Culture shared: Especkerman showing freshly baked sugee cakes at Anyday Bakery cafe in Putra Heights. — AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star
PETALING JAYA: The tradition of baking sugee cakes for Christmas and other family gatherings has been a must for the Portuguese settlement in Malacca for generations. Families and bakeries are working together to continue preserving a centuries-old tradition.
Founder of Anyday Cakes, chef Fabian Especkerman, 65, has been baking cakes for not just those of Portuguese heritage but for the wider Malaysian community.
Four-and-a-half years ago, he decided to start a business baking sugee cakes for all Malaysians to enjoy.
Especkerman, who is of Portuguese and Dutch heritage, said households are still baking today, but only to “reach out to family and close friends”.
His goal in opening his own sugee cake bakery was to share the taste that all Malaysians have grown to love.
“I want to ensure members of the Kristang community, as well as the general public – especially the younger generation – can enjoy this cake without having to wait for days to get it from traditional bakers who usually make only small batches for their families and close friends.
“As someone of Portuguese Eurasian heritage, I’m proud to bake this cake and play a role in preserving and sharing this unique part of our tradition,” he said.
Especkerman, an industrial chef who uses a modified traditional family recipe, said baking sugee cakes using semolina involves a special technique and is an arduous process.
“Sugee flour needs to be soaked in butter as part of the preparation, which takes at least three hours. I bake 12 cakes per oven in each batch. I
“ have four ovens, and sometimes run four batches per day so that I can bake up to 192 of my 900g cakes in one day, especially during busy seasons like Christmas,” he said.
Fabian explained that while baking sugee cakes during Christmas is a traditional practice, sugee cakes have been a staple for every family event, from celebratory to solemn occasions.
“This has been a common sight at weddings and funerals. For burials, we will also toast them with a slice of sugee cake and a glass of wine,” he said.
President of the Portuguese Settlement Residents Association, Marina Danker, said baking sugee cakes has been a cultural practice for generations.
“It is extremely common to see sugee cakes in homes to this day. If I knocked on the door of every home in the settlement during Christmas, almost every household would have either baked their own sugee cake or ordered it from the local bakery.
“Parents are also teaching their children at the same time, passing the recipe on to future generations.” Danker added that each family has slightly different recipes.
“There are variations in terms of egg quantity, ratio of ingredients and preparation techniques.”
Danker has also been baking sugee cakes since her secondary school years – around 50 years ago – and has not stopped since.
