Martabak manis (sweet Indonesian pancake)

"Martabak is a popular food that is delicious and very loved by the whole family," reads the copy.  I bought this mix several years ago because it looked interesting.  I held onto it for a long time (in fact it should have been used prior to April 2014), intimidated by the Indonesian directions.  Google Translate helped, but there were significant gaps.  (It doesn't help any that Translate makes up new words.  Take this translation, for example:

Timbang 285 adonan, lalu tambahkan dengan 20g (2 sendok makan penuh) butter yang sudah dilumerkan, aduk hingga tercampur rata.

which was translated into:

Weigh 285 dough, then add with 20g (2 tablespoons full) butter that has been melinjkan, stir until well blended.

Melinjkan?  What is that?  And where did it come from?  It's not English, and it wasn't in the original sentence to be translated.  A mystery.

               

I finally decided I had the directions sufficiently translated and it wasn't going to get any better, so I dove in. Here's what I used:

2 egg yolks
pancake mix
350g water
150g water
60g butter, melted and divided into 3 equal portions, plus additional
sugar
condensed milk
toppings (chocolate, cheese, nuts, etc)

In a medium-sized bowl, add the egg yolks, the pancake mix, and the 350g water and blend with a hand mixer on medium speed for 10 minutes.  Stir in the 150g water thoroughly, and allow to rest for 1 hour.

Heat a 9.5" skillet on medium heat for 5 minutes.  Measure out 285g of the batter into a bowl and stir in 20g of the melted butter.  When the pan is ready, butter the bottom and sides lightly, then add the measured-out batter.  Allow to cook for about 7 minutes, until holes have opened up across the surface like a honeycomb.  Lower the heat, sprinkle with sugar, cover, and cook for about another 3 minutes until the surface is no longer wet. 

(The surface will still be shiny.)  Remove the pancake from the pan to a cutting board and rub the surface with butter.  Pour on condensed milk and selected toppings.  Cut in half, and place one half on top of the other like a sandwich.  Rub exterior with butter if desired.  Allow to cool somewhat before cutting into wedges.  Repeat with the remaining batter, making 2 additional pancakes.  I recommend sandwiching the two whole pancakes together for convenience, rather than cutting each in half, unless you want different toppings on each. 

I found cooking the pancakes a little challenging.  (My pan was only about 7", which probably threw off the cooking.  I probably should have done only two pancakes and used the 10" skillet.)  The first one worked best, but cooked quickly.  I suspect you should let the pan reheat well before adding the next batch of batter.  The first one was cooked on the spider burner with an oiled pan; the second on the solid cover with a buttered pan.  The first one came out a bit spotted and cooked quickly, but seemed to work out best.  The second one came out with a beautiful, evenly tanned crust... except where it burned.  The third I did on the spider burner with butter, and it did the worst.  It didn't cook evenly, and one spot didn't rise at all.  (A big air bubble formed under the batter and raised it off the pan surface.)

I don't know why the instruction have you add the butter in separate batches.  Why not just add all 60g to the batter and THEN divide it up?  I can only assume the fat causes some reaction in the batter if left to sit.  In fact, the last batch of batter sat longer after the butter was added than the first two.

I cut into the first pancake immediately.  It was very spongy and didn't cut well (which is why I recommend letting them cool a little so the crust firms up), but was delicious and decadent.  Very much like a pancake, but eggier, spongier, and overly buttery.  (Probably could do without all the slathering.)  Perhaps it's better likened to a crumpet.  It was soft and rich and extremely satisfying.  I used dulce de leche plain and with toasted almonds, and chocolate ganache, all delicious.  I can imagine cheese would also be delicious, resulting in something like these Salvadoran quesadillas.  (Particularly the recipe from Global Table Adventures.)  The possibilities are endless.

I don't remember where I purchased this product, so I'm not likely to find it again.  The mix powder tasted a lot like vanilla cake.  (In fact, my only complaint was that it was overly vanilla-y.  Probably imitation flavoring.)  The ingredients on the box are wheat flour, sugar, leavening, vanilla (with an undefined adjective), and salt.

Conclusion:  I'd like to make this again, although it's so terribly decadent I'm not sure I would ever be brave enough to be left alone with it again.  I'd been thinking it was too bad that I probably wouldn't be able to find the mix again.  But after noting on the box that this is a popular Indonesian treat, it occurred to me that they probably make it from scratch.  Which means there are recipes. :)

Recipe:  Digging around on the Internet, I found a recipe that includes yeast, which would be fun to try, but this one seemed very close to the mix I made:  Martabak Manis via SortedFood.  This one at 196 Flavors also sounds good.