What is Khao Nom Sun?

Khao nom sun ເຂົ້າໜົມຊັ້ນ translates to layered dessert and is a Lao dessert that is made from tapioca flour, rice flour, and coconut milk. Typically, you will see it flavored with pandan and also have its green color. Since butterfly pea flower is all over Laos, I wanted to make this one a purple color from the flower and a little bit of ube flavoring. The dessert is very chewy and I like mine slightly less sweet. Some like to eat it layer by layer and others will chew the whole dessert.

How to use butterfly pea flower

Butterfly pea flower grows all over Southeast Asia especially Laos. It exploded in popularity after people noticed it is one of the few natural blue colors and adds a nice touch to drinks and foods. It is often made into a tea or added to drinks that change the color to people after adding lemon or other acids. You can take about 10 dried flowers and steep it in 1 cup of water for 10 minutes to give you a vibrant color.

Common Mistakes in Making Khao Nom Sun

It is easy to mess up this dessert so here are some tricks and things to avoid.

• The most important suggestion is to allow your layers to fully cook so things don’t mix together. If it is a thicker layer, don’t be afraid to let it cook for additional 1 or 2 minutes.

• Tie a towel on your steamer lid so all the steam gets trapped and doesn’t drip to the cake

• Make sure to let the cake cool for an hour or two before you cut it

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