Steamed Rice Cakes / Cow Cakes (Banh Bo Hap)

Activating the Yeast

1. Heat 1/2 cup water to approximately 100 F (38 C). Add the active dry yeast and sugar and stir together. Let the mixture rest for 10 minutes or until it becomes frothy.

Making the Batter 2. In a large bowl, add the rice flour, tapioca starch and 2 cups water. Whisk together until the mixture is smooth and free of lumps. Add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture and combine well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the batter rest on the counter for 2 hours. (If making this during the winter months, please see the notes below.) 3. In a large measuring cup or bowl, combine the sugar, vanilla sugar, coconut milk and remaining 1 cup water. Whisk together until the sugar is dissolved. Microwave the liquid on High for 1 minute. Let the coconut milk mixture cool until the temperature is approximately 100 F (38 C). 4. Pour the coconut milk mixture into the batter and whisk together, combining well. Strain the batter. Pour the batter into 4 separate cups or bowls, approximately 1 3/4 cups in each. Add your choice of food coloring to each batch. Let the batter rest for 30 minutes.

Steaming the Cakes 5. Fill a steamer basin three-quarters full with water. Cover and bring to a rapid boil over High heat. 6. Using a small brush, lightly oil each of the muffin cups with vegetable oil. Place the empty mini-muffin pan into the steamer tray and steam for 1 minute. 7. Stir the batter a few times and then pour the batter into the muffin cups, filling each cup almost to the top. (Leave some room so the cakes can expand and rise.) Cover and steam the cakes for 3 minutes. Remove the steamer lid and wipe off the moisture with a kitchen towel. Replace the lid and steam for another 3 minutes. 8. Remove the mini-muffin pan from the steamer. Allow the Steamed Rice Cakes to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan. 9. A simple and delicious way to serve these cakes is to drizzle them with creamy coconut sauce and then top with roasted sesame seeds. 10. Refrigerate any remaining portions for up to 1 week. To reheat, warm in the microwave.

Yields: 5 dozen cakes

NOTES, TIPS & TRICKS

• During the colder months, the batter may not rise as quickly. To encourage the batter to rise, place the bowl in the oven with the light on and close the door. The light will generate additional heat and further activate the yeast. During the summer months (air temperature in the 70's), letting the batter rest on the kitchen counter is just fine.
• Use liquid or gel food coloring. Gel food coloring requires lots of mixing. Be sure to mix it into the batter evenly so there are no streaks or blotches of color. When adding food coloring, keep in mind the colors brighten when the cakes are steamed so go easy on the food coloring and don't add too much.
• Having two sets of mini-muffin pans is best. As one batch is cooling you can start steaming another one. You'll be able to make the cakes quickly. As an alternative to using mini muffin pans, use any small dishes or cups. Try to keep them about the same size so they are done steaming at the same time. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into a cake and if it comes out clean, it's done.
• Wrap a large kitchen towel around the steamer lid to absorb the moisture. This saves time as you don't have to continually wipe the lid as the cakes are steaming.

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Steamed Soft Cake (软糕)

Traditionally, soft cakes only have red colored swirls. I decided to have fun with my collection of 6 mini loaf pans and colored each cake a different color :).

I think the reason why the ones I made are so soft is because I used cooked glutinous rice flour instead of the uncooked version. The cooked version absorbed a lot of water so I had to add much more water than the original recipe for uncooked glutinous rice flour.

Ingredients: 113g cooked glutinous rice flour or kou fen (糕粉); 30g wheat starch; 11g tapioca or corn flour; 95g sugar (I used 90g but some may think it is not sweet enough.); 210g water (boil a few pandan leaves in 300g of water and leave to cool. Or if you are lazy like me, just use 1 tsp pandan flavoring.); 1 tsp banana essence (I used 1/2-3/4 tsp of strawberry essence); Liquid food coloring diluted in some water (about 1/8 tsp of coloring in 1 tbs of water); Extra kou fen for coating the cakes.

1. Sift flours into a big bowl and mix well with sugar.
2. Pour pandan water with essence into the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon to form a thick paste. Let it rest for 15 minutes before stirring until smooth and not lumpy (a couple of minutes of stirring will do).
3. Grease 6 mini loaf pans (2x4") or one 8" square pan with vegetable oil. Pour the thick paste into the pans. Smoothen out the tops of the batter by covering the surface with a cling wrap and pressing with your fingers (the paste is very sticky). Steam for 13-14 minutes.
4. Once removed from the steamer, immediately brush on coloring. (Notice that red is missing? I wasn't sure that my experiment would work so I steamed one first.) Let the cakes sit in the pans for 10 minutes before rolling into a cylinder. Remove from the pan.
5. Roll the cakes in extra kou fen. Coat evenly and shake off the excess flour.
6. Grease a knife with some vegetable oil and cut the cakes to the thickness of your liking.

Store in an airtight container. You may want to place baking paper between layers of soft cakes as they will stick to each other. To prevent the cakes from sticking, you may coat the cut surface with cooked glutinous rice flour but I didn't do that as I wanted the cakes to retain as much moisture as possible. The cakes were still very soft the next day! Will update on whether it is still soft after a few days.

Update: According to Ann, you can spread a thin layer of tau sar instead of food coloring before rolling the cakes. In fact, you can experiment with any spreadable filling of your choice :). The cakes remain soft after 3 days but in Singapore's hot and humid climate, it starts to get mouldy on the fourth day so do consume it within 2 days.

Source: http://lovingcreations4u.blogspot.com/2014/09/steamed-soft-cake-clearing-leftover.html

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Alternative version (video recipe)

Prep Time 5 minutes | Cook Time 20 minutes | Passive Time 2 hours | Servings: cakes

INGREDIENTS: 2 cup rice flour; 2 tsp tapioca starch; 0.50 can coconut milk (400 ml); 3/4 tsp active yeast; 0.50 cup sugar; 1/4 tsp vanilla extract; 1/8 tsp salt; 1 cup warm water; food colorings (optional).

1. Ingredients that we used.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together all the ingredients above, except food colorings, until smooth. (The water should be warm to the touch so that it won't kill the yeast.)
3. Cover with a lid. Let the batter rest for 2 hours or more. (The more time you let the batter rest, the more fluffy the cakes will come out.) If it is a winter season, place the batter in the oven or any warm place. In the summer, place the batter at room temperature.
4. After 2 hours, you will see air bubbles rise on the surface of the batter.
5. Give the batter a good stir and divide it into 3 equal portions. Then add your favorite colors into each portion. Stir well. (You can skip this step if you don't use food coloring.)
6. Grease cake molds or small bowls with oil. Place them into the boiling steamer. Pour in the batter until 3/4 of each bowl (so that it will have room to rise). Cover and steam for 10 minutes on medium heat or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
7. Enjoy!

Video: https://youtu.be/5YyETQE35aQ From http://www.npfamilyrecipes.com/recipe/steamed-rice-cake-banh-bo/