Monday, July 07, 2008

Steamed Caramel Cake

I made this caramel cake on the long weekend. It was so hot and humid and I just don't want to crank up the oven so decided to make steam cake instead. This cakes turn out to be really soft, not too sweet and a nice sweet smell of caramel. The only problem I had with the cakes is it 'senget' (slant) to one side while steaming. I am pretty sure is not the fire because I made sure the steamer is right at the centre of the fire. Can someone enlighten me what I did wrong?

Ingredients:
150 g sugar
100 ml hot water
70 g butter
75 ml evaporated milk
1 egg, beaten
150 g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt


1. Place the 150g of sugar in a small heavy-based saucepan and heat gently until sugar melts and caramelizes to golden brown colour. Take care to keep pan on very low heat to avoid burning the caramel and remove pan from heat once it reaches a golden brown colour.
2. Pour the hot water into the caramel. Boil caramel for a few minutes until completely melted and a syrup is obtained. Allow syrup to cool and pour it out into a measuring cup (you need 160 to 170 ml)
3. Add the melted butter, milk and beaten egg to the cooled caramel syrup and stir well to combined.
4. Sift the flour and bicarbonate and salt into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the liquid. Gradually incorporate the dry ingredients into the liquid, stirring gently with a wooden spoon or balloon whisk for a smooth batter.
5. Fill small lightly buttered cups three-quarters full of batter and steam for 15 to 20 minutes.

Note : This recipe yield 7 very small cakes. If you want to make more just double up the recipe.

33 comments:

eatingclubvancouver_js said...

Looks so moist and soft! Is the crumb similar to ma lai ko (sponge cake)?

Zue Murphy said...

Senget pun tak apa asalkan yummy. Could it be because the steamer tak rapat?

Jun said...

Gert...i pernah buat this kue n it was senget as well...pon tatau why? hmmm...as long as rasa dia ok...x p la Gert, hehe.

Beachlover said...

Gert,it look like mah lai koh?/.I still didn't try to steam any cake myself yet!.Must try one day!!

Dwiana P said...

This is crazy, I miss this snacks so muchhhh!

Kak Elle said...

Gert thanks for sharing the recipe have always wanted to do this with a slice of banana on top:)

Little Corner of Mine said...

Looks so moist and delicious! Now I remember, it does look like my peekaboo steamed green tea cakes, do you think it's the baking soda?

Big Boys Oven said...

looks so good, better than ma lai ko! lol!

Yatie_T said...

Gert,
I agree with dwiana p.... this is crazy! Please sent me some... huhuhuh or even better if you move to Florida. hehehe

ICook4Fun said...

Eatingclub, its really moist and it does taste like ma lai koh :)

Zue, memang sedap. Nanti you datang kita buat lagi :)

Jun, I pun pening lah kenapa ia senget sebelah. I need to do some experiment with my steamer :)

Lesley, this cake is very easy to make and not much ingredients :)

Dwiana, make some for yourself and your family.

Kak Elle, hope you are doing well and I hope you like this recipe :)

LCOM, it might be the baking soda. I never see or eat peekaboo green tea cakes. How does it taste like?

BBO, its pretty much the same like ma lai ko

Yatie, bila you nak datang visit I. Nanti I buat this for you. We will move to Florida if you can find a good job for Carlos :) :)

Fitness Foodie said...

I saw a comic make fun of how when people eat cake they always have to say "how moist it is" hee hee it is true, but can't help but say that this indeed looks moist and yummy.

Dee said...

haha. looks so cute!

Dee said...

i want to dip it in Milo

Anonymous said...

They look incredibly soft and moist! I wouldn't mind a little slant at all! That certainly wouldn't stop me from polishing off the whole batch! I love this recipe! Thanks for sharing!

Unknown said...

This recipe looks amazing. I'm going to try it this weekend!

You might be interested in my website. There are some incredible recipes.

Thanks for the idea!

Kate

http://www.JustOnePlate.com

Anonymous said...

I'll tell you what you did wrong- provide me with an absolutely irresistible, unique recipe along with mouthwatering photos while I have a fear of cooking! No fair.

ICook4Fun said...

Parker, this is a really moist cake. You should give it a try :)

Dee, when you come home I will make this for you ok.

Girlcanbake, thanks for stopping by and hope you give this recipe a try :)

Just one plate, thanks for stopping by.

Anon, you are really funny. Why do you have fear of cooking :)

Anonymous said...

The only thing you did wrong was not make enough for everybody. Those Caramel Cakes look absolutely scrumptious!

Anonymous said...

Those cakes look so cute and moist. Very tempting. I've never tried to steam a cake before, definitely will now. Thanks!
http://culinarydelights.wordpress.com

Anonymous said...

Gert Gert, we have to meet up real soon.

Take care.Lee

Sharon said...

I'd love to make these. It's too hot to turn on the oven. Steamed cakes are so delicious and yours sounds amazing.

Unknown said...

oh gosh...i can imagine the richness of caramel...i want to try! thanks for the idea!

ICook4Fun said...

Marysol, sorry about that. The next time I will make more and make sure you come over and have some :) :)

Gourmet Treats, you should try out this steam cake as they are really moist. I am sure you are going to like it :)

Lee, let me know when :)

Sharon, thanks for dropping by. Yea is kind of hot to turn on the oven :)

Rita, let me know how yours turn out :)

Anonymous said...

I love this cake, in fact it was the first sweet I made for my husband, and we weren't together at that time though he had secret intentions, haha. Anyway the senget-ness is probably due to uneven heat, either its overcrowded so too little steam circulates in the middle or the cakes too crowded at the sides. I'm not sure of the type of steamer you use, is it the metal type straight on the fire or the bamboo type in a wok or something else?

Anonymous said...

I tried this recipe & the batter was enough for 2 shallow cake tin of 13cm diameter. The cakes turned out to be very soft, moist & delicious! The incredible thing is that I burnt the caramel slightly, the batter was bitter as well BUT the cake itself was not bitter at all!! I just starting to learn to make cakes & this is my first ever 'successful' cake. I will make this cake again & again for sure, but next round I will reduce the fat to 60g. 70g is a bit too oily. Anyone know if this batter is suitable for oven baking too?

lin said...

Hi,
can i use baking powder instead of bicarbonate soda??

Thanks..
Lin

ICook4Fun said...

Farhan, I too thought it might be the unevenness to the steamer heat. I used those aluminum steamer.

Anon, Glad that you like this cakes. You can always try baking it. Do let me know how it turn out.

Lin, I am not sure if you can replace baking powder with baking soda. You can always try it :)

mycookinghut said...

This cake is something that I haven't had for a long long time.. and I found it on your blog.. thanks!!!!

Anonymous said...

For my steamed cupcakes to rise evenly I put a cap over each one and make a little hole in the middle of the cap, large enough for the steam to go out but small enough to prevent the water that falls back from the lid of the pan to come into and ruin the dough. I have no idea if it will work with your recipe.

Ean said...

Hi, If I would like to use the pan instead of cup, can I ? i must use the bamboo tray?

ICook4Fun said...

Anon, thank you for the tip. Will try it out.

Ean, yes you can steam it either in a pan or bamboo tray.

julailala said...

Not sure about myself at all after trying this. First round ended because I did not add the hot water right away so the caramel was already getting hard and by adding the hot water it became a rock. Second round went better but I had hard lumps in my caramel that would not go away. I was not sure how dark it may get before being burnt? Then when the thing cooled down it was no longer liquid at all again but rather crumbly so I could not pour and measure it. I found myself smashing the caramel for quite a while trying to incorporate it in the milk and melted butter. I'm not sure what I did wrong this second time around. It did turn out as a cake but slightly dry for being steamed. Help!

ICook4Fun said...

Julailala, you might have over cooked the sugar. It should be the color of light honey then add in the water. After adding the water the heat should be turn down in order for the caramel to melt.