My Steam Chinese Sponge Cake Dan Gao

This steam Dan Gao or sponge cake is often present itself during the Chinese New Year festival with a red dot on the center. It always the first item I want to eat before anything else. I can’t put my finger on it, but it has a uniqueness that only childhood memories could make you appreciated this cake even more so. It not like your average baked sponge cake. It one more dense and less airy, yet it have it own distinctive taste that just melts in your mouth. I can really eat this cake all day long! Of course it being steam is doesn’t make it less fat content, even though it tasted lighter. Everything is moderation is always best.
Beside the paper cup sponge cake, this is one of my favorite cakes that I often buy when I do happen to go to Hong Kong bakery in Torrance. They make this cake nice and moist and right out of the steamer every time I order them. If you really want to try this out, I know that some Dim Sum place do serve this tasty treat. So next time if you do see it, don’t hesitate to try some!

Ingredients:
3 Cup of cake flour
½ Tsp of baking powder
½ Tsp of almond extract or prefer flavor
½ Tsp of butter/vanilla emulsion
6eggs
1 Cup of granulated sugar
Methods:

1 Put half of water in the steamer and bring to a slow boil.
2 Shift the flour and baking powder together and set aside.
3 In a mixer whip the egg until creamy and then add the sugar, butter/vanilla emulsion and almond extract.
4 When the egg turns pale yellow and double in volume. Slowly add the flower and mix well.
5 Pour the batter into a grease baking pan of desire size and put over hot boiling steamer.
6 Steam for 45 minutes or until the pick comes out clean when poke in the center.

Let cool and serve plain or with fruit topping.

Babies Theme Cake

Sorry been away for so long. With all that going on in my life right now, I have too much to get process all at once. Anyway, glad to get back on track and start to post again. Now let get started.

In this past couple of months I had made two cakes. One was for my baby boy 1st Summer Lua birthday bash. Therefore I decided to make an island inspired cake with teddy grams and fishes splashing around the water oasis. I used the same Asian sponge cake recipe and whipping. I got this idea from Parent’s Magazine and decided to do a Lua thyme with it. It was a great success! We had great food, great time with families and friends.

The second cake was for my little princess 3rd birthday. For some reasons, maybe because it winter and cold outside, we never have a chance to make her a lavish birthday party…including this year. In quote from my cousin “this is the saddest birthday party ever” of course maybe it is because we didn’t invited anyone. We just want to celebrate our princess birthday on quieter note. Just with the people that love her most, her family.
Now as for the cake, it was not hard to make at all. It was just a little tedious work with all the gum paste coral that was made overnight, but it turn beautifully. And the plus side was that she had fun helping me roll and cut them too! It was a great way to spend quality time with my birthday girl. As for the icing, well that wasn’t too hard, but a bit of a mess to clean up. In the end it was all worth the effort and time. As a mom, I feel that whatever little I have, I will make it an effort to do whatever I can for my kids big or small. And hopefully they can pass this tradition down to their own kids one day with sweet memories of growing up.

Here are the recipe for the Asian sponge cake and whipped cream icing..All you need is some food colors and creativity...
Babies Birthday Cake

Duran Cake

I made this cake for my daughter 2nd birthday awhile back. Although, it was a very rich cake, but it very good because it light in sweetness. I love that in Asian cake, everything is very fluffy and light making it feels like you're eating cotton candy just with very little sugar. I can never get enough of this cake, especially
with whipped cream and duran filling! This cake recipe is not for the fainted heart that doesn't like the taste or the smell of duran. So thread with caution!

Ingredients:

Duran Whip Filling

1 Cup heavy whipping cream
½ Cup mash frozen duran
1 Cup powder sugar
1 Tbsp of clear gelatin
3 Tsp of hot water

Methods:

1. In a cool metal bowl whip the egg to foam.
2. While the heavy cream is whipping, dissolve the gelatin and powder sugar into hot water until melt.
3. Pour the mixture into the whip cream and beat until almost whip cream stage.
4. Add the duran.
5. Place in the refrigerator to set, about 45 minutes.

Whip Cream Icing

2 Cup of heavy cream
1 Cup sugar
1 Tbsp of clear gelatin
3 Tbsp of hot water

The method is the same as the above just without the duran being added.

Asian Chiffon Cake

1 ½ Cup of cake flour ( for 1 Cup of flour used only 6 to 7 eggs)
½ Tsp of baking powder
½ Cup of Sugar + 2 Tbsp
¼ Tsp cream of tartar
½ Cup of water
¼ Cup of oil
1 Tsp of vanilla extract
9 Eggs separated

Methods:

1. Preheat over to bake at 350 F.
2. Shift the cake flour and baking powder.
3. In a blender, blend the oil, sugar and water.
4. Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract, blend on medium for a couple of minutes.
5. Slowly pour the flour and blend well or until pale yellow and fluffy, about 1 minutes or so.
6. In another cold metal bowl, whip the eggs white to foamy, add the cream of tartar and sugar to stiff. When you turn the bowl upside down, the egg would stay in shape and not off.
7. Now slowly fold the flour into the eggs white. Do not over mix or it will deflated.
8. Grease two 8 inches round pan and lined with parchment paper on the side. Slowly pour the batter into it.
9. Bake for 35- 45 minutes or until golden amber and a toothpick is clean when poke in the center.
10. Remove from oven and let it cool for 5 minutes. Then move to a cake rake to cool for at least a couple of hours or more.
11. When the duran cooled, spread the duran icing between the two or four layers.
12. Ice the outside and top of the cake with the whip cream icing.
13. Using the ready made fondant, color and decorated as desired.

Mango Mousse Cake

Latest update version of it. Using less mango and more gelatin with more staining.



For my son 12 birthday, I decided to make him this mango mouse cake since he love anything mango. Beside I can’t let mango season pass by without celebrating it with this melts in your mouth Asian style cake. I’ve always been fascinated with this cake and often ponder on how it is made and why is tasted so different from the American cake version. Now the reason I mention this is that Asian sponge cake tend to be very delicate and less sweet, due to the fact that they like to use whipped cream icing. As for the American sponge cake are hard and it uses butter cream that is super sweet. I don’t really have a taste for that latter version.

After years of research and many mistakes and errors I learnt a few tips and techniques to perfect my Asian cake version, but this is my first time making the mango mousse version. Although I made the mouse a bit runny, due to the fact that I over saturated it mango that was too chunky, it turn out very good taste wise. We actually finished the cake in one day, between the four of us! And this will not be the last time. There will be many more attempts and errors. Hopefully I will perfect it next time around. Now I can’t wait until another birthday comes up.





Ingredients:

For the mousse

6 Large mangos

• Peel the mango and puree it with a half cup of water.

For the fruit glaze:

1 Tbsp of clear gelatin
3 Tbsp hot water
• Dissolve the gelatin in hot water when ready to do the fruit topping.

For the chocolate designs

1 Dark chocolate bar
1 Milk chocolate bar

Melt in microwave for 1 minute. Stir it every 30 seconds to blend.
Remove from microwave and leave for 5 second or until slightly cool, dip two fingers into it and spread it on parchment paper to dry. To make the top design, just scope some on a spoon and carefully make your zig zag design. Let it set for 30 minutes.

Mango Mouse

1 ½ cup puree mango
1 ½ cup heavy whipping cream
¼ Cup powder sugar
2 Tbsp of clear gelatin
2 Tbsp boil water

Methods:

1. In a clean cool metal bowl mix the heavy whipping until form.
2. Add the sugar and whipped until whip cream stage.
3. Add the mango and blend well.
4. Add the clear gelatin into the hot water until fully melt and slightly thicken.
5. Let it cool for about 1 minute then blend in with the whipping cream.
6. Place in the refrigerator for a 1 or so to stiffen some more.

For the mango glaze

1 Tbsp of clear gelatin
½ Cup mango puree
3 Tbsp of hot water
½ Lemon juice
2 Tbsp of sugar

1. After the cake is fully glazed, wrap a piece of parchment paper 2 inches about around the cake.
1. Heat the water to hot, add the clear gelatin and stir until melt.
2. Pour the gelatin in the mango puree adding the lemon juice.
3. Pour on top of the cake and let it sit for 30 to 45 minute to sit in the refrigerator.


Asian Chiffon Cake

1 ½ Cup of cake flour ( for 1 Cup of flour used only 6 to 7 eggs)
½ Tsp of baking powder
½ Cup of Sugar + 2 Tbsp
¼ Tsp cream of tartar
½ Cup of water
¼ Cup of oil
1 Tsp of vanilla extract
9 Eggs separated

Methods:

1. Preheat over to bake at 350 F.
2. Shift the cake flour and baking powder.
3. In a blender, blend the oil, sugar and water.
4. Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract, blend on medium for a couple of minutes.
5. Slowly pour the flour and blend well or until pale yellow and fluffy, about 1 minutes or so.
6. In another cold metal bowl, whip the eggs white to foamy, add the cream of tartar and sugar to stiff. When you turn the bowl upside down, the egg would stay in shape and not off.
7. Now slowly fold the flour into the eggs white. Do not over mix or it will deflated.
8. Grease two 8 inches round pan and lined with parchment paper on the side. Slowly pour the batter into it.
9. Bake for 35- 45 minutes or until golden amber and a toothpick is clean when poke in the center.
10. Remove from oven and let it cool for 5 minutes. Then move to a cake rake to cool for at least a couple of hours or more.
11. When it cooled down. Ice one of the layer in the mango mousse or cut each layer into two so and ice between each to make four layers cake. If you’re using four layer, use the mousse sparingly or you won’t have enough all around. Or you can double your mousse batch. Finish off the mousse by icing all over the cake. Let it set in the refrigerator for at least 45 minutes.
12. After the 45 minutes, remove and lined the side with a parchment paper tightly. Making sure that non of the glaze would drip to the side.
13. Pour the warm mango glaze over it evenly.
14. Now for the fruit topping. Just dip the fruit into the warm fruit glaze and coat evenly.
15. Place it in your desire design.
16. Place it the refrigerator about 45 minutes to let it set.
17. Remove from the refrigerator and remove the parchment paper and decorate the side of the cake with the harden chocolate on the side and on top if desire.

This cake is best serve cold. And leave in the refrigerator to harden the glaze and when not serving.