Steamed Pandan Cake With Sweet Potatoes

I am sure most of us are familiar with the pandan chiffon cake that is available at most bakery stalls. Here with a twist from the previous steamed cake that I have made, I decided to make some Steamed Pandan Cake with Sweet Potatoes. And to make these steamed cakes more fragrance and delicious, you can add in some home-made pandan juice for a superb and natural jade green colour.

When it comes to steamed cake it might look rather easy compared to those bake version but for some of us this might not be the case. I have received a few emails regarding on the "steamed cake" recipe(s)(read more HERE) that they have tried a few times following the recipe(s) to dot and yet they cannot achieve the desire outcome like what is mention on the blog post. Friendly speaking I have failed at least twice while testing out the recipe(s) before I could perfect them with the right texture and outlook too.

More On Japanese Steamed Cakes

Thanks everyone for your kind comments given to my previous 3 entries on the Japanese Steamed Cakes post. To share the joy with you today I was so surprised to notice a mentioned about my Japanese Steamed Sweetcorn Cake(Chinese version) while flipping through my daily reads on MyPaper( pg B2).

Asian fusion of the Durian Steamed Cake(榴莲蒸糕)

After the previous 3 steamed cake posts, I have received some email enquires regarding either on their failures or success attempted on those recipes. A few of them ever mentioned that their steamed cake ttends to urns out hard and flat compared to the rise and “open/huat” cakes that are shown on my posts.

So here are a few tips that I would like to share from my view:-
1. The water for steaming the cake must be boiling before you put the cake batter in.

2. Steamed over Medium High heat for about 8 – 12 minutes depending on the size of your steamed cakes.

3. While whisking egg and sugar, try to beat till foamy and pale roughly about 5 minutes including stopping time.

4. The final cake batter should be of dripping consistency instead of gluey and sticky.

Steamed Pandan Cake with Sweet Potato Cubes (香兰番薯蒸糕)

Lastly from the photos above, you can see that there will be some other NEW recipes coming out soon such as the Steamed Durian Cake, Steamed Pandan Cake with Sweet Potato Cubes and etc flavour that you will be surprised with. So do stay around and keep a look out for these recipes soon.

Japanese Steamed Double Chocolate Cake

Apart from the "Japanese Steamed Sweetcorn Bun(Mushipan)" and "Japanese Steamed Matcha Cake" that I made recently. Here is another Steamed Chocolate Cake recipe which I have adapted from Nami from Just one Cookbook. Both Joyce(@ahpoohbear) and I have tried making this recipe and we both love its moist and soft texture using cake flour. And my boy who is very picky about cake texture also requested for a second helping after he sample some. So I recommend this recipe as a good keeper for those who wish to whisk up something quick and easy for afternoon tea in less than 30 minutes.

If you cannot find any Dutch-process cocoa powder you can always replace it with any brand of baking cocoa powder that you own. And for a chance you can also add in half banana(mashed) to achieve a more fragrant and moist texture.

(Original recipe adapted from Just One Cookbook)
Ingredients: (makes 3 - 4 cakes)
75g Cake Flour
1 1/2 Tablespoon Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Large Egg
3 Tablespoons Drinking Water
2 Tablespoons Caster Sugar
2 Tablespoons Corn Oil
2 Tablespoons of Mini Chocolate Chips

Method:-

1. Sieves cake flour, baking powder and cocoa powder together. (sieves at least twice)

2. Using a balloon whisk, beat egg and sugar till foamy and pale (about 5 minutes).

3. Stir in water and oil in sequence then follow by the flour mixture till well combined.

4. Lastly toss in 1.5 tablespoons of chocolate chips. Spoon mixture into prepared foil/ramekins cups that are lined with paper liners.

5. Place the cups in steamer/wok(with boiling water in it), cover and steam over high heat for about 10 - 12 minutes(depending on the size) or until a skewer inserted into one of the buns and comes out clean.


I am submitting this Japanese Steamed Chocolate Cake to Aspiring Bakers #7: Chocolate Delight (May 2011), hosted by Doris of Tested and Tasted.

Japanese Steamed Matcha Cake

Follow up from my last post on the "Japanese Steamed Sweetcorn Bun(Mushipan)", here is another swapping of ingredient from Sweetcorn to Roasted Chestnut together with some extra dose of premium Matcha powder that you can get in most supermarket under the Japanese foodstuffs section.

In this recipe, I used Top Flour instead of cake flour stated on the previous recipe because I wanted to test out using different type flour to achieve the texture of the steamed cake that I prefer.

Ingredients: (makes 4)
90g Top/Cake Flour
1 1/2 Teaspoon Matcha Powder
1 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
30g Caster Sugar
1 Large Egg, 60g
70ml Water
5 - 6 Roasted Chestnut, break into pieces
1 1/2 Tablespoon of Vegetable/Corn Oil
*Extra Roasted Chestnut For Toppings

As you can see from the photo above, the texture of this steamed cake is rather more dense like steamed bun texture compared to the sweetcorn version. Perhaps it might be due to the type of flour(top flour) or the addition of matcha powder.

Method:-

1. Sift flour, matcha and baking powder in a bowl. Set aside. At the same time, preheat a steamer/wok filled with water till boiling point.

2. Using a balloon whisk beat egg and sugar together till foamy and pale in colour before adding in oil and stir till combined.

3. Next divide the sifted flour into two batches, stir in alternately with water to form a smooth batter.

4. Toss in the roasted chestnuts pieces and gently stir through the mixture till combined..

5. Spoon the cake batter evenly into 4 prepared foil/ramekins cups that are lined with paper liners.

6. Place the cups in the steamer/wok(with boiling water in it), cover and steam over high heat for about 12 - 15 minutes(depending on the size) or until a skewer inserted into one of the buns comes out clean.

Japanese Steamed Sweetcorn Bun(Mushipan)

Recently I was addicted to the "NEW" Mango and Matcha steamed cake from one of the well-known local bakery known as Fourleaves. I am not sure whether have you tired it but I love it's fragrant, soft and fluffy texture which I could eat either 2 or 3 during breakfast. In this post, I would share with you this Japanese Steamed Cake/Bun, also known as Mushipan(蒸しパン) which is one of the healthy breakfast or tea-cake that contains no butter or oil in the ingredients.

Thanks to my new overseas foodie friend, Nami from Just one Cook I managed to try out some of the steamed cake recipes from "Cookpad", a Japanese website that Nami gave me. And with some online translation tools I roughly figured out the ingredients and steps for making these lovely quick and easy tea-cake which you might be interested too.

These steamed buns are very simple and easy to prepare and you can even make it for breakfast in less than 30 minutes if you prefer those freshly steamed bun that is pipping hot, fluffy and soft. As you venture further down on the recipe you will notice that the batter mixes up in less than 5 minutes, after which you could spoon it into prepared cups, steamed and enjoy the fluffy steamed bun.

Ingredients: (makes 4)
100g Cake/Plain Flour
1 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
25g Caster Sugar
1 Large Egg, 60g
50ml Water
1/2 Cup Fresh/Frozen Sweetcorn Kernels
1 Tablespoon of Vegetable/Corn Oil, optional

Method:-

1. Sift flour and baking powder in a bowl. Set aside. At the same time, preheat a steamer/wok filled with water till boiling point.

2. Using a balloon whisk beat egg and sugar together till foamy and pale in colour before adding in oil and stir till combined.

3. Next divide the sifted flour into two batches, stir in alternately with water to form a smooth batter.

4. Lastly stir in 2/3 of the sweetcorn kernels and reserve the rest as toppings.

5. Spoon the cake batter evenly into 4 prepared foil/ramekins cups that are lined with paper liners.

6. Place the cups in the steamer/wok(with boiling water in it), cover and steam over high heat for about 12 - 15 minutes(depending on the size) or until a skewer inserted into one of the buns comes out clean.

For this first attempt, the texture of these "Mushipan" was still quite alright even though it is not as fluffy as those that I bought from the bakery. But I am sure practices make prefect and on making this  it also widen up my knowledge on another interesting Japanese tea snack that I have not notice before. To read up more on this Japanese "Mushipan", you could also head over to Nami's blog on another related post HERE.

SNACK PREVIEW

Japanese Steamed Matcha Bun with Chestnut

If you prefer Matcha and Roasted Chestnut more than Sweetcorn. Do stay tune for this upcoming recipe.