February 17, 2006 | Suanne | Comments 49
Chinese Sponge Cake
To the Chinese, cakes are normally steamed rather than baked. Today, I steamed a very simple Chinese sponge cake made primarily from eggs. Total time taken to prepare this cake is less than an hour with 25 minutes for steaming.
Here are the ingredients:
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon almond extract (can substitute vanilla if desired)
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk (can substitute regular milk if desired)
- 4 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
This is a Green Tea Sponge Cake with the addition of one tablespoon of green tea powder (which was shifted with the dry ingredients). The colour turned out to be brown rather than green. I wonder why. Nevertheless, I like the green tea flavour.Here are the directions:
 The baking powder and flour are mixed together. |
 They are then sifted and set aside. |
 Mix the evaporated milk with the melted butter first. Then add the baking soda to it. Again, set it aside. |
 You will need four eggs. Crack it into a mixing bowl. |
 Beat the eggs. |
 Mix in the sugar and the almond extract. Make sure that the sugar is dissolved. |
 You then mix in the milk/baking soda/butter mixture to the eggs/sugar. Blend thoroughly using a whisk. |
 You gradually mix in the flour mixture and blend. |
 Whisk until smooth and completely blended. |
 Pour the mixture into a greased cake pan. I use a pie dish about 9-inch. |
 Bring the water to boil. |
 Place the cake into the pan with boiling water. |
 Cover and steam for 25-30 minutes. Use a toothpick to check when the cake is done. |
Remove the cake from the pan and slice. Best served when warm. Enjoy!
If you like steamed cake recipes, check out the following:
I’ve never steamed a cake before. I’m definately going to try this. Thanks!!
Let me know how yours turn out, Rosa.
I made it Suanne. This is soooo good!! I put it up on my blog, take a look. Thank you.
Hi Rosa:Glad you like it. We enjoyed your blog, especially on the sponge cake. You know what? The next time I make Malaysian or Asian desserts, I’ll alert you. I got a few ideas that I think you will like.Suanne
I can’t wait!!
Hi Susane..first time in ur blog…surprised to see a steamed cake…thnx alot i was waiting for such type of recipes…got to know ur blog from priya of dailygirlblog ..by the way..i dont have oven..can i bake the cake in a cooker?
Hi Haripriya,
This Chinese Sponge Cake does not need an oven for baking. All you need is a steamer on the stove.
I’ve been looking for this recipe for forever and a day. A friend of mine pointed me to this page after I was asking about ma lai gao. Sure enough, I made it, it was great, and so simple that even someone like me, who burns corn flakes, could make it. The only change I made was that I didn’t have a cake pan that would fit in a boiler, so instead, I used my vegetable steamer (2 cups of water steamed for 45 minutes). I’ve heard it’s even better with rice flour, that’s my next attempt. Thanks again for posting this, it’s good stuff!
http://jenndolari.livejournal.com/924874.html – with picture!
Hi there. I just found out your site from a friend. Your recipes are simple and looks great. I will surely give them a try. But I am wondering can I use self-rising flour instead of all purpose flour and baking powder? Most recipes require all-purpose flour but I still have self-rising flour left.
Hi Zhi Wei, you should be able to substitute the all-purpose flour and baking powder with self-rising flour. I have never try that though. Tell me how it turns out.
Hi,
I was looking for the recipe for making malaysian sponge cake and then I find this site which is really useful – thanks! One question though, you didn’t indicate which type of flour to use in your recipes – can I use self-raising flour?
Thanks,
Leanne
Hi Leanne, I use all-purpoese flour in this recipe. The recipe already consist of rising ingredients like baking powder and baking soda.
Hi Suanne,
I love your blog! I have tried with success the steamed banana cake but unfortunately when I tried to make this sponge cake, it was a disaster!! The cake did not rise at all (I followed the recipe precisely) and the cake texture was wet, spongy and sticky although I steamed for more than 30mins!
Maybe you can enlighten me on what went wrong???
Thanks!!
Hi Alexandra, it’s hard to diagnose what went wrong without seeing the actual process. But, I guess what could cause the cake not to rise is the freshness of the baking powder and baking soda. The wetness could be due to the condensation water dripping back onto the cake and you could overcome this by placing a kitchen towel between the cake and the cover and tide the ends of the towel up neatly on the cover for safety reason. Good luck on your next try.
your a star – great recipe. Any idea how this cake would be traditionally decorated? I understand it usually envolves fruit.
Hi I certainly agree that chinese sponge cakes are easier to make and are moister and delicious. the first time i tried this recipe, i came out with a very moist, eglliciously tasty cake. My dad who was chinese even recognized. thanks for posting.
Just wanted to say THANKS for this. I just made it and it came out GREAT!!!
It’s yummy. You rock!
Wow, I can’t believe it, I only had the healthy stuff in the house (whole wheat flour, skim milk (not even enough, so i added water), and brown sugar) and it still really reminded me of the ones you get at dim sum! Of course, if used the ingedients you posted it would really be the real deal. I’m so glad to have found this recipe. Thanks!
The recipe was good! I loved the texture of the sponge cake! It was totally spongy!
Hey there.
I made this and it turned out great (for me) but my dad prefers the Ma Lai Go from our favorite Chinese restaurant :(
I don’t bake at all, so I was hoping I can get some advice.
This recipe’s cake is much denser than the one my dad likes. The other one is lighter, more airy. I don’t know what changes I can make to make it so… will putting more baking soda/powder make the cake rise more and be more fluffy?
Hi Jaczie, I found this link (http://www.xanga.com/CantoneseCooking/561070644/ma-lai-go-sweet-steamed-sponge-cake.html) of making Ma Lai Go. Give this a try and let me know how it turns out. I will try to make this for Chinese New Year.
Hi Jaczie, just to let you know that I tested the recipe in the link from xanga but it did not turn out ok. I’m not sure if it’s due to my steaming utensil, the steaming water kept bubbling up and overflow into the cake batter. I suspect that initially the batter overflow into the steaming water and that cause the water to bubble up due to the baking powder effect. I tried twice and I got the same problem.
Hi Suanne!Thanks for the recipe. I made it today with regular milk and self raising flour and it worked out!The only problem was that it was quite dense. Should I add some baking powder to my mixture?
Hi Celine, self rising flour already has leavening agent like baking powder in it. I guess you can try add 1/2 teaspoon extra. I would also recommend you beat the eggs more to incorporate more air into the batter to achieve a more spongy cake.
Thanks!
I tried this recipe last night substituted with whole wheat flour and brown sugar (and vanilla extract and low-fat milk). It’s grainier and less sweet than the ma-lai-gao at the restaurant. A little bitter because of the “not sweet enough” factor. I like it and my baby girl loves it. That’s all it matters! Thanks for the recipe!
I’m glad I found this site with lots of easy to follow photos. I tried this cake last night, but it turned out more like a ‘kuih’ (Malay dessert), and there were big holes inside. The only change I made was to use brown sugar and I put in the baking powder into the margarine before adding the milk. Could this be the reason why?
Nice recipe. I used ice cream soda drink to make it fluffy.
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