuffed with srikaya jam—the term used locally for this kind of jam, and wrapped in banana leaves. Generally, banana is one of the dough ingredients, but it can also be mixed with other ingredients, for example, pumpkin.

This type of pumpkin is the basic ingredient for the dough, and this variant is my favorite choice with my family.

Alright, here are some moments from making this traditional Acehnese cake using pumpkin filled with srikaya jam. The dough that is created by combining a few ingredients—sticky rice flour, pumpkin, and coconut milk—is shaped to encase the jam that has been prepared previously.

Right now. The dough is encased in banana leaves once more. Because they are flexible, the banana leaves utilized are young leaves. To prevent the dough from sticking, the leaves are first smeared with cooking oil.

Next, ensure that the dough is securely and neatly wrapped. As my grandma had mentioned at the time, the consistency of the dough will determine how this classic cake turns out when it's served.

This is the initial form of dough that has been wrapped in banana leaves and is ready to be cooked by steaming.

The unique thing is that each wrapped dough is arranged neatly in the steamer at an angle, and this is my grandmother's skill that has been passed down from generation to generation. It takes about 45 minutes to cook this dough, and waiting patiently is my choice to aim for another moment when this traditional cake cooks.

At last, the time went by smoothly, and the traditional Acehnese cake, Timphan, was ready to be consumed. But in order to get the ideal look, the baked dough is again cut to make it visually appealing.

The narrative in this post was largely gleaned from a brief interview that took place during its processing, and it is further corroborated by one of the previously listed sources. Of course, hopefully both entertaining and helpful. Thanks for taking the time!

This pictures taken with Canon EOS 6D camera + 50mm.
By @ichsannanda (nandaalbintang).