Apam Balik is a dish that's famous in my home country, Malaysia. It is also a known dish in the nearby countries like Singapore, Indonesia and Brunei. It's an Asian style pancake turnover with varieties of fillings inside.
The fillings can vary from the most traditional one like roasted peanuts, sugar and creamy sweet corn to chocolate and even cheese.
The thickness of an Apam Balik can also be different. Some like it very thin and others not so much. Apam Balik is different on its own because when it's fully cooked, it's folded in half. Thus the name turnover or balik.
Memories
I grew up eating and selling Apam Balik with my father and my siblings. My mother would prepare the ingredients and my father would then prepare the batter when he came back from work. Back then he used these rattan sticks that were tied together to be used as a hand whisk.
I can still clearly remember the smell of the batter throughout the house everytime he prepared it. He built our street cart with 8 burners for cooking 8 apam balik at once.
We even had the apam balik pans. Yes, the pan is different from our daily cooking pans. We would push our apam balik street cart beside our house and start selling. Such memories.
Holding to those memories makes me excited to share this recipe.
How To Make It
The recipe is actually a straightforward one. It involves putting all the ingredients in a bowl and mixing them until there are no lumps. After that, the batter should rest until it gets foamy and bubbly. When you see that, then you know the batter is going to be good. Give the batter a few whisks before using it.
For this recipe I'm using an 8 inch (20 cm) non stick pan and I get 5 pieces of apam balik. Using a low medium heat, melt some unsalted butter. Use a kitchen paper to spread the melted butter all around the pan, leaving almost no melted butter visible in the pan.
When the pan is hot, pour in some batter and using the back of the ladle, make some swirls to spread the batter evenly. Then cover the pan and cook for a few minutes until you see bubbles are formed on the pancake surface. Remove the lid and now comes the fun part.
Sprinkle generously (yes) granulated sugar, chopped roasted peanuts and creamy sweet corn. Then put the lid back on and continue cooking until the pancake is fully cooked. You can tell if it's cook by looking at the edges.
It should look golden brown and not sticking to the pan. Remove the lid and for a final touch, place some pieces of unsalted butter in the middle of the pancake and fold it in half. And with that, you have yourself an apam balik. Easy, right?
I cover the pan to make the batter cooks faster. If you have the patience, skip that part. No harm. Like I mentioned earlier, of course you can put whatever fillings that you like.
A good apam balik should have that smooth skin and fluffy soft inside. If you haven't tried any apam balik before, you might want to give this recipe a try. Do let me know if you like it. Enjoy!
More Malaysian Snacks
- Glutinous rice with pandan custard (kuih seri muka)
- Yeasted sweet potato donuts (donut keledek)
- Caterpillar red bean buns
- Pandan balls with coconut sugar (ondeh-ondeh)
- Banana fritters (cucur pisang)
Recipe Video
📖 Recipe
Apam Balik
Ingredients
The batter
- 1 cup all purpose flour (130 gr)
- ½ cup self rising flour (65 gr)
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar (25 gr), not ¼ cup as said in the recipe video
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon dry yeast
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg , room temperature
- 1 cup warm milk (250 ml)
The filling
- granulated sugar , as needed
- roasted chopped peanuts , as needed
- creamy sweet corn , as needed
- some unsalted butter
Instructions
The batter
- In a bowl, add in all the batter ingredients. Whisk everything together just until combined and no lumps. Cover tightly with a cling film and leave to rest for 30 minutes, in a warm and draft free place.
- After 30 minutes, the batter should be foamy and almost double its volume. Give it a whisk before using.
Cooking
- Melt some unsalted butter in a non stick pan. I use an 8 inch (20 cm) pan. Using a kitchen paper, spread the melted butter on the pan's surface. Using a ladle, pour in around ¾ cup (190 ml) batter into the pan. Use less batter if you like it thinner. Using the back of the ladle, swirl and spread the batter evenly. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 2-3 minutes until bubbles are formed.
- Remove the lid. Sprinkle evenly a generously amount of granulated sugar, followed by chopped roasted peanuts and lastly several teaspoon of creamy sweet corn. Cover the pan again and let it continue cooking until it's fully cooked.
- Remove the lid. Put some slices of unsalted butter. Run a spatula all around the edges to release it from the pan. It should come out easily. Fold it in half and serve. Enjoy!
Note
- If your batter turns too thick, simply add a splash of milk to loosen it up (see the correct consistency in the video above).
Sara says
I am planning on making this soon for a large group. Is there any way to make ahead to simplify the serving during the dinner?
Bea says
I'd say, make the amount needed and keep them warm in the oven (as you would do with pancakes for a large group) until serving time. Hope it helps!
Banan says
Hi thanks for sharing this recipe. What other fillings can I put? I don’t have the creamy sweet corn! Do I just use peanut and jam? Or peanut and chocolate? Thanks!
Bea says
Hi! Yes, you can basically put whatever you want. Take it to savoury even by adding some ham and cheese. Enjoy!
M says
I made this and it tasted great! Thank you for sharing this recipe it has been ages since I have been back to Malaysia but this brought Malaysia into my kitchen thank you so much! I have only one question. I followed the entire recipe Exactly but my pancake did not look brown consistently. So it looks like a fluffy American pancake if you google an image you’d understand. The pancake I made did not have that beautiful brown color that your pancake has (when you folded last step - you see that wonderful brown) what have I done wrong do you know? Thank you
Bea says
Hi! I'm glad that you gave it a go and liked it. Regarding the colour, perhaps your pan wasn't hot enough? Try with higher heat than what you used before and try to spread the batter as fast as you can so that it cooks evenly (resulting even brown colour). I hope it helps and thank you for your feedback!
Meena says
This is one of the food that I missed from Malaysia! I'm so glad that I can make it at home now. Thanks for sharing your delicious Malaysian food!!
Love from Greece
Bea says
I'm excited to hear that you've been to my home country, Meena! It's my family's favourite, happy that you like it too. Thank you!
Jinn says
Hi! This looks so so good & reminds me of my childhood instantly! Any tips on making the batter in advance and storage of leftovers? Will it lose crispness very quickly?
Bea says
Hi! I always make the batter on the day of, so I can't really say. Keep the leftovers in air tight container, preferably in the fridge. They don't get crispy as freshly made though. Hope it helps!
Antoinet says
As a Malaysian living in Melbourne, I truly appreciate and love the memories you share. Thank you. Love your recipes too.
Bea says
Thank you for your kind words, Antoinet ❤️.
Lucia says
Hi Elmund,
Thanks for sharing ! I do not have self raising flour, so what kind I substitute with ?
kindly advise !
Thank you!
Bea says
Hi! You can make your own self-rising flour following this instructions here. Hope it helps!
Carol says
I have tried several other recipes but yours is the best. Thanks for sharing
Bea says
Happy that you liked it, thanks for your feedback Carol! ❤️
Sharmini says
Hello there, thanks a lot for sharing your recipes. I tried and loved your cornflake cookies and attempted to replicate your apam balik recipe 🙂🙂🙂
Happy with my first attempt although i would have loved it to look as spongy as yours. Do you think it's got to do with the yeast raising?
Thanks in advance.
Bea says
Hi! Yes, do check if the yeast is still in good condition. Also I've added in the recipe note if the batter is too thick, add a splash to loosen it up. Hope you give it another try, thanks!
JSD says
Awesome Bea!
Tried this recipe few times, turns out great each and every time. The family loves it, thanks for sharing,
However 250 ml of milk does not make the mixture as liquid as shown in your video, I always end up using more milk
Not sure what’s wrong with my measurements😅
Bea says
Sorry to hear that! While others have made it with no problems but some did mention that they had the batter a bit thicker than mine, so I've added a note in the recipe card saying to add bit more milk to the consistency in the video, if that happens. I'm glad that you and your family enjoyed it anyways. Thank you!
Rajaletchimi Nadarajan says
Hi..why my pancake doesn't turn brown evenly...
Bea says
I think it's because of the high heat. Try using lower heat next time. let me know how it goes!
Tan Sen Chen says
I tried using low heat, I am afraid I am getting the same results. I was using ceramic non-sticky pan. It felt as though the heat was not evenly distributed, or maybe I did not use kitchen paper to evenly spread over the butter.
Elizabeth says
I tried this recipe and it is like the real thing! Thank you.
Bea says
Yeay! Happy that you liked it, thanks Elizabeth!
Surry says
Turns out excatly like the Malaysian Apam balik. Authentic😁
Bea says
Happy that you liked it Surry! Thank you for your feedback!
Adele says
I’ve made these a few times, and each time it comes out perfect! It’s so yummy! So easy to make and great results each time. I used to miss these yummy treats having lived overseas, but now I can easily recreate these yummy goodness easily every time I think of having some! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Bea says
That's great Adele! I feel the same way, I make these whenever I miss home. Thank you for your feedback! 😀
Farah says
I have made these twice and it came out so good every single time! It's very soft and fluffy, even when you keep it overnight. I made these for my family and gave away to friends as well, and all of them loved it 😋 My go-to recipe for Apam Balik from now on!
Bea says
That's awesome to hear Farah! I'm glad that everybody's enjoying them, thank you for your feedback!
Sumi says
Hello Bea!
Can the batter be refrigerated overnight? Will it alter the way it turns out?
Bea says
Hi Sumi! I haven't tried it so I can't really say, sorry!
Yvonne Tang says
Recipe is very easy to follow. I don’t have some ingredients so I substituted cashew nuts for peanuts, banana slices for cream corn and added shredded coconut flakes. Delicious! Thanks Bea for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Bea says
You twist on it sounds delish Yvonne! Thanks for your feedback! 🙂
Doris Ling Lang Hiong says
Hello ,
Thank you so much for your recipe!
I had done it successfully ，so great!
Most thankful if you can u please share the crispy thinner version.
Thanks and really appreciate your dedication.
Rgds,
Doris
Bea says
Awesome Doris! Will look into the thinner version, thank you!
Shaneen says
Hi there! Your recipe looks great! Can’t wait to try it! However, I’ve seen some recipes that do not use yeast. Is that possible? Thanks!
Chloe says
Hi. Thanks for another amazing post. One of my fav childhood snack. I made it and turned out very well. Texture was very good. Just wondering can u please consider posting the crispy thinner version that they sell at pasar malam in Malaysia. Thanks and really appreciate your dedication. Chloe
Jen says
Hi
I bought unsalted peanuts but after roastg it became wet. When not roasted i am not able to get it finely grounded🤷🏻♀️
Nor says
Hello, if I would like to do egg free ones, do you have any substitute to suggest for egg? Additionally, without baking soda, would it still work?
Anita says
Great recipe! Only thing was when I first made the batter, it was very thick. I made the first Apam Balik it turned very hard. I suggest adding more milk until the batter becomes drippy.
Still, a great recipe. Thanks Bea!
Bea says
Sorry to hear that Anita! Glad that you liked it anyway, thank you!
Geovan febyl says
Hi can I skip the baking soda?
Thanks
Bea says
Unfortunately no as it helps with the texture and also for the pancake to rise. Hope it helps.
EasternTigerBoo says
hello kakak,
allow me to ask you a few question.
1. must we mix the plain and self rising flour or can we just use the self rising flour alone.
2. can we use water instead of 250ml of milk. any difference it makes? in the push cart Malaysia, do they really use milk?
3. any difference if we use baking powder instead of baking soda? i know baking soda will give a double rise during heat...
4. why some of the outer skin brown nicely and some don't?
Lisa M says
We loved this apam balik when we went to Malaysia for a vacation. I'm glad I found your website because now I can make it at home.
I've made this recipe for several times now and the apam balik were delicious!
Thank you for sharing!
Lisa M
Bea says
Hi Lisa! I'm happy to know that you're having fun and enjoying the apam balik 😀 . Thank you for your comment! XOXO
Jun says
How many full apam baliks would this make?
Bea says
This recipe makes 5.
rosalita selamat says
made these 3x during ramadhan this year.. oh Bea, this is lovely, and super easy to make. parents and friends commented that it's super yummy! thanks Bea!
greetings from Singapore xx
Bea says
Oh yeaaaayy! I'm happy to know that Rosita! This is one of my favourite childhood snack! Thank you so much for your feedback! XOXO
Kana says
Hi👋, is this warm milk..u mean heat up the milk...? (Bought from shop)
Can it be replace by thick coconut milk?
Wow....the yeast 1 1/2 tsp + baking soda, could it be reduce?(won't be that fluffy, ha).
TQ......😀
Bea says
Hi Kana! Yes, you warm the milk by heating it 🙂
Idham Malek says
I made these apam balik for Ramadan fast breaking dinner and they were so delicious.
Keep sharing your amazing recipes. God bless, thank you.
Bea says
That's great, thank you so much Idham!