Known as kaya in Malay language, Malaysian coconut jam is commonly served with toast for breakfasts. This delicious kaya is mainly made from eggs, coconut milks, and caramel.

Growing up in Malaysia, I would always wake up early on weekends and follow my dad to kopitiam (or coffee shop) to get kaya toasts and listen to my dad’s coffee talks with his friends. I would take a bite of my kaya toast and chew it slowly to enjoy the toast’s crispiness and taste the kaya’s sweetness.

Ever since I moved away from Malaysia, I missed having kaya toasts for breakfasts because I was unable to find Malaysian coconut jam from any grocery stores and Asian markets. Looking to replace my granola and yogurt breakfast, I decided to make my own coconut jam. So, if you are looking for a new breakfast choice, or you want to relive your childhood memories, you have come to right place!

Without further ado, here is my Malaysian coconut jam recipe! This recipe takes about 40 minutes to prep and cook the jam. This recipe is suitable for people with little or no cooking experience, as it provides detailed steps to make the jam.

Step 1: Ingredients

The ingredients below makes one jar of coconut jam:

Jam:

4 large eggs
7 oz of sugar
1/2 cup of coconut cream
3/4 cup of coconut milk
3 pandan leaves
- Tie them into a knot
Cornstarch mixture
- 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch
- 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of water

Note: Coconut cream and coconut milks are not the same. Coconut cream is thicker and richer in flavor, while coconut milk contains more water and thus less concentrated. You can usually find both coconut cream and milk at local Asian grocery stores.

Caramel:

2 oz of sugar
- Amount of sugar can be adjusted based on desired color (i.e. less sugar for lighter brown or more sugar for darker brown color)

Cooking Materials

Hand or electronic whisker
Strainer
Blender
2 non-sticking cooking pans
Mason jar
Mixing bowl

Step 2: Mix the Ingredients

Crack the eggs into a big mixing bowl
Pour coconut milk, coconut cream, and sugar into the bowl
Using an electric or a hand whisk, whisk the mixture until it is evenly mixed
Filter the mixture with a strainer

Step 3: Cook the Jam Mixture

Pour the mixture into a medium sized non-sticking sauce pan
Put the tied pandan leaves on the mixture
Turn on stove heat and set the heat to medium low
Using a wooden spatula, frequently stir the mixture for about 20 minutes
- Make sure the mixture is evenly cooked (i.e. the mixture does not get thickened blocks
While stirring the mixture, pour the cornstarch mixture into the jam mixture
The mixture should begin to thicken after 20 minutes of low heat cooking

Step 4: Caramelize Sugar

Get a small-sized non-sticking sauce pan
Turn on stove heat and set to high
Pour the sugar into the pan
Constantly stir the sugar with a wooden spatula to ensure the sugar is evenly heated
When the sugar has turned into dark brown liquid, turn off stove heat

Step 5: Combine Jam Mixture With Caramelized Sugar

Pour the caramelized sugar into the jam mixture slowly
Constantly stir the mixture to ensure the caramelized sugar is dissolved into the mixture evenly
Once the sugar has been dissolved evenly and color of the mixture turns golden brown, turn off stove heat
Let the mixture cool down