Steamed Chinese cakes are a childhood favourite of mine - the ideal steamed cake is fragrant, light and airy. This is the second time I am featuring Chinese steamed cake and this time I used superfine flour which I think increased the airiness of the cake. Steamed cake uses very little ingredients and is very easy to whip up at home. In my opinion the most important part is to make sure you use high grade eggs as the ingredient list does not involve any strong flavourings, the eggs produce a lot if not most of the fragrance to the steamed cake. I am sure that there are many different versions floating around and I think the different amounts of the ingredients used are adjusted according to individuals' preferences. Take a look at my other Chinese steamed cake recipe that has a slight variation on ingredients and used butter instead of cooking oil.
I think steamed cakes are a nice alternative to baked cakes at times and according to Chinese tradition, baked goods carry with it an element of 'heatiness' (热气) which is hard to explain in English. Essentially, traditional Chinese medicine advocates balance, hence there must always be the right amount of cooling and heat elements in one's body - consuming too much 'heaty' food will cause the body to lose said balance. Hence the steaming method is always almost considered the healthier alternative.
Step-by-step photo instructions below the jump.
Ingredients:
4 large size eggs (Use high grade ones)
1 cup all purpose flour (I used superfine flour this time)
3/4 cup white sugar
4 tbsps cooking oil
3 tbsps evaporated milk
1/2 tsp baking powder
Method:
Prepare a steel pan or you can also opt to use the steamer rack found in most rice cookers. Line the bottom and the sides with cling-wrap or parchment paper.
Start by mixing the eggs with sugar until fluffy with a whisk. Next, add the flour (I did not sieve as I used superfine flour), baking powder, oil and evaporated milk into the egg mixture and mix till well blended. If you think your batter is too thick, you can add one or two more tbsps of evaporated milk. Prepare to steam by boiling water in a big wok, then place a steaming rack on the wok. You can improvise by laying chopsticks criss-cross across the pan and place the pan on top for steaming.
Finally, pour the batter into the prepared pan and steam under high heat for about 40 minutes. Be sure to check constantly to make sure there is still enough water in the wok.
My little kitchen companion for the day
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Easy Chinese Egg Steamed Cake Recipe 水蒸鸡蛋糕
Saturday, August 07, 2010 | Labels: asian desserts, Chinese steamed cake, Desserts, Tea-time |
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Smoky Wok by Smoky Wok is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.smokywok.com.
24 comments:
Although I've enjoyed this from many a Chinese bakery, I've never made it myself. Thanks for showing me how easy it is. Must try! ;)
Hi Jen, this is an easy recipe worth trying! Less heatiness too. I always prefer rice than cake, cake than biscuit because of the dryness and heatiness. This is acceptable to me though. Have a nice weekend!
I recently fell in love with steamed cakes. Yours look yummy and fluffy :D
hi Carolyn - hope you will like my simple version :)
HI HLC! hope you will like this easy steamed cake :) you too!
Wiffy - thanks :) hope you'll like it!
Wow that looks easy enough and very delicious! Believe it or not, my beau doesn't own an oven so whenever I'm over at his place and crave a cake, I can make this! Thanks!
^ yes it is indeed very easy! hope you will like the taste :)
Tried the recipe, love it! The cake is so fluffy and light. Thank you!
Hi Ally, thanks for your feedback..I'm glad u liked it!
Hi..i want to try making it soon.
But, here are some questions:-
1 cup of the flour (how big is the cup? how much in gram?)
what is evaporated milk?
where can i get parchment paper?
thanks
Hi.Would like to make this cake soon
a few questions here:-
1 cup of flour (how much in gram?)
what is evaporated milk?
where can i get parchment paper?
thanks
Hi there!
1. 1 cup is around 125 grams (I just did some conversion online)
2. evaporated milk is a kind of sweetened milk sold in cans, you can find these usually in the baking aisle of grocery stores.
3. you can get parchment paper in most grocery stores, alternatively you can use foil.
Hope you like the cake! Let me know how it turns out :)
Hi Jen, your steam cake looks so fine and fluffy! I can't wait to try your recipe to see how cooking oil improves the cake texture :)
MsMoon - thank you! I hope you will like my version, do let me know how yours turn out :D
Hi Jen, your steam cake looks so fine and fluffy! I can't wait to try your recipe to see how cooking oil improves the cake texture :)
Sounds cool! I love steamed cakes, they're so... cozy?.. and simple! I can imagine the subtle flavour of eggs complemented by evaporated milk in the batter... mm! I've added this recipe to my bookmarks so that I can try it someday. Is there any kind of traditional dressing/dip to serve with this steamed cake?
Alina, great description of this simple cake! This cake is usually served plain traditionally which is also what I prefer, I usually have it with hot tea or hot coffee but do feel free to experiment and see if you like it better with a dressing of sorts and do let me know how it turns out :D
I love your recipes! And I'm going to try this one soon!
Also I was wondering if you have a recipe for Cha Leung/ Tja Leung/ Char Leong?
Sanne
Thanks Scverbaan! Really appreciate your feedback :) I have not featured Cha Leung yet but you can refer to my Hong Kong Cheung Fun post and tutorial and just replace the filling with some Chinese crullers. But if you're looking for a recipe to make the crullers I don't have one yet, will def look into it! :)
Hi,
May I know waht is all purpose flour? Is it plain flour?
Yes it is.
Thanks for sharing your recipe and photos! Clear and well-written.
May I know why cling wrap or foil is needed? Sorry I'm so ignorant!
You're welcome Mimi, no worries! It's just the same concept as baking cakes i.e. so that it's easier to remove the cake from the pan once it's done especially as the pan I used was not non-stick...hope that helps! :) Let me know if you have more questions.
That looks very simple to make. I think I am going to try and make it for my mom next weekend. Is evaporated milk like sweetened condensed milk. I would have to try and find it in Walmart. I really enjoy chinese food even though I am in America now. 谢谢你提供这个食谱。
Thanks, it is indeed simple :) Evaporated milk is not condensed milk, you can find the evaporated milk in the baking aisle of any US (regular) grocery store :) Hope this helps! I lived in the US too and it's quite easy to find most ingredients but I lived in California. Do let me know if you have any other questions!
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