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H om e
A bout
R ecipes
B rain food
D iscoveries
Fam ily
Food
R ecipes
G iftideas
chinese grandm a
05-Jan-15
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D uring m y 20s in N ew Y ork C ity,no w eekeend dim sum excursion to C hinatow n w as com plete
w ithouta steam ed sponge cake to take hom e a couple of dollars for a square so giant that even after
pulling off sw eet,cushy bites all the w ay hom e I w ould still have plenty for a snack later that day and
perhaps even the next.
Steam ed sponge cake is the rare dim sum item that is easily m ade at hom e.It has the springiness of
angelfood cake but a fuller flavor,like a regular om elet com pared to an egg w hite one.Its
Italian/French sponge cake cousin,the genoise,can be dry,butsteam ing m akes the C hinese version
softer and m oister,even w ithout the added butter of m any genoise cakes.
T his is a cake for snacking.Itw orks for breakfast not health food,but itis very eggy or to grab a
slice on the run.Its spongy texture m akes itconvenient for eating out of hand,unlike a regular cake
w hich w ould be too crum bly,and its light vanilla sw eetness is appealing any tim e of day.
I
ve m ade this cake m any tim es over m any years,and it is never quite perfect.B utI don
t m ake this
cake for its looks; a steam ed cake w ill never have the nicely golden crustof a baked one.It
s a cake I
m ake justbecause I like to eatit.
Y ou don
tneed a bam boo steam er to m ake this cake.U sually I justm ake itin the steam er basket of
m y pasta potafter lining itw ith w ax paper.B ut m ore attractive is to use a regular 8-inch cake pan.
Find a w ide,covered pot that w ill fit the pan,and the only trick is finding a rack to fitin the bottom of
the potthatw ill hold the cake pan above the boiling w ater.A s G race Y oung suggests in her classic
W isdom of the C hinese K itchen,you can also prop the pan on em pty 2-inch cans w ith the ends cut
out.
T his is one recipe thatcalls for an electric m ixer.Y ou can m ix m anually w ith a w hisk,but an electric
m ixer w illincorporate m ore air and m ake a lighter cake.
I like the purity of the egg-sugar-flour approach w ithout additionalleavening.B ut it is hard for m e to
geta consistent result,and often I get spots in the cake that are denser than others.
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I tried the genoise approach of beating the eggs over a hot w ater bath to incorporate m ore air into the
egg-sugar m ixture.B ut that cake ended up driest of all.A nd it took a lot longer to beat the eggs
sufficiently high.
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M y fam ily liked the sim plest egg-sugar-flour version best,w ith no baking pow der and no w ater bath.
It
s denser than the ones you
d buy in C hinatow n,and I still had a few spots that fell a bit (see the
darker yellow bits).B ut the kids loved the soft denseness of it.
O ld schoolC hinese cooks m ade this cake w ith a bow l each of eggs,sugar and flour,w ithoutthe aid of
m easuring cups or electric m ixers.B ut in the end,I think a little baking pow der m akes for a m ore
forgiving recipe.M y lastbaking-pow der version w asn
t visually perfect (left foreground below )
probably because I
m too rushed to siftm y flour or m ake sure m y batter is even butit w orks and
tastes like itshould.
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So restassured,as w ith all recipes featured here,perfection is notrequired.I have no doubtthe m ore
carefulam ong you w ill easily outdo m y efforts.B ut I think even an im perfect rendition w on
t
disappoint.
H appy C hinese N ew Y ear on Sunday! Y ear of the snake,or as the C hinese like to call it
euphem istically,
little dragon.W ishing double happiness to you all.
C hinese Steam ed Sponge C ake
O vens aren
tcom m only found in C hina,so bread products are often steam ed on the stovetop.This
light,eggy cake,sim ilar to a genoise sponge cake,is traditionally m ade from flour,sugar and w hole
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eggs.B uta touch ofbaking pow der m akes for a m ore reliable rise.A dapted from G race Young
s
classic W idsom ofthe C hinese K itchen.
Ingredients
5 large eggs,at room tem perature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking pow der (optional)
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
D irections
1. L ine an 8-inch cake pan w ith w ax paper or parchm ent paper.Identify a w ide pot or w ok that
can accom m odate the pan and a rack that can fit in the pot and hold the pan above w ater level
(you can also sit the pan on 2-inch high cans w ith ends cutout).A dd w ater to about 1/2-inch
below rack.C over pot and heat w ater w hile you m ix cake.
2. Sifttogether flour,baking pow der and salt.
3. A dd eggs to a large m ixing bow l.U sing an electric m ixer on high speed,beat eggs for one
m inute and add sugar slow ly.B eat for until m ixture thickens,aboutfive m inutes.
4. G radually w hisk flour m ixture into eggs.A dd vanilla extract.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan.Set pan on rack and cover pot.T urn heat to m edium and steam
untiltoothpick inserted into center com es out clean,about 20-25 m inutes.If you run out of
w ater during cooking (ie you stop seeing steam ),carefully add boiling w ater to pan.T ake care
w hen rem oving lid so that condensation from lid does not drip on cake.Serve cake w arm or
cooled.
N otes
If using different-sized eggs: total egg volum e should be about 1 cup.
C ake flour substitution: rem ove tw o tablespoons from 1 cup of all-purpose flour; replace w ith
tw o tablespoons cornstarch (aka corn flour).O r if you don
t have cornstarch,sim ply use the
sm aller am ount of all-purpose flour.
Y ou m ay also substitute alm ond extract for vanilla.
H ere
s the link to a printable version.
T his w ork,unless otherw ise expressly stated,is licensed under a C reative C om m ons
A ttribution-N onC om m ercial-ShareA like 3.0 U nported L icense.
{ 32 com m ents read them below oradd one }
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R eply
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m ay be
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I don
tknow how I m anaged to m iss this recipe after perusing your site so often.T hanks so
m uch for sharing your fam ily
s traditional recipes.W e adopted our younger (now alm ost 11
years old) daughter from C hina,and I w as w ondering if you
ve ever had a sm all C hinese pastry
filled w ith pum pkin? W hen w e w ere in Jiangxi Province,in N anchang,w e had this delicious
dessert sort of a crescent shaped,very sm all pie that w e w ere told w as
the C hinese version of
pum pkin pieand that pum pkin w as a big part of the local people
s diet in this particular area
during the C C R .I
ve searched the internet but haven
tfound the recipe.
R eply
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R eply
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S ubm it
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w elcom e
chinese grandm a is a philosophy about food,fam ily,health and practicality inspired by oldschoolgrandm as everyw here.It's about cooking good food,living a good life,and sharing
lessons learned.M ore about m e...
kitchen tour!
D id you see m y dream kitchen featured on the K itchn? T hanks to lovely m anaging editorFaith
D urand for a fantastic visitand for sharing m y balsam ic vinaigrette w ith her readers.
05-Jan-15
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favorite posts
Persim m on bread
Spinach dip (w ithout the m ix)
B roccoli salad w ith G reek yogurt,cranberries and alm onds
Pear torte
W ild rice confettisalad
Shredded kale and brussels sprout salad
T o search, type and hit enter
recent com m ents
JuneB ug: H I! I just m ade this.I used alm ond extract (1 tsp) but found the egginess w as
overpow ering though I loved...
kari: Y es i follow ed your directions exactly.
kari: H i! W hen m aking this itnever got thick? W hat did i do w rong? I double checked
the recipe to m ake sure I...
Fat D ave: T hanks for the m ention.G lad you enjoyed the recipe!
K at: T hese are great gift ideas.I hope you and your fam ily have a w onderful holiday.
H appy N ew Y ear!
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