Step 1

Mix coconut milk, sugar, vanilla extract (if using). Give it a good stir

Step 2

Pour in the boiling water (make sure the water is boiling hot) and stir until sugar dissolves

Step 3

Mix tapioca starch, rice flour, salt and stir to mix

Step 4

Continue to stir until you get a smooth batter. I don't need to strain it, but if you can't get rid of the lumps, strain it

Step 5

Divide the batter into roughly three equal portions in separate bowls. Roughly, about 300 ml each color

Step 6

Add about 1-2 drops of food coloring (more if you want the color more intense) to each bowl. Stir to mix

Step 7

Prepare the steamer by bringing water to a boil. Wrap the lid with a cloth (to prevent condensation drips back to your steamed cake)

Step 8

Lightly brush all sides of the pan and bottom with cooking oil. Preheat it by steaming it empty over boiling water for 5 minutes

Step 9

Give the batter a good stir each time before you ladle it on the pan, because the flour tends to settle at the bottom after a while. I start with white color, then green and red. Pour about 100 ml of the white batter into the pan. Lower the heat to medium. Don't steam over high heat or the layer will wrinkle or worse the water will boil over. Let it steam for about 7 minutes for the first layer

Step 10

Top tips: After 7 minutes, the layer should be set but you may see a bit of liquid pooling on top, don't worry, wear a glove and swirl the pan to distribute that liquid and leave the lid open for 1 minute. You will see that the liquid is no longer runny and set. Then you can pour the next layer

Step 11

Very gently pour or ladle another layer on top. Don't pour it from a height, as it may damage the layer underneath. Keep it close and pour or ladle

Step 12

Top tips: Monitor to see if you need to refill the water in your steamer, don't wait until it dries up. If you know you will need to refill the water in your steamer before pouring the next layer, wait until the layer that is still steaming to be done with and then add the water, close the lid back let it comes back to a boil and then lower the heat to medium and pour the next layer and continue

Step 13

Repeat this sequence until you get 9 layers. From the second layer up to the 8th layer, steam for 5 minutes each layer or until the layer is set then leave the lid open for 1 minute if you see any liquid pooling on top before pouring the next layer. After pouring last layer, steam for 10 minutes and then turn off heat and remove the lead and let it sit for a minute or two and then remove from the steamer

Step 14

Let the cake cools down completely, this may take 3 hours or longer before you attempt to remove the cake from the pan. Once it has cooled down completely, brush the top layer with thin layer of oil. You can loosen the cake from the pan with an oiled spatula or knife. When ready to cut, use an oiled knife or plastic knife to cut to prevent sticking