Cempedak Recipes

Here’s a roundup of a handful of cempedak recipes. Unsurprisingly, few outside of Malaysia and perhaps Indonesia have sampled cempedak, and have therefore employed the fruit in culinary recipes. 

At present, cempedak recipes are mostly limited to baked goods: cakes, cupcakes, pancakes, etc. With a gooey texture, most cooks utilize the whipped fruit within batters or add the chopped raw fruit atop the final product. Occasionally, cempedak appears in savory or fried recipes. Such dishes feature the hard, avocado-pit-sized inner seed which, when boiled, has a flavor resembling water chestnut.

The recipes below will need to be veganized, but unsurprisingly, vegan cempedak recipes were remarkably scarce. 

WHAT INGREDIENTS GO WELL WITH CEMPEDAK?

Cempedak's strong flavor means it's best highlighted as a solo ingredient, or with another fruit possessing a similar gooey texture. 

Fruits: banana, plantain, jackfruit, durian, breadfruit, orange, mango, strawberry, pineapple, avocado, cacao, coconut, date, 

Vegetables: potato, carrot, elephant foot, yam, pumpkin, butternut squash, taro

Herbs, spices, and oils (savory):  black salt, pepper, orange juice, jaggery, chili powder, asafetida, onion (yellow and red), garlic, ginger, sesame oil, cashew, sunflower seeds, coconut oil, coconut milk, sugar, honey, agave, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg

CEMPEDAK RECIPES

Cempedak Ice Cream

Ingredients: cempedak, coconut milk,

sugar, salt

From: rotinrice.com

Cempedak Swiss Roll

Ingredients: cempedak, egg, sugar, oil, milk,

flour, honey

From: nasilemaklover.blogspot.com

Cempedak Cheesecake

Ingredients: cempedak, cream cheese, eggs,

corn flour, milk, butter, sugar, water, sour cream

From: foodivakitchen.blogspot.in

Cempedak Buttercake

Ingredients: cempedak, butter, sugar, flour,

baking powder, milk

From: foodivakitchen.blogspot.in

Cempedak Cake

Ingredients: butter, sugar, flour, eggs, cempedak

From: Malaysiabest.net

Cempedak Cupcakes

Ingredients: cempedak, banana, butter,

eggs, sugar, flour, vanilla, evaporated milk

From: malaysiabest.net

Cempedak Pancake

Ingredients: cempedak, flour, sugar,

mayonnaise, milk, salt, eggs

From: work.brightvisionsoft.com

Cempedak Fritters

Ingredients: cempedak, rice flour,

water, salt, oil

From: hungerhunger.blogspot.in

Cempedak Spring Rolls

Ingredients: spring roll wrap, cempedak pulp,

powdered sugar, cornstarch, oil

Image is from a patron of

Malaysia's Fat Spoon Cafe.