Homemade Kaya (Coconut Jam)

Name: Homemade Kaya (Coconut Jam)
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: 4 large egg yolks; 200 milliliter (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) full-fat coconut milk; 30 gram (3 tablespoons) light brown palm sugar, finely chopped if crystallized*; 65 gram (5 tablespoons) granulated sugar; 3 fresh pandan leaves (you can find them in Asian stores; skip if you can't find them); 1 pinch fine sea salt; (all ingredients should be at room temperature)

Instructions

Kaya (coconut jam) is very popular in Southeast Asia, especially Malaysia and Singapore. I came across this dreamy coconut spread in Singapore, when ordering a butter-kaya toast for breakfast. Since then, I have been cooking it a lot at home -- and with this recipe it works every time. Not only is it the best bread spread I know, but it also makes a great last-minute gift. People always ask me for the recipe, because they got "addicted." Usually kaya is spread on toasted bread, tiled with a slice of butter (at least 1/8 inch thick) and is accompanied by a soft boiled egg and soy sauce, seasoned with white pepper. In Southeast Asia, kaya is often made using palm sugar which gives this coconut jam a unique caramelly taste. The slightly less sweet palm sugar, which is available in Asian grocery stores, can be substituted with brown sugar, if you can't find it. Also the color of the end result will depend on the sugar you are using. For the kaya in the picture I used a mix of granulated sugar and light brown palm sugar. Enjoy!

Updated at: Sat, 27 Sep 2025 08:06:45 GMT