Ma Lai Gou (Steamed Malay Cake)

Spongy and light steamed cake

Have you ever felt the sudden urge to make a cake and you really need to just execute it otherwise you know you'll be bothered until you do?


That happened to me yesterday night. Even though it was a work day I somehow felt I needed to try the recipes I gathered from the internet otherwise my day will be wasted by not doing what I really want to do and I won't get that day back. Time is passing and if you don't do what you want to do at that point in time, you'll never get back the time. You get the drift.


On a normal workday, I am out of the house by 8.30 a.m and back home 12 hours later, much to my surprise I managed to churn out 16 cupcakes on top of exercising, shower and a rushed dinner. There were a lot of multi-tasking and rushing I tell you. I felt like I was on Project Runway but I was truly happy that I was doing what I wanted to do on a weekday night. Didn't feel like a boring Tuesday night at all.


This recipe is from Cake Brain. Out of the few recipes I gathered, I used this one as it looked like a quick recipe and safe enough as it provides for a small portion. 


I altered the recipe and method a bit. Here's my version. 

Ingredients:-
(makes 16 cups)
3 large eggs (Grade A)
150g brown sugar (can be reduced to be less sweet)
125g plain flour
25g custard powder
1tsp baking powder (ensure that not expired)
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
115g melted butter
100 ml fresh milk

Method:-
Whisk the eggs with a mixer until smooth. Gradually add brown sugar and continue to whisk until ribbon forms (thick and pale).

Sift flour, custard powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda in a separate bowl. The more you sift the more airy the cake. I only sift once and I'm leaving it to the baking powder and bicarbonate to do the rest. Meantime, melt butter. I use our trusty oven toaster.

Add in the melted butter (cooled to room temperature) in the batter and fold in. Fold in the flour and milk and alternate between the two. Fold in gently and swiftly. Careful not to "burst the bubble".

Preheat the steamer. Ensure that water is at rapid boil before putting the cakes in. 

Pour the batter into cupcake liners placed in a muffin pan. (It would be good if you can steam the cakes in one go. I left the second batch out while the first batch was steaming in the wok and I found that the second batch did not rise as much as the first. If you don't have a 16 hole muffin pan, not to worry, use a 9" cake pan) Lightly cover the pan with foil to prevent water from condensation dripping on the cake. Steam on high heat for 35 minutes. 

--------------------------------------------------------------

When I was done, it was past midnight. The whole process took just over 2 hours. It was nice to do some late night "baking". Never done that in my life. I guess it's one thing crossed off my bucket list. *big grin*


I had a piece when it was still warm and it was delicious. Soft and airy but I'd like it to rise higher. I guess that's why some recipes call for double action baking powder. I never used double action baking powder. I wonder if using self-raising flour and baking powder will do the trick? I find the cake quite sweet for my taste, so reduce sugar if you prefer a lighter taste.

The cakes did not rise as much as I expected it to. Hence, the over sized muffin liners.

Happy Baking! xx