Recipe: 白糖糕, Quick & Easy Pak Tong Ko

steam: 22 minutes, ferment: 2 hours (White sugar flavour)

steam: 22 minutes, ferment: 2.5 hours (Pandan flavour)

Chinese Steamed White Cake

• (A) 115 g rice flour + 20 g wheat starch + 150 ml water
• (B) 2 pandan leaves (knotted) + 1/4 tsp salt (or less) + 95 g sugar + 150 ml water
• (C) 1/2 tsp instant yeast
• (D) 1/2 tsp oil + (dilute a pinch of baking soda with 1/2 tbsp water)

*Replace sugar with brown sugar for Brown Pak Tong Ko
*Add 10 ml pure pandan juice for Pandan/Green Pak Tong Ko (adjust water accordingly)

1. Mix (A).
2. Boil (B) and simmer with low heat until fragrant (about 2 minutes). Remove pandan leaves. Pour to (A),stir well.
3. Add (C) into the lukewarm (not hot) mixture, stir well. Keep it cover and set aside to ferment until tiny air bubbles appeared on the surface of the mixture (about 2-3 hours).
4. Bring water to boil in a wok/steamer together with a 4" x 8” greased baking pan.
5. Add in (D) to the mixture, stir well and pour into the pan. Steam at medium-high heat for 20-23 minutes (when skewer comes out clean).
6. Cut the perfect slice of cake when it is cooled. Enjoy!

Notes:

• Yeast die instantly at 60 Celsius. Safe at 48 Celsius. Optimal between 30-37 Celsius.

• Lukewarm = slightly warmer than body temperature, between 36-42 Celsius...not burning with finger test.

(A) batter

                                  (A) + (B) mixture

(A) + (B) + (C)

Yeast dissolved completely

Cover and ferment for 2 hours or more

Tiny air bubbles appeared on the surface

 4" x 8" greased baking pan, preheated in the steamer