Step 1

If using square, round pan, or loaf pan, line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. If using tube pan, grease the pan with non-stick spray or butter. If using a bundt pan, grease the pan thoroughly with non-stick spray or shortening/butter and then flour the pan. Tap out excess flour

Step 2

Put gula Melaka and coconut milk in a saucepan and cook over medium low heat to melt the sugar. Don't let it comes to a boil or the coconut milk will separate. Let the mixture cools down completely

Step 3

Preheat oven at 325 F (165 C). Baking it at lower temperature will bake the cake more evenly and it gives you a softer lighter cake

Step 4

Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside. Make sure the butter is soft but not melty. You can easily push it with your finger. If it's melty, put it in the fridge for a bit but not too long that it becomes cold solid again

Step 5

Crack the eggs in a bowl and whisk them. Set aside. It's better to do this than cracking an egg one by one into the cake batter later. The eggs incorporate into the batter much better

Step 6

Cream the butter and sugar until creamy, light, and fluffy with a stand mixer or hand mixer over high speed. The color turns pale too. Then slowly add 1/3 or even 1/6 of the egg and continue to beat until it's mixed before adding the next 1/3 until you run out of the egg. The slower you add the eggs, the less likely the butter and eggs will separate

Step 7

Sift in 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix over low speed and alternate with 1/2 of the gula Melaka mixture, and continue and end with the flour mixture

Step 8

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top if needed. Tap the cake pan few times on the counter top to pop any large bubbles inside the pan. Place the cake pan in the middle rack and bake for about 70-75 minutes for square or loaf pan or until a cake tester comes out clean. If the cake turns dark too quickly before it cooks through, you can tent with an aluminum foil (shiny part up) after about 60 minutes of baking

Step 9

If baking with a tube or a bundt pan, bake for about 55-60 minutes. You can start checking for doneness at about 50 minutes mark and tent with a foil at that point if the cake starting to gets too dark. The time is just for reference. Your oven may need shorter or longer time. You can start checking at about 1 hour mark

Step 10

Remove the cake from the oven and let the cake rest in the pan for about 10 minutes and then loosen the edge and let the cake cools down completely on a cooling rack. If you are using tube or a bundt pan, turn the cake upside down on a cooling rack to let it cools down completely

Step 11

The butter cake is not meant to be served on the same day. I suggest let the cake cools down completely and then wrap it up with a cling wrap and keep at room temperature for 24 hours before serving (trust me, it worth the wait). The cake will be moist and develop a full flavor after 24 hours and longer