Halloween Steamed Cake

A nice aromatic steamed cake in pandan, vanilla and cocoa flavours, with a subtle tea scent coming from the black tea dust at the bottom layer.

Since Halloween is just round the corner, so just gave the cake a little spooky design using the cocoa batter 👻🦇👻🦇

video 📹

Ingredients

All ingredients in room temperature except cold eggs

Using 55~56g eggs

{A}

2 egg whites, cold

Pinch of low sodium salt

20g fine sugar

15g raw sugar/fine sugar

2 egg yolks, cold

{B}

60g top/cake flour

1g milk powder, optional

1/4 tsp pandan powder, optional 

{C}

50g low-fat milk

10g golden syrup/condensed milk

10g rice bran oil/mild flavour veg oil

1/4 tsp vanilla extract 

{D}

2g black tea dust, from 1 teabag

{E}

3g cocoa powder, mix with 

3g hot water, into a smooth paste

Directions

1. Start to boil about 130g of water in a small pot in medium-low heat. Cover the pot with a glass lid with a steam vent.

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

3. 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}.

4. Mix in 1/3 of {B} to {A} using an electric hand mixer.

5. Pour and mix in 1/2 of {C} mixture. 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.

6. Transfer about 1/2 of the batter into a bowl , and mix in 2g of black tea dust. 

Pour the black tea batter into a 135x45mm round pan lined with parchment paper.  Lightly rap the pan to level the batter.

7.  Pour the remaining 1/2 of the batter, keeping about 2 tbsp of batter for the cocoa batter, over the black tea batter. Rap the pan to level the batter.

8. Mix about 2 tbsp of remaining batter with cocoa paste under {E}. Transfer the cocoa batter to a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 10 nozzle, or a 5mm round tip nozzle.

9. Pipe the cocoa batter over the batter according to your desired design.

10. Lower the cake pan into the pot of boiling water, and stand on a steamer rack. Steam at medium-low heat for 5 minutes; lower to low heat and continue to steam for 10~12 minutes. Turn off the heating, without opening the lid, let the cake simmer for 5 minutes to gradually “cool down”. 

Open the lid carefully. 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. 

Black Sesame Pork Floss Steamed Cake

A sweet and savoury steamed cake with a greed for good flavours.

🔆 Top layer - added freshly roasted and ground black sesame seeds 

🔆 Middle layer - pork floss + green scallions + coriander stems

🔆 Bottom layer - flavoured by vanilla and pandan

Video 📹

Ingredients

All ingredients in room temperature except cold eggs

Using 50~52g eggs

{A}

2 egg whites, cold

Pinch of low sodium salt

20g fine sugar

15g raw sugar/fine sugar

2 egg yolks, cold

{B}

58g top/cake flour

1/4 tsp pandan powder, optional 

{C}

50g low-fat milk

10g golden syrup/condensed milk

10g rice bran oil/mild flavour veg oil

1/4 tsp vanilla extract 

{D}

15g crispy pork floss

1g green scallions, finely chopped 

1g coriander stem, finely chopped 

{E}

7g freshly roasted & ground black sesame seeds 

Direction

1. start to boil about 130g of water in a small pot in medium-low heat. Cover the pot with a glass lid with a steam vent.

2.  mix {C} ingredients in a small glass. Set aside.

3. 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}.

4. mix in 1/3 of {B} to {A} using an electric hand mixer.

5. pour and mix in 1/2 of {C} mixture. 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.

6. pour 1/2 of the batter into one 135x45mm round pan lined with parchment paper.  Lightly rap the pan to level the  batter.

7. scatter {D} mixture over the top of the batter in the pan.

8. mix {E} to the remaining 1/2 of the batter, and pour over {D}. 

Rap the pan to level the batter.

9. lower the cake pan into the pot of boiling water, and stand on a steamer rack. Steam at medium-low heat for 5 minutes; lower to low heat and continue to steam for 8 minutes. Turn off the heating, without opening the lid, let the cake simmer for 5 minutes to gradually “cool down”. 

10. open the lid carefully. 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. 

Spelt Milk Bread (1L Pan)

A small loaf of milk bread added with spelt flour. This slightly sweetened soft yet springy texture bread also suitable for making small personal sandwich for lunch 😋

Yield: 1 small loaves

Pan size: 17.5x10x9 cm 1 L

Raw dough weight: 427g

1st proofing: overnight, about 14~16 hours

2nd proofing: 55~60 minutes

Baking temperature: Preheat oven to 190℃ for about 10 minutes.  Bake at 190℃ for 5 minutes, reduce the temperature to 180℃, and bake for about 13 minutes, turn off the oven and let the breads bake for another 2 minutes, or till the crust is golden brown.

Ingredients

160g bread flour

25g spelt flour

25g raw sugar

2g instant dry yeast

Pinch of vanillin powder, optional

40g natural yeast/sourdough, 100% hydration*

20g yudane dough^

105g low-fat milk, cold 

5g whipping cream

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

3g low sodium salt

10g unsalted butter, softened

* 40g natural yeast can be replaced by 20g of bread flour and 20g of 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.

^ 20g yudane dough is prepared by combining 10g of bread flour with 10g of very hot or boiling water into a sticky dough. Wrap the yudane dough in cling wrap, cool down and refrigerate before use. Use a silicone spatula to scrape out the sticky yudane dough from the cling wrap.

 

Egg White Wash

1 tsp egg white

1/2 tsp whipping cream

a little rice bran oil

- mix and set aside

Directions:

1. Knead the dough following your preferred method. 

For my method, you can refer to my recipe Yudane Milk Bread. 

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

3. In the next day, remove the outer plastic bag, invert the dough, and let the dough thaw at room temperature for about 60 minutes.

4. Flatten the dough to remove most of the trapped air.

Fold in the two wings into a long dough.

Flip over and rest for 15 minutes, Cover the dough while resting.

5. After the 15 minutes rest, roll flat the dough to remove the air.

Flip over and roll flat again.

6. Roll up the dough, from the shorter end, into a swiss-roll-like.

7. Transfer the dough to a loaf pan brushed with homemade non-stick spread, or butter.

Spray some water over the top, and proof the dough in a cold oven for about 60 minutes, or till the dough double in size.

60 minutes later 👇

8. Start to preheat the oven to 190℃ for about 10 minutes. 

Brush the dough surface with egg white wash.

9. Bake at 190℃ for 5 minutes, reduce to 180℃ for 13 minutes, turn off the oven and let the bread bake for another 2 minutes, or till the top is golden brown.

10. Remove the bread from the hot pan soon after leaving the oven.

Cool over a wire rack.

You may want to brush a thin coat of soft butter over the hot crust before cooling down. This step is optional.

11. After the bread has completely cooled down, slice it into thick slices and enjoy with a spread of butter and dark brown sugar, or as sandwiches😋