Kaya toast
咖椰吐司
Singapore's kopitiam breakfast: charcoal-style toast with coconut-egg kaya jam and cold butter, with soft-boiled eggs and dark soy.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: 咖椰吐司.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 50 min
- Rest
- None
- Total
- 1 hr
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Kaya toast is a breakfast set, not a single thing. Thin slices of white bread are toasted dry until crisp, spread with kaya, a custard-like jam of coconut milk, eggs, sugar and pandan, and sandwiched around a slab of cold butter that melts slowly. Alongside come two soft-boiled eggs cracked into a saucer, barely set, seasoned with dark soy sauce and white pepper and eaten with a spoon or used as a dip for the toast. The kaya here is made from scratch in a bowl over simmering water; it takes 40 minutes of occasional stirring and keeps for two weeks.
What you'll need
9 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
- Kaya
- Toast
- Eggs
Ingredients
Kaya
- Egg, 4 for the kaya, 8 soft-boiled to serve12
- Coconut milk, thick, full fat250 ml
- Sugar180 g
- Pandan leaves, knotted; or 1/2 tsp pandan extract4
- Salt1.2 ml
Toast
Eggs
- Dark soy sauce, to serve30 ml
- White pepper, to serve2½ ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Whisk 4 eggs with the sugar and salt until smooth, then whisk in the coconut milk. Add the knotted pandan.
5 min
Step 2
Set the bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water and stir every few minutes until the mixture thickens to a spreadable custard that holds a line drawn through it, 35 to 45 minutes. Remove the pandan, cool, and refrigerate.
45 min
Tip: Lumpy kaya is a common kopitiam style. For smooth, push it through a sieve while warm.
Step 3
For the soft eggs, put 8 eggs in a bowl, cover with boiling water, lid on, and leave 7 minutes for barely set whites and liquid yolks. Lift out and crack into saucers.
8 min
Watch: Timing depends on egg size and starting temperature. Eggs from the fridge need 8 minutes.
Step 4
Toast the bread on a tray under a hot grill or in a toaster until dry and crisp on both sides, about 2 minutes a side.
5 min
Step 5
Spread kaya thickly on one slice, lay slabs of cold butter on it, close with a second slice and cut in half. Season the eggs with a splash of dark soy and a shake of white pepper. Serve together with strong coffee.
3 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 844 kcal
- Protein
- 27 g
- Carbs
- 79.8 g
- Fat
- 47.9 g
- Saturated fat
- 27.5 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
- Sugar
- 52.5 g
- Sodium
- 1088 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Eggs
- Milk
- Wheat
- Soy
- Vegetarian
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.
Substitutions
Pandan leaves → 1/2 tsp pandan extract
Greener in colour, slightly artificial in flavour. Vanilla is a last resort and tastes like a different jam.
Tips
- Kaya keeps two weeks in a jar in the fridge. It is also good on crackers and in a sponge.
- Brown the sugar to a light caramel before adding it for Hainanese-style dark kaya.
- The butter must be cold and thick. Spread butter is a different breakfast.
History & culture
The kopitiam, Singapore's coffee shop, is where this is eaten, with a cup of strong kopi sweetened with condensed milk. It is the working breakfast and the old men's mid-morning routine. Chains have made it a national brand and sell it at the airport; the uncle at the neighbourhood coffee shop still toasts over charcoal and does it better.
Hainanese cooks who worked for British households in colonial Singapore adapted toast with jam, replacing fruit preserves with a coconut custard close to Portuguese-Malaccan egg jams. When they opened their own coffee shops in the early twentieth century, kaya toast with kopi became the standard set and has not changed much since.
Traditional — Kopitiams toast over a charcoal grill. A toaster or hot oven does the job; the point is thin, dry, crisp bread.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Kaya toast take?
1 hr all in — 10 min prep, 50 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 4 people. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Eggs, Milk, Wheat, Soy. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian.
9 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Saucepan, Mixing bowl, Baking tray.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at ¼ tsp.
How much sugar?
180 g of Sugar.
How much dark soy sauce?
2 tbsp (to serve) of Dark soy sauce.
What can I use instead?
Pandan leaves → 1/2 tsp pandan extract. Greener in colour, slightly artificial in flavour. Vanilla is a last resort and tastes like a different jam.
What should I watch for?
Timing depends on egg size and starting temperature. Eggs from the fridge need 8 minutes.
Any tips from this recipe?
Kaya keeps two weeks in a jar in the fridge. It is also good on crackers and in a sponge. Brown the sugar to a light caramel before adding it for Hainanese-style dark kaya. The butter must be cold and thick. Spread butter is a different breakfast.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
