This is a traditional Chinese sponge cake that is steamed instead of baked. It uses yeast as its leavening agent, sugar, hot water and rice flour. These are very simple ingredients and steps involved though the process of fermenting it takes quite a while – usually about three hours.
I don’t usually buy this sponge cake to eat because it has a slightly sour taste from the yeast, and is quite dense even though it’s fluffy. It is also very sticky, which is why you need to oil your knife before slicing it up to serve your guests.
Ingredients:
- Rice flour: 150g
- Water: 80ml + 200g
- Sugar: 100g
- Active dry yeast (or instant dry yeast will work too): 3g
- Lukewarm water: 2 tbsp
- Vegetable oil: for brushing and slicing
Method:
- Whisk together rice flour and 80ml water. This will form a clumpy rice flour mixture that is still mostly dry. Set aside.
- Dissolve sugar in 200g water. Bring to boil.
- Immediately pour sugar mixture into flour mixture. Whisk till thin batter forms. Set aside to cool till lukewarm.
- Stir yeast into lukewarm water. Leave to stand for 15min till foamy.
- Stir yeast mixture into batter. Whisk 3min.
- Cover with plate. Leave to ferment in warm place for 3hrs. Foamy bubbles will form.
- Pour batter into greased loaf or square pan. Steam on high heat for 20min.
- Turn heat off. Leave cake to rest in wok for 2min before removing from pan to cool down.
- Brush surface of cake with oil. Slice with oiled knife to serve.
Serving:
Medium sized cake (about 8 – 9 square slices)
