Sugee cake is a
cake
Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate, ...
made of
semolina
Semolina is coarsely milled durum wheat mainly used in making couscous, and sweet puddings. The term semolina is also used to designate coarse millings of other varieties of wheat, and sometimes other grains (such as rice or corn) as well.
Etymo ...
and almonds, creamed
butter
Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...
,
eggs
Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...
, and
brandy
Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...
, and optionally covered in marzipan and
royal icing
Royal icing is a hard white icing, made from softly beaten egg whites, icing sugar (powdered sugar), and sometimes lemon or lime juice. It is used to decorate Christmas cakes, wedding cakes, gingerbread houses, cookies and many other cakes an ...
.
The cake is typically baked during festive occasions and holidays like Christmas, by members of
Malaccan Portuguese in
Malacca
Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...
and the larger Eurasian community in
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
and
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
.
The word ''sugee'' has its origins in
Hindustani word for 'semolina' (). Sugee cake is similar to the Sri Lankan
Love cake
Love cake or Bolo di Amor, is a type of semolina cake eaten in Sri Lanka on special occasions. They are often baked for cultural celebrations such as Christmas, birthdays and weddings, served wrapped in gold paper for guests to eat or take home ...
baked during Christmas by the Eurasian
Burgher people
Burgher people, also known simply as Burghers, are a small Eurasian ethnic group in Sri Lanka descended from Portuguese, Dutch, British and other European men who settled in Ceylon and developed relationships with native Sri Lankan women. The Po ...
, which uses cashew as opposed to almonds.
In 2020,
Shake Shack
Shake Shack is an American fast casual restaurant chain based in New York City. It started out as a hot dog cart inside Madison Square Park in 2001, and its popularity steadily grew. In 2004, it received a permit to open a permanent kiosk with ...
adapted the flavor of the sugee cake in a limited edition milkshake, dubbed "sugee boogie."
See also
*
Kristang people
The ''Kristang'' (otherwise known as "Portuguese-Eurasians" or "Malacca Portuguese") or ''Serani'' are a creole ethnic group of people of predominantly mixed Portuguese and Malaccan descent, with substantial Dutch British, Jewish, Malay, Chines ...
*
Eurasians in Singapore
Eurasian Singaporeans are Singaporeans of mixed European and Asian descent. Their Asian ancestry trace from Colonial India to other colonies while their European ancestry trace back to western Europe primarily, although Eurasian settlers to Sing ...
References
Eurasian cuisine of Singapore
Malaysian cuisine
Malaysian fusion cuisine
Cakes
{{Singapore-cuisine-stub