Steamed Sponge Cake

Cotton soft, fluffy, airy, moist — these are the sensations you’ll experience when you enjoy a plate of delicious steamed Chinese cake. This steamed sponge cake recipe is a Chinese sponge cake that requires no oven to yield a fluffy cake that you can easily get at a dim sum restaurant or a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown.

For those of you who have been with me for awhile, I have yet to get my own oven to bake all the goodies and cakes and treats I want in this world. I do have an oven for crafts though, but not for baking or cooking proper food. My hubby did promise to get me a fully equipped kitchen when we move to a new house. Hopefully, this dream kitchen and oven will materialize soon!

Anyways, for you bakers out there who don’t have a proper oven as i do, this great Steamed Sponge Cake recipe is perfect angel food cake but Asian style if you are craving something light and appetizing for dessert.

I’ve realized that Asian cakes tend to be more on the fluffier and softer side with a taste so light you can float to heaven in a bite. Likewise, this steamed sponge cake is simple yet appetizing with the additional lemon and cranberries taste. This Asian sponge cake is adapted from the original recipe from a local baker’s recipe book: Magic Steamed Cake, by Alex Goh, ISBN #: 978-967-5413-35-5, the original name for this recipe is Lemon Angel Cake.

As this sponge cake recipe is made by steaming, I initially assumed that the steamed sponge cake would be incomparable in terms of the fluffiness of a baked sponge cake, but I was delightfully wrong as it was equally as fluffy but a little denser as there is moisture in it.

This steamed chinese sponge cake is meringue-based hence it is sooo much healthier as it only uses a little oil in the recipe. It’s tailor-made for those who are on a calorie diet or a weight loss program. The steamed sponge cake has to be served fresh, for the longer you keep it, the denser it will be. Since it has to be served fresh, a smaller sponge cake will be the right portion for a small family. A smaller cake is easier to steam too. Hence this recipe serves only four slices of this sponge cake steamed.

STEAMED SPONGE CAKE

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Steamed Sponge Cake Ingredients

This chinese cake recipe is divided into four parts. All dry ingredients and wet ingredients are at room temperature unless otherwise mentioned. Unlike the Japanese cheesecake which is another soft asian cake recipe, this steamed chinese cake recipe does not require cream cheese or other ingredients like vanilla extract or custard powder.

A:

• Egg Whites
• Sugar
• Salt

B:

• Vegetable Oil
• Lemon Juice
• Water
• Lemon Zest

C: SIEVED TWICE (to get finer flour)

• Cake Flour (low gluten flour, super fine flour, but, not all-purpose flour)
• Baking Powder (double action)

D:

• Dried Cranberries (chopped and dusted with C)

If you are not a fan of cranberries you can easily remove it from this steamed recipe and increase the concentration of lemon zest or even add in vanilla extract if you want it to be more flavorful.

Kitchen Tools

Here are some of the kitchen tools you will need to make this sweet treat.

• 4 1/2 inch round cake pan (lined)
• Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer (electric mixer)
• Flour Sieve
• Kitchen Scale
• Measuring spoon
• Silicon or Rubber Spatula
• Steamer or traditionally lined bamboo steamer

I used a big wok filled with hot water at a water level that does not cover the small bowl of cake batter (it doesn’t have to be boiling water) with a tall steamer lid to cover and steam on my gas stove. If you are worried about any droplets of condensation dripping onto the top of the cake and forming large holes then you can place a cloth underneath the lid before you close the steamer lid.

Perfecting the Chinese Sponge Cake Recipe

Generally for meringue-based sponge cakes, whether they are steamed or baked, usually call for a separation of egg yolks and egg whites. Although it may seem intimidating especially if it’s your first time attempting a cake like that, honestly, it’s not as hard as it seems as long as you get a hand of it. Here are some tips on how to master your egg mixture and achieve the perfect cake batter.

• Place ingredients A, egg whites, sugar, and salt into a mixing bowl and beat with low speed then gradually increase to high speed when the foam is formed.
• Watch some videos on YouTube or familiarize yourself with some pictures online on what stiff peaks look like as you need to continue to beat until smooth and soft peaks, similar to a meringue batter but softer in stiffness.
• Make sure there are no egg yolks residue in A as they will not whip properly and it will be hard to get a proper meringue.
• Slowly and gently fold in ingredients C ( the double-sieved cake flour mixture and baking powder) until they are all combined well. Use a spatula to gently scoop from underneath the batter, rotating the bowl as you go to combine them well.

If you have tried this Steamed Sponge Cake recipe and loved it, I have more recipes in my recipe section for you to master. But if you are looking for other of my famous cake recipes then you can always try my Japanese Cheesecake, Matcha Cheesecake, Blueberry Cheesecake, Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake, and for those who want to indulge without guilt — Low Carb Cheesecake and Burnt Cheesecake both are keto desserts perfect for those who are in a keto or low carb diet.