Ji Dan Gao (Steamed Egg Cake)

Annyeong! Ji Dan Gao is an old school delight that many people fondly remember as the snack that they used to nom on when they were young. My parents and older siblings are one of them as well. For myself, I do not remember eating this when I was young... Or maybe I was too young to remember then. I made this couple of weeks ago but it failed to turn out well. Maybe it was due to the baking powder that I used, the cake did not rise up well and hence resulted in a stiff cake. I cannot let it go that I failed, hence today I tried my luck again and hurray, I SUCCEED! You know, nothing tastes better than success.

The cake turned out to be really soft and fluffy. I believe it is due to the fact that it was steamed. Steamed food just have this alluring factor. Another interesting fact is that this cake uses carbonated drinks for it's soda that makes it rises up. The most important reason why I love this cake is that IT IS TOTALLY OIL FREE!!! Not a single drop of oil is used at all. Therefore, it made washing up super duper easy!! I hate washing up oily dishes everytime after I bake. Also, the oil free factor made this cake very addictive. I had to control my hands that were constantly reaching out for more of the cake.


Hehheh, I used peach flavoured fanta! That's the only can of soft drink that I could find at home. Luckily the peach flavoured didn't turn out to be strong.

Recipe adapted from thelittleteochew

Recipe
- 220g eggs excluding weight of shells (about 4 large eggs)
- 210g caster sugar (I reduced it to 150g)
- 230g cake flour or top flour (sifted 2 or 3 times)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 tbsp cream soda or 7-Up or Sprite

1. Whisk the eggs till frothy, then start adding sugar a little by little, to ensure it is well-incorporated. Add vanilla extract and continue beating until the batter becomes very pale, thick and creamy. This takes time, and there is no shortcut. Meanwhile, heat up your wok, pot or steamer until you get a gentle boil. Do make sure it is large enough to fit the cake tin and has ample space for the batter to rise and the steam to circulate.

2. Fold in the flour in thirds, alternating with the soda, and ending with flour. Once there are no streaks of flour, stop.

3. To steam, either pour the mixture into a bamboo steamer lined with greaseproof paper or use a 6 or 7-inch lined baking tin. Pop it into the wok, pot or steamer - then cover - and steam on high for 30mins.

4. Once done, place the cake on a rack and allow to cool before slicing.

See the cotton-like soft and fluffy inside?
Some points to take note:
- Beat the eggs mixture until frothy, it should turn out to be creamy looking.
- Steam your mixture as soon as possible. Avoid letting it rest for too long. I separated my mixture into 2 portions and steamed one after another. The second batch turned out to be less soft. I believe it is due to the long resting time that caused the rising agent in the cake to be less effective.
- You can omit the vanilla essence if you have a stronger egg taste. I added vanilla essence but my parents commented that it tasted less egg-y as those sold outside.
- Reduce the sugar amount further if you do not have a sweet tooth. However, refrain from huge reduction as it would definitely make a difference to the texture of the cake.


Many many love for this awesome cake!

Easy and delicious egg tarts

I love eggs! I love to cook eggs in all sorts of method, steamed, boiled, fried and etc. No matter what's the cooking method, most of the time eggs just turn out yummy.

Yesterday I came back from school after lecture and it was raining, and boring. Thus, I decided to bake to kick away the boredom. Wanted to bake something not too time consuming, and egg tart is the one!

Bookmarked this recipe for quite a period of time and finally got into baking it. Initially I was skeptical of the recipe as I couldn't believe that it is so easy to make delicious egg tarts. I was totally wrong! The egg tarts turned out awesome, and i would definitely bake these egg tarts again for friends who didn't have the chance to try it before it was wiped out. Few of my friends tried them and they all gave me compliments! Thank you egg tarts for making today such a happy day for me.




the tarts sitting in the oven


Egg custard filling that is smooth and silky~

Pretty or not?

Adapted from bakingoncloud9

Recipe

Pastry
300g plain flour
2 tbsp custard powder
2 tbsp milk powder (I omitted this as I did not have it)
1 tbsp sugar (I used icing sugar)
50-60g egg (1 egg)
200g butter

Rub-in Method (cold butter)
1. Cut cold butter into small cubes.
2. Combine flour, custard powder and milk powder and mix well.
3. With fingertip, rub in the cold butter, add sugar, mix well. (until they combine and look like bread crumbs)
4. Add beaten egg, mix to form a soft dough (do not knead).
5. Wrap with cling wrap and refrigerate before use.

Filling
280g water
120-140g sugar
200g beaten eggs (3 large eggs or 4 medium eggs)
80g evaporated milk
Few drops pure vanilla extract (optional)

1. Heat up water and sugar till sugar dissolved. Let cool.
2. Add beaten egg, evaporated milk and vanilla extract and mix well.
3. Sieve 3 times. (Or more if you like)

Assembly
1. Roll into ball and press the dough into tart moulds.
2. Pour in the fillings till 80% full.
3. Bake in preheated oven at 180C for 20-25 mins, until tarts turn golden brown.

Additional notes:

1. I omitted the milk powder as I didn't have any milk powder at home. Wanted to find substitutes but because the recipe doesn't call for any water, I couldn't substitutes. (Milk powder + water can be substituted by milk, but I'm not sure how too) Furthermore, I was afraid that the milk taste would too be strong (which some people dislike it) hence i decided to remove it totally, praying hard that it's omission will not do any harm to the recipe. Thank god it works! Guess that milk powder is only added for the taste so it's alright to be removed.

2. Since milk powder was removed I tried to act smart and increased the amount of sugar for the pastry (I was thinking that milk powder is sweet), but it turned out to be a mistake and the tarts were a little too sweet for my family's preference. I would suggest that the sugar level in both the pastry and filling can be reduced. Well, that would lower down the amount of calories as well right? :)

3. I added in approx 1/2tsp of vanilla essence even though it is stated as optional. I like the smell of vanilla! I think it complements well with the egg custard.

4. I sieved the filling for... 5 or 6 times? More is better than less and does no harm right? Just wanted to make sure that the filling will turn out smooth and silky.

5. As originally the recipe is for MINI tarts, the baking duration is shorter. In my case, I baked in regular aluminium tart cases, hence the duration was slightly longer and maybe because the depth of the filling is deeper as well, the filling took longer to be cooked. I used a toothpick to poke into the filling and test if it is cooked.

6. There is another melted-butter method for the pastry (you can refer to bakingoncloud9's for instructions. I prefer the rub-in method :) Not very sure of the difference between the 2 methods.

7. This recipe yields 23 tarts.

Go try baking it yourself and you will taste its awesomeness!




Enjoy!