Steamed Chocolate Milk Cake

I find steamed cake is the best baking method to preserve the original flavour of the cake ingredients as compare to oven baking. The latter's caramel aroma sometimes may mask the mild aroma of a mild flavour ingredient, like tea. On the other hand, steamed cake may be plain in aroma without the caramelised flavour. Cocoa powder helps to lend a stronger aroma to the plain steamed cake 😋

Ingredients

All ingredients in room temperature 

Using 57 to 59g eggs

{A}

2 egg whites 

Pinch of low sodium salt

30g fine sugar

20g raw sugar/fine sugar

2 egg yolks

{B}

65g top/cake flour

5g cocoa powder

{C}

50g low-fat chocolate milk

10g condensed milk/golden syrup

10g rice bran oil/mild flavour vegetable oil

Directions

1. Line a 135x45mm round pan with parchment paper. Set it aside.

2. Start to bring 130g of water in a 18cm sauce pan or a small pot to a boil in medium-low heat. Cover the pot with a glass lid with a steam vent.

3. Mix {C} ingredients in a small glass. Set aside.

4. In a clean and dry mixing bowl, beat egg white with salt, fine sugar and raw sugar till reaching firm peak. 

Mix in yolks and beat till reaching ribbon stage as {A}.

5. Sieve and mix in 1/3 of {B} using an electric hand mixer.

Pour and mix in 1/2 of {C} milk mixture from Step 3. Continue to mix in the remaining {B} and {C} in alternating sequence. End the mixing with {B}. Use a silicone spatula to do a final mixing into a smooth batter.

In the sequence of: 1/3 B → 1/2 C → 1/3 B → 1/2 C →1/3 B 

6. Pour the batter into one 135x45mm round pan lined with parchment paper prepared in Step 1.

7. Lower the pan into a pot of boiling water, and stand over a low steamer rack. Steam at medium-low heat for 5 minutes; lower to low heat and continue to steam for 15 minutes

Turn off the heating, without opening the lid, let the cake simmer for 5 minutes to gradually “cool down”.

8. Open the lid carefully to avoid the steam condensation from dripping to the cake surface. Drop the cake with pan over a cloth thrice. 

Let the cake cool down for 5 minutes before lifting out of the cake pan. 

Cut the cake after cooling down. Enjoy 😋

Chocolate Bun (Yudane)

When the weather becomes a bit colder, I would crave for the warm chocolate buns. Inspired by the almond glaze applied to the panettones, which many of my friends were baking recently, I just tried it on my chocolate buns. Chocolaty buns with sweet cocoa crust, and sticky sweet chocolate filling 😍😋

Yield: 10 small buns
Raw dough weight: 530g
1st proofing: overnight in fridge 
Thaw for 80 minutes before shaping 
2nd proofing: 25 minutes 
Baking temperature:  Preheat oven to 190℃, middle rack, bake at 180℃ for 11 minutes, lower to 170℃ for 5 minutes, finally turn off oven and continue to bake for 2 minutes, or till crust turns lightly golden brown.

Ingredients

205g bread flour

15g superfine wholegrain flour 

5g cocoa powder

30g raw sugar

1g instant dry yeast

50g natural yeast/sourdough, 100% hydration*

30g yudane dough^

120g sweet chocolate milk, cold

20g whipping cream

25g cold water, to be added depending on dough condition

3g low sodium salt

20g unsalted butter

Filling

35~40g chocolate chips for baking

Almond Cocoa Glaze (72g)

40g raw sugar

5g chopped almond 

3g corn starch

3g rice flour/corn starch

2g almond flour

2g cocoa powder

5g spreadable butter/rice bran oil

15g egg white

Topping

4g sugar grains for baking

* 50g natural yeast can be replaced by 25g each of bread flour and water + 1/8 tsp instant dry yeast. Let the mixture stand for about 1 hour or more till it doubles in volume, before use. You can also keep the mixture in the fridge overnight and thaw it for 1 hour before use.

^ 30g yudane dough is prepared by combining 16g of bread flour with 16g of very hot or boiling water into a sticky dough. Wrap the yudane dough in cling wrap, and cool down before use. Use a silicone spatula to scrape out the sticky yudane dough from the cling wrap.

Directions:

1. Knead the dough following your preferred method. 

For my method, you can refer to my recipe Yudane Milk Bread. After kneading the dough to window pane stage, 

2. After kneading the chocolate milk dough to window pane, shape the dough into a ball, and keep in a plastic bag coated with a little cooking oil. Keep the dough in the fridge overnight.

3. In the next day, remove the outer plastic bag, and let the dough thaw at room temperature for about 90 to 100 minutes. 

4. Divide the dough into 10 portions, shape into balls and let them rest for about 15 minutes.

5. Roll out a dough into a flat dough with the edge thinner than the center. Add about 3 to 4g of chocolate chips to the center.

Wrap up the dough, and shape into a ball. Arrange the shaped dough on a baking tray. 

Let the shaped dough rest in a cold oven for about 25 minutes.

6. While waiting for the shaped dough to proof, prepare the almond cocoa glaze.

Mix all the ingredients into a glaze.

7. Remove the shaped dough from the oven, and start to preheat the oven to 190℃ for about 10 minutes.

While waiting, spoon the almond cocoa glaze over the top of the shaped dough. The glaze would flow down from the top.

Scatter some sugar grains over the top.

8. Bake at middle rack, at 180℃ for 11 minutes, lower to 170℃ for 5 minutes, turn off oven and continue to bake for 2 minutes, or till the almond cocoa glaze has dried up.

9. Remove the hot buns from the oven, and cool down a while before serving them warm 😋

The almond cocoa glaze crust would become wet after a while. Just give the buns a light toast before serving to dry up the crust again. Enjoy 😀

Milk Tea Bun (Yudane)

I have been searching for a type sweet black tea or teh-O served in some local coffee shops which have a special sweet fragrance. I finally found that special tea in 2-in-1 teabags. Used it to bake 10 small sweet milk tea buns for our tuna sandwich lunch 😋

The buns were purposely baked to a light crust to make the tea dusts more visible, and to preserve the mild tea fragrance. As I was having stuffy nose, so I could not really smell the tea flavour. Perhaps I'll find out in my next baking 😉

Yield: 10 small buns

Raw dough weight: 542g

1st proofing: overnight in fridge 

Thaw for 80 minutes before shaping 

2nd proofing: 60 minutes 

Baking temperature:  Preheat oven to 190℃, middle rack, bake at 180℃ for 10 minutes, lower to 160℃ for 8 minutes, finally turn off oven and continue to bake for 2 minutes, or till crust turns lightly golden brown.

Ingredients

220g bread flour

20g superfine wholegrain flour 

3g wet tea dust, squeezed dry

30g raw sugar

1g instant dry yeast

50g natural yeast/sourdough, 100% hydration

30g yudane dough^

120g sweet black tea, cold 

20g whipping cream

10g beaten egg 

24g cold water, to be added depending on dough condition

3g low sodium salt

20g unsalted butter

Glaze

Milk + whipping cream + egg

* 50g natural yeast can be replaced by 25g each of bread flour and water + 1/8 tsp instant dry yeast. Let the mixture stand for about 1 hour or more till it doubles in volume, before use. You can also keep the mixture in the fridge overnight and thaw it for 1 hour before use.

^ 30g yudane dough is prepared by combining 16g of bread flour with 16g of very hot or boiling water into a sticky dough. Wrap the yudane dough in cling wrap, and cool down before use. Use a silicone spatula to scrape out the sticky yudane dough from the cling wrap.

Directions:

1. Knead the dough following your preferred method. 

For my method, you can refer to my recipe Yudane Milk Bread. After kneading the dough to window pane stage, 

2. After kneading the milk tea dough to window pane, shape the milk tea dough into a ball, and keep in a plastic bag coated with a little cooking oil. Keep the dough in the fridge overnight.

3. In the next day, remove the outer plastic bag, and let the dough thaw at room temperature for about 90 to 100 minutes. 

4. Divide the dough into 10 portions, shape into balls and let them rest for about 15 minutes.

5. Roll flat a dough, and roll up the shaped dough starting from the longer end into cigar shape with the seam side facing down.

6. Arrange the shaped dough over a non-stick baking pan. Spray some mist over, and let the shaped dough proof in a cold oven for about 60 minutes.

60 minutes later 👇

7. Remove the proofed dough from the oven. And start to preheat the oven to 190℃ for about 10 minutes. 

Brush some glaze over the entire face of the shaped dough.

8. Bake in the middle rack of a preheated oven. Lower the temperature to 180℃ after closing the oven door. Bake at 180℃ for about 10 minutes, lower the temperature to 160℃ and bake for 8 minutes. Turn off the heat and bake for about 2 to 3 minutes.

9. Let the hot milk tea buns cool down for a while before serving 😋