[Recipe] Chempedak Carajillo by Amillie Chan of Native (Singapore)

At Native in Singapore, Amillie Chan creates an Asian take on the Carajillo, built around chempedak, a tropical fruit native to Singapore and the wider Southeast Asian region.

For the Chempedak Carajillo, the fruit is explored at two stages of ageing. After 14 days, it develops a softer, dessert-like character that is infused into cream. After one month, when its flavor deepens into something almost like sticky dates, it gets dried and blended into a powder.

Spiced rum infused with coconut oil and pandan is paired with barrel-aged coffee, homemade buah keluak miso and gula melaka. This results in a rich, creamy, and gently savory coffee cocktail.

Ingredients:

40ml Coffee infused Rum*

20ml Gula Melaka Reduction*

15ml Cold Brew 

15ml Coffee Liqueur 

5g Buah Keluak Miso*

Aged Chempedak Foam*

*Make the Coffee-infused Rum

15g Aged coffee bean

20g Pandan Leaf

10g Coconut oil

100g Rum

Method: Cold infuse for 12 hours, freeze it and cloth strain.

*Make the Gula Melaka Reduction 

1 part Gula Melaka

1 part Water

Method: Bring it to a boil and reduce till thick consistency

*Make the Buah Keluak Miso 

1,500g Buah Keluak

400g Koji

150g Salt

65g Water

Method: Blend koji till fine, hydrate with water. Mix koji salt with buah keluak. Compare and keep in jars. Cover with a layer of salt.

*Make the Aged Chempedak Foam 

25g Aged chempedak pulp (sous vide for 2 weeks under 65ºC)

100g Cream

Method: Infuse aged chempedak into the cream to float on top of the drink. To make aged chempedak powder topping, age the chempedak for one month before drying it and blending it into a powder.

Method:

Combine all the wet ingredients in mixing jar. Stir till chilled and pour over large ice cube in a rocks glass. Top the glass with the foam, and dust with aged chempedak powder.