Steam
The Underused Technique My Mother Relied on for Her Cakes
Challenging the status quo of baking for years.
Steaming is such a grossly underrated cooking technique, especially when it comes to desserts. Sure, you’ll find many steamed dishes in East Asian cuisine, whether it’s the dainty dumplings served at dim sum brunches; spicy, citrus-heavy pla neung manao (Thai steamed fish); or salaciously supple chawanmushis (Japanese steamed egg custard). Even if you’re unfamiliar with Asian cooking, you’ve surely encountered steamed broccoli or carrot dishes that many vegetable-forward diets call for. But very little has been said about steaming’s potential in desserts.
In Chinese families like mine, the makeshift steamer—often just a wok half-filled with water, with a wooden rack instead of a proper steamer basket—is the most industrious of kitchen appliances. It is in some ways comparable to the ovens in typical American households. If you don’t know what to cook for a weeknight dinner, just throw it into the steamer for the steamed equivalent of a sheet-pan dinner. (Funny aside: We did have an oven in our home growing up, but like in most Asian families, it was used as a storage space for pots and pans and baking trays, instead of for roasting or baking. Heck, I didn’t even know of the oven’s capabilities until I saw Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson using it on cooking shows!)
So, growing up, many of my childhood dinners were steamed. Whether it was a whole chicken and grouper fillets, bundles of kailan and bok choy, egg custards and tofus, they were all steamed to softened perfection. But the true capabilities of our steamer came to light over the weekends, when mom would make sweet baos, dumplings, and classic Cantonese steamed cakes. And of all the treats she’s made over the years, it’s a steamed white sugar sponge cake that truly, ahem, takes the cake.
This steamed sponge cake, called bak tong gou (literally "white sugar cake") is a Cantonese classic often eaten at the end of a dim sum meal. It has the makings of a traditional cake—there’s flour, sugar, and a leavener (though perhaps an atypical one in yeast)—but through the process of steaming, it’s turned into something otherworldly, into a cake that breaks all expectations of what a cake should taste and feel like.
In stark opposition to the typically buttery, fluffy texture of a Victorian sponge, or even the airy consistency of a chiffon, bak tong gous are slightly tacky, chewy when bitten into, and pulls apart almost like a wet brioche. It’s a texture that’s unlike any other cake, and does take some getting used to. But as you chew on it, the cake will grow on you, as it gently disintegrates in your mouth and releases this supple sweetness that’s tempered with an unexpected tang from the yeast. It’s taste and texture is surprising to say the least, but really it’s only the tip of the iceberg of the sweet wonders steaming can produce.
A decade ago, bak tong gous were a common find in dim sum shops all over the world. But their popularity has waned since; you’d be hard-pressed to find them even in the most old-school Cantonese establishments nowadays. It is quite a pity, as I believe this cake to be a precious primer into the world of steamed desserts. Because not only does it surprise the palate, it boldly challenges the status quo of Western cakes, flipping our expectations on what a cake can taste like.
So as weird as bak tong gous might sound, I urge you to try it out for yourself. It really takes a first-hand experience to appreciate this wondrous, mold-breaking cake that only steaming can create. Trust me, before long, you'll be craving more steamed delights. And I’m glad to say that there’s a myriad of them—from sweet dumplings to lau sa baos (salted egg custard baos), layer cakes to ma lai gous (Malay steamed cakes)—all waiting to be explored.
| 1/4 | cup coconut milk, can be substituted with water |
| 1 | teaspoon (5g) instant yeast |
| 1 | cup (130g) rice flour |
| 1 | cup (250ml) water |
| 1/2 | cup (100g) caster sugar |
| 1/4 | teaspoon (2g) salt |
| 1 | teaspoon (5g) oil, for lubricating cake tin |
| 1/4 | cup coconut milk, can be substituted with water |
| 1 | teaspoon (5g) instant yeast |
| 1 | cup (130g) rice flour |
| 1 | cup (250ml) water |
| 1/2 | cup (100g) caster sugar |
| 1/4 | teaspoon (2g) salt |
| 1 | teaspoon (5g) oil, for lubricating cake tin |
Written by: Jun
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21 Comments
These sound wonderful. I can't wait to make up a batch!
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