Twenty years ago every warung kopi offered a selection of tasty little cakes, and almost every girl knew how to make them. Now even in the back country lanes, the warungs offer only plastic-wrapped bread rolls and mass-produced snacks, with nary a dusting of fresh coconut in sight. Bali's unique sweets may be in danger of extinction.

There are many Balinese cakes that are worth testing while holiday in Bali such as Sumping, dumplings of rice flour steamed with grated pumpkin or banana, bantal, the little pillows of sticky rice with red beans inside. Klepon, the dainty green balls rolled in freshly grated coconut delivers an explosion of red palm syrup when bitten. Ewel, a tarry pudding, and bubur ijin were made from black sticky rice. Dadar was a small pancake and kue mangkok were the cupcakes with split tops used in offerings.

These typical Balinese cakes can still be found today in markets and supermarkets, but they are no longer to be seen in roadside warungs or even the baskets of wandering snack ladies. Fewer of the young women can be bothered making them and some of the ingredients, like black sticky rice, have become rare and costly.

Before baking powder was available, the Balinese women used fermented cassava for leavening. They still use the traditional pandan leaves to color the cakes green and commercial food coloring. It is amazing how many different varieties of cakes and sweets the Balinese created from just a few ingredients: mainly rice flour, coconut, and red palm sugar. But they are not as widely available as they used to be. Bubur injin, for example, is rarely found on restaurant menus.