Steamed Dark Brown Sugar Egg Sponge Cakes without Baking Powder
Dark Brown Sugar Egg Sponge Cakes is another variation of egg sponge cake (ji dan gao). The fragrance of dark brown sugar will overpower the eggy smell which some people don’t prefer. It is important to make sure that the egg mixture is beaten until very stiff before adding in other ingredients so that the batter will not deflate quickly.
Sift dark brown sugar to remove the coarse part, measure out 110 g of fine dark brown sugar.
Bring the water of steamer to the boil in advance for later use.
Add salt and dark brown sugar to eggs, beat until combined.
Combine 1 Liter of plain water with 400 ml of hot water (from electric thermo pot) in a large steel bowl to yield warm water with temperature about 45°C/113°F.
Dip mixing bowl in warm water bath, beat egg mixture over medium-high speed for 5 minutes until stiff.
Combine plain flour and rice flour, sift through and mix well.
Add flour and milk alternatively into egg mixture in a few batches, fold gently with spatula until well mixed. Add in corn oil, fold until well mixed, then transfer to measuring cup.
Pour batter equally into 9 lined baking cups (7.5-cm). Arrange baking cups in steamer rack.
Steam over medium heat for 10 minutes.
Unmould Dark Brown Egg Sponge Cakes and cool on wire rack.
Video
Notes
The dark brown sugar used in this recipe is Cap Bintang Thai Gula Merah.The net weight for 3 grade B eggs is about 160 g. Beating egg mixture over warm water will shorten the time for it to become stiff. Make sure the water in the steamer is rolling boil before start steaming.