This Chinese Steamed Cake is my version of a classic dim sum dish. There are no unusual ingredients or techniques (except the steaming bit!), just great flavour and a lovely and moist muscovado perfumed cake.
Melt 80g Salted Butter in a small bowl in the microwave. Otherwise use a small pan on the hob. Transfer the melted butter to a mixing bowl. Set aside.
Add 4 Eggs and 130g Muscovado Sugar to a mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl.
Whisk for 7 to 8 minutes until the eggs have tripled in volume and the mix is light and fluffy.
Add the melted butter, 100ml Milk and 0.5 tsp Vanilla Extract to the egg mix and whisk for a further minute.
Sieve 100g Plain Flour, 30g Custard Powder, 1 tsp Baking Powder and 1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda straight into the batter.
Mix the dry ingredients in until just combined. Use a spatula or the mixer on very low.
Cover the batter and leave to sit for 2 hours. (You can leave it for up to 24 hours.
Prepare your steamer set up. Line your tin or steamer basket and bring the water to a gentle boil.
Give the batter a quick stir to combine any bubbles on the surface.
Pour the batter into the lined basket or tin.
Put the basket or tin into the steamer and leave for 30 minutes. Keep an eye on the water level and top up as needed.
Check that the cake is cooked all the way though by poking a skewer into the centre. You want the whole of the batter to be cooked – no gooey middle here.
Leave to cool on a rack until it has cooled enough to handle. Serve the cake warm.
Notes
Important! If you have adjusted the serving size of this recipe, the cooking time will vary. A larger cake will take longer to cook and a smaller one will take less. If increasing the recipe you might want to consider making multiple smaller cakes rather than one larger one.