“I looked at it and thought this is impossible… only crazy people would make it because it requires so much time!” Sharifah shared with FMT Lifestyle.
Years later, in a kitchen far from Bintulu, Sharifah would become that “crazy baker” herself. Today, at 39, she runs “Lapis by Seri” in Seremban, crafting Sarawak-style kek lapis that looks as if batik cloth has been draped across it.
Her creations have become edible art, bridging memories of home with her life in Peninsular Malaysia.
What started as an itch for perfection quickly spiralled into a lifelong passion. A former storage engineer, Sharifah began baking her own kek lapis when she started missing home.
“When I was growing up, kek lapis was always available to us and we didn’t think much about it. But when I was away, I realised how much I actually missed it.
“And I couldn’t find good kek lapis here. So my husband suggested I try baking it myself,” said Sharifah.
When she started making these intricately layered cakes, she confessed that her technical side couldn’t let go of one nagging detail: the crooked layers on her cake.
“I’m the kind of person who gets annoyed when things are not straight,” she admitted. “So that pushed me to keep trying. I didn’t actually imagine it would come this far,” she said of her kek lapis passion.
That curiosity led to late-night experiments in her kitchen – some cakes got burnt, others collapsed – but it also sparked a business.
Eight years ago, Sharifah began selling kek lapis at her husband’s encouragement. “He always trusted me, even for the most ridiculous idea,” she said. “His trust in me is what makes me pursue what I’m doing right now.”
But “Lapis by Seri” is no ordinary cake business. Four years ago, Sharifah added a striking new element: batik motifs layered onto the cakes themselves. “Batik has always been something that I admire deeply,” she explained.
“For me, it’s not just a pattern on fabric. It’s part of our cultural identity. I’ve always loved traditional elements, whether it’s clothes or music. For me, the beauty that it presents is timeless and somehow connects us to our roots.”
She even hinted at trying saree and cheongsam motifs on her kek lapis in the future. This love for heritage runs deep. Raised by her grandmother while her parents worked, Sharifah remembers the older woman’s batik and baju Kedah as treasured possessions.
“She took very good care of her clothes,” Sharifah said. “She was a giver, even when she had very little.” It’s no surprise that Sharifah’s cakes carry more than flavour – they carry memory and meaning.
Her first attempts at recreating the delicate patterns in butter, sugar, and flour were far from perfect. “It took me more than 10 tries before I finally found the way to draw it properly,” she recalled.
But persistence paid off. Today, customers often mistake her cakes for actual kain batik! In that moment, tradition becomes edible art, and much like Malaysia itself, different heritages come together in harmony.
Sharifah’s inspiration comes from many places: family heirlooms, fabrics at local shops, even browsing batik prints in Mydin.
Each cake can take up to 10 hours to complete, with wedding cakes taking 14 hours. But for her, it’s more than just a job.
“For me, food can become a bridge to culture,” she said. “By putting batik into kek lapis, I hope to spark curiosity, especially among the younger generation. When they see a cake that looks like batik, maybe they will ask – what’s the story behind batik?”
Ultimately, Sharifah’s story mirrors the unity Malaysia celebrates each Sept 16 – different strands woven into a shared tapestry.
And perhaps, as each slice of “Lapis by Seri” is shared, it carries a reminder that just like Malaysia itself, the beauty lies in its many layers.
Follow ‘Lapis by Seri’ on Instagram.