Crispy Red Bean Cake

While Minoo’s Salmon and Potato Chowder is in the making, Heidi showed us how to make a Taiwanese Crispy Red Bean Cake. We had to have both the demonstrations going at the same time as it takes time for both to be ready in the 2 hours of the community kitchen. Sometimes, I could miss a picture here and there but I always try my best to capture all the critical steps.

This Crispy Red Bean Cake is crispy on the outside and yet creamy and lightly chewy inside. The trick to have a crispy crust is to bake it at higher temperature first and then turn the temperature down later so that the crust will not burn.

Ingredients

• 400g glutinous rice flour
• 4 tablespoons rice flour
• 4 tablespoons wheat starch
• 2 tablespoons custard powder
• 100g instant coconut powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 5 large eggs
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups 2% milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 200g red bean paste

p/s: the brown sugar was missing in the photo.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F (180C)

Sift all the dry ingredients together, i.e. glutinous rice flour, rice flour, wheat starch, custard powder, instant coconut powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In another bowl, whisk or beat egg with sugar, one egg at at time, until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

Add in the oil…

…the water…

… the milk…

…and the vanilla extract and mix well.

Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk into a smooth batter.

Scrap the side of the bowl to ensure that mixture blends well.

Add melted butter to the batter and mix well.

This recipe yields two 8×8 inches square pans or 9 inch round cake pans. Grease and dust two cake pan. Measure one quarter of the batter into each of the pan. Bake the cake at a 350F preheated oven for 15 minutes.

While the cake is baking, divide the red bean paste into two. Place the red bean paste on a plastic wrap and cover with the plastic wrap. Shape the red bean paste into the shape of the baking pan.

Remove the cake pan after 15 minutes. Top the cake with the red bean psste. Use a fork to lightly press the red bean paste to the edge of the cake.

Pour another quarter of the batter oger the red bean paste, tilting the pan to cover the red bean paste completely.

Return the cake pan into the oven and bake for another 30 minutes. Turn the oven down to 300F and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove cake pan from oven and let rest for 20 minutes.

Turn the cake out onto a plate.

Slice and serve. Heidi, thank you for sharing and excellent dessert. I certainly enjoy this Crispy Red Bean Cake.

Categorized Under: 2009 • Cakes • Dessert

Tagged Under: Cake • Community Kitchen • Dessert • Recipe • Red Bean