Home > Pastries and Finger Foods

Dutch influence on Indonesian pastries is very palpable. Cakes, chocolates, and cookies made from butter and flours in Indonesia were introduced by the Dutch. Before Dutch colonization, flour consumption was nil in Indonesia. Due to skyrocketing prices of flour and butter in Indonesia, these are commonly consumed by middle and upper-class citizens. Thus, these can be found mostly in bakeries, supermarkets, and restaurants.

"Jajanan pasar", which literally means marketplace snacks, are normally made from brown sugar and rice flour. The latter can indeed, be discovered in all Indonesian traditional marketplaces. These days, some bakeries and supermarkets market them. Note these are not carried by most restaurants. Hence, the best way of finding them is to hunt them in traditional marketplaces. Food courts in malls sometimes carry these, too.

Note that, "kue" or cakes always taste sweet. Indonesians refer to cookies as "kue kering" or dry cakes. "Kue basah" or moist cakes, include "jajanan pasar" (which are not cookies). Other cakes, like tiramisu or chocolate cake, are called tiramisu cakes (kue tiramisu) or chocolate cakes (kue coklat). Salty finger foods have their own names, such as kroket, lemper, combro, etc.

Despite their popularities in Indonesia, finger foods, cookies, and jajanan pasar are not served for formal events, such as weddings. However, these are served for semi-formal events, such as arisan (in short, his is normally a female gathering).

  Kroket, tastes salty. Made from potato, meat, carrot. This is an example of Dutch influence on Indonesian pastries. This is eaten as a finger food in Indonesia; this is not a condiment designed to flavor rice.

  Kue cucur, tastes sweet. No fillings. Made from brown sugar and rice flour. In my hometown Bandung, this is called kue Carabika. This is a jajanan pasar.

Lemper, tastes salty. Made from glutinous rice and chicken, then wrapped in banana leaves.

Martabak Manis, tastes sweet. Made from flour, butter, sugar. Fillings include cheese, chocolate sprinkles, peanuts, sugar, fruits (your choice). This is an exception, where you don't call this kue, although this is made from butter and flour. This is simply called Martabak Manis.

  Kue nastart, tastes sweet with pineapple inside. Another example of Dutch influence on Indonesian pastries.

  Kue kepang, tastes sweet. Made from brown sugar and flour.

  Kue tambang, tastes sweet. Made from brown sugar and flour. I would say this is a variant of kue kepang.

  Kue sus, tastes sweet with soft cream fillings inside. Yet another example of Dutch influence on Indonesian pastries. Very similar to Belgian cream puffs.

  Kue serabi, Must pour liquid brown sugar on it. Otherwise, it tastes plain. I think this is the most popular "jajanan pasar" in Indonesia.

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