Bolu Tape Keju - Fermented Cassava Butter Cake

Name: Fermented Cassava Cake - Bolu Tape Keju
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 120 gr egg yolk; 35 gr egg white; 80 gr sugar; 1 gr salt; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 110 gr fermented cassava; 10 gr condensed milk; 70 gr flour; 25 gr milk powder; 85 gr unsalted butter (melted)

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Fermented Cassava Butter Cake or Bolu Tape Keju is a buttery, fluffy cake combined with sweet fermented cassava and stuffed with tasty cheese. Tastes insanely good—moist, very unique, and totally delicious. Let’s bake it!

A photo of several slices of fermented cassava cake on a cooling rack.

A Quick Look at the Recipe

🏷️ Recipe Name: Fermented Cassava Cake – Bolu Tape Keju
⏱️ Ready In: ~ 1 hour
🍽️ Serves: 12 slices
🔥 Calories: 145 kcal per slice (estimate)
🧾 Main Ingredients: Eggs, sugar, salt, cake flour, fermented cassava, butter, condensed milk, milk powder.
🥗 Dietary Info: Vegetarian friendly
🧠 Difficulty: Medium with very simple steps.

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Bolu Tape Keju or Prol Tape Keju is a tasty Indonesian cake that mixes the sweet and slightly tangy flavor of fermented cassava (known as “tape”) with cheese. Imagine a soft, moist cake that’s both sweet and a little bit cheesy—it’s the kind of dessert that’s perfect for sharing with friends or enjoying with a cup of coffee. It’s a unique twist on traditional cake that’s popular with anyone who loves trying something a bit different.

The cake is fragrant with tape and cheese. Bolu tape keju remains one of the popular Indonesian snack or dessert that still exists until now since the Dutch colonization era.

This moist, yellow cake is another old-school cake that’s been stealing hearts since the Dutch colonial days in Indonesia. Along with it, there are Lapis Legit with its moist thin layers, Ontbijtkoek with the fragrant spices, Dutch Butter Cake that has cookie and cake texture in between, and Lapis Surabaya the three layered moist cake. They are all still very popular until today. Totally delicious!

Why You Will Love This Recipe

Moist, soft, and spongy – This cake has the right combination of eggs, tape, cheese will create a moist, soft, and spongy texture.
The tape blends well with the batter – The technique I use will not make the tape sink on the bottom. Instead it blends well with the cake batter.
Kids will love this cake – Kids will love this cake. You can bake the batter in small cups to make it look more attractive to kids.
Taste delicious – The cake has just enough sweetness because the tape (fermented cassava) itself is already sweet and the cheese compliments it.

Recipe Ingredients

Fermented cassava cake or bolu tape ingredients with labels.

Ingredient Notes

Tape (fermented cassava) – Fermented cassava / tape has dense texture, even though it is very soft. It is sweet and has fiber in it. In the center there is a hard core that you need to take away.

Due to its density, the fermented cassava is quite heavy if you mix it into the batter as is. You need to process it for a little bit, softening it with condensed milk, so it can easily blend with your batter. Tape is healthy because it has lactic acid that is beneficial for the gut.

Cake flour – You may use cake flour or all purpose flour for this cake. Gluten-free flour can also work well.

Butter – Butter will make the cake even moister. Melt the butter and mix it with the fermented cassava before putting it into the batter.

Be sure to check out the full recipe and ingredient list below

Substitutions & Variations

You may substitute the butter with oil for healthy reason. However, I find that butter makes the cake even more fragrant.

Raisins, almond, or cranberry works perfect with this recipe. You can sprinkle it on top or put some in the batter.

How to Make Bolu Tape Keju

Step by step process of softening the fermented cassava with condensed milk.

STEP 1. Soften the fermented cassava with condensed milk by mixing it with low speed (Images 1, 2, 3, 4). Remember to take out the hard string in the center. Melt the butter in a microwave or in a pan with low heat.

Step by step process of beating the eggs and sugar until the batter becomes pale and thick.

STEP 2. Mix eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract with low speed gradually up to high speed for 10 minutes or until the batter turns thick and pale (Images 5, 6, 7). Transfer the fermented cassava into the batter. Beat with low speed (Image 8).

Step by step process of sifting the dry ingredients into the batter and mixing the melted butter.

STEP 3. Sieve the flour and milk powder into the batter (Images 9, 10). Fold and mix the batter with a spatula (Image 11). In another bowl, take some of the batter and mix with the melted butter with a spatula (Image 12).

Photos of mixing the butter into the batter and adding some grated cheese.

STEP 4. Once the melted butter is mixed well, you can pour back the batter into the whole batch (Images 13, 14). Mix well. Add some grated cheese (Image 15). Mix and fold swiftly and thoroughly (Image 16).

Photos of pouring the batter into a greased baking pan and sprinkling the top with grated cheese.

STEP 5. Pour the batter into a greased pan (8×4 inches pan) (Image 17). Sprinkle the top with some grated cheese (Images 18, 19). Bake in a preheated oven 180°C / 320°F for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted turns out clean (Image 20). Take out the cake from the pan and let it cool down on a cooling rack. Slice and enjoy!

Pro Tips

Fermented cassava has to be softened before mixing into the batter. Remember to take the hard string at the core of the cassava.
Mixing the fermented cassava into the batter is easy but needs to be taken seriously. You really have to mix the egg sugar batter until thick and pale. Plus, the fermented cassava has to be soft. Otherwise the fermented cassava will end up at the bottom of the cake.
Cheese is actually optional. The cake itself is already very delicious and fragrant from the fermented cassava. You can add more toppings such as raisins, walnut, almond.
You can mix the fermented cassava with the melted butter. This way when you fold in the cassava into the batter, it saves time.

Serving Suggestions

Bolu Tape Keju is delicious served slightly warm or at room temperature with a cup of tea or coffee. The buttery cake and tangy fermented cassava pair especially well with a refreshing Butterfly Blue Latte, Lemongrass Pandan Tea, or a glass of homemade Assam Milk Tea.

This cake is perfect for afternoon tea, family gatherings, potlucks, and festive celebrations. If you’re putting together an Indonesian-style dessert spread, serve it alongside other popular cakes such as Cat Tongue Cookies (Lidah Kucing), Custard Cookies, and Cheese Cookies.

Bolu Tape Keju FAQs

What if I forgot to remove the center core of the fermented cassava?

The core is hard and it will not blend inside the cake. You can easily take it out of the cake even after it is baked.

Where can I get fermented cassava?

You can get it in Asian grocery store. Make sure you get tape which is quite dark yellow in color and has very soft texture.

Why did my Bolu Tape Keju sink or become dense at the bottom?

This usually happens when the batter is not mixed long enough before the fermented cassava is added. The cassava contains a lot of moisture, so it needs to be thoroughly incorporated into the batter until it becomes thick, smooth, and evenly mixed. If the batter is too thin or unevenly mixed, the heavier cassava may settle to the bottom during baking, resulting in a dense layer.

Can I make Bolu Tape Keju ahead of time?

Yes, you can make Bolu Tape Keju ahead of time. Wrap it with plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge or in a closed container.

Storage

Store the cake in an airtight container in the chiller for up to 5 days. You may warm the cake first before serving. Reheat in the microwave or oven.

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