Steamed Mah Lai Ko

After my blog about the failed Mah Lai Ko, my friend, Angie shared with me this tested recipe.  Angie loves to cook and I’m sure her recipe works.

I’m quite puzzled with the origin of Mah Lai Ko which has a name which indicates Malay Cake but yet, this is a popular dim sum item in Hong Kong Dim Sum restaurant.  Can anyone confirm the origin of the Mah Lai Ko?

The Ma Lai Ko turned out soft and airy.  It stays soft even the next day.  It is not too sweet and has a great caramel flavour to it.  This is a sure keeper.  Angie, thank you for sharing the recipe.

Ingredients

• 180g granulated sugar
• 110ml water
• 75g (about 5 tablespoons) margarine, melted
• 75ml milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 160g (about 1 cup + 2 tablespoons) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Click on the link below for the instructions.

Instructions

In a deep saucer pan,  caramelize the sugar until it starts to bubble.  Add in the water a little at a time as it will bubbles up very quickly. Cool the syrup in a icy water bath.

You’ll need 170ml of the golden brown syrup.

Combine all the rest of the ingredients and place in cake pan for steaming.

Steam on high heat for 30 minutes.  The cake turns out with a nice glossy topping.

Here is simplified version that I tried out later.

I made the simplied version using palm sugar instead of granulated sugar.  It turned out pretty good too.  The palm sugar just needed to be dissolved in boiling water and does not need carramelization.

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