Chinese Sponge Cake In Paper

Sponge cakes baked in folded papers are popular in neighbouhood bakeries. However, soft, moist and full of buttery taste sponge cakes in papers are rare. The golden sponge cakes wrapped in soft papers are so tempting, but often the first bite will sink you to a total disappointment - dry and tasteless. 

I am lucky to come across this very nice recipe by Rasa Malaysia. Try it to love it :)

Yield: 8 cupcakes

Ingredients

4 egg whites, room temperature

72 g fine sugar

4 egg yolks, lightly beaten

48g cake flour

12g corn flour

48g melted butter

1/2 tsp vanilla extract/orange zest/lemon zest

Directions

1. Cut one 50.8 x 38 cm large parchment paper into 6 pieces. Each piece measures about 17 x 19 cm.

Fold 2 times into a quarter. Trim the loose corners into curve.

Cut all the folded lines, leaving a length equivalent to the radius of your cupcake mould base. For example, the base of my cupcake mould is 5 cm, then I shall leave a length of 2.5 cm to the centre of the parchment paper uncut. 

The parchment paper will open into a clover leaf shape.

Place the parchment paper into the cupcake mould. Stack the cupcake moulds together with paper linings over each other to set the papers.

2. Melt the butter by keeping warm in a rice cooker for about 10 minutes. Remove from the rice cooker to cool down slightly before use.

3. Mix cake flour and corn flour in a bowl. Set aside.

4. Beat egg whites in a clean, grease-free mixing bowl till frothy. This process takes about 30 seconds to 1 minute.

5. Add in the sugar, in 3 batches, and mix using low speed. When the sugar has incoporated to the egg whites, increase the mixer speed to medium high. Stop beating when the egg whites pull up to a firm peak with slightly curl tip. This process takes about 3 to 4 minutes.

6. Add in the egg yolks, one at a time, to the egg white batter.

7. Sieve in the flour mixture and fold in in about 3 batches.

8. Scoop about 4 tbsp of the batter to mix with the melted butter and vanilla extract.

9. Return the butter egg batter to the egg flour batter and mix well.

10. Preheat the oven to 200 degree Celsius.

11. Pour the batter to the lined cupcake moulds to about the height of the mould.

12. After transferring the cake batter to the oven, lower the temperature to 175 degree Celsius and bake for about 20 minutes.

13. Allow the cupcakes to cool down before consuming. Enjoy :)

Recipe adapted from:

http://rasamalaysia.com/paper-wrapped-mini-sponge-cake-recipe/2/