How do I make delicious Taiwanese-style cakes?

February 7, 2016 9:50 PM

Asian bakeries seem to have the art of soft, squishy cakes down to a science... and I want to learn that science. Should I be using any specific recipes, ingredients, or techniques that will give me this texture?

What I am talking about are things like this taro-filled cake bar from 85 Degrees or pretty much any of the items on this page by Paris Baguette.

These cakes are not really a genoise. They are actually pretty sturdy but they are certainly not dry. And the texture of these rolls and bars indicates that these cakes are not cut into layers or anything but bake up at that thin height. I am thinking they might be steamed instead of baked (Previously). The ingredient list indicates that they are probably made with cake flour. They have a lot of spring but not a browned crust in sight. My only beef with them is the same one I have with most commercial cakes - they are usually too boringly sweet and artificially flavored.

How in the hell are these cakes made in giant thin, uniform sheets that are so dang tender?!

posted by Foam Pants to Food & Drink (10 answers total)

If I'm interpreting your photos correctly, I'd call this a Taiwanese or Japanese style sponge cake, and it seems from googling that the key to the texture is that they are leavened only with egg. If you want to learn to make the thin layers, probably the easiest googleable recipe is Hong Kong style Swiss roll. For a thicker cake maybe look for castella cake.
posted by town of cats at 10:30 PM on February 7, 2016 [2 favorites]

I am not a baker but I believe this is called a chiffon cake. Baked-- steamed cake tastes different. There are a ton of recipes online... if you search for Taiwanese cakes you probably want to add "- pineapple" so you can remove all the results for feng li su which is a much more distinctly "Taiwanese" item. They'll also be called Chinese, Korean, HK style, and Japanese cakes (Paris Baguette is Korean).

Here's a link to someone from 85 Degrees talking about their chiffon cake.
posted by acidic at 10:44 PM on February 7, 2016

Best answer: I think that JUNKO's Deco Cakes cookbook looks amazing and should have directions (+ directions to make spotted/striped/fish-y swiss rolls)!
posted by asphericalcow at 11:59 PM on February 7, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I've noticed that fatless mixtures, i.e. flour+sugar+eggs mixtures, usually end up with that sort of light, spongy texture - my mum calls them 'car sponge cakes' because (according to her) you could use one to wash a car. Baking the mixture in a wide, shallow tray means that the cake cooks quickly and uniformly with less browning, and only rises to an inch or two. Uniformity is going to be better in something made in a commercial bakery, but you can cook something approaching this at home. I think the lack of any fat and higher percentage of sugar in the mix tends to make such cakes a bit over-sweet.
posted by pipeski at 2:38 AM on February 8, 2016

Yes, these are sponges. The youtube channel Mosogourmet has a ton of videos making these kinds of cakes with recipes (in Japanese). One example.
posted by phunniemee at 5:20 AM on February 8, 2016

As far as I can tell, the cakes are usually either sponge or chiffon cake, or a hybrid between the two. It should be pretty easy for me to find some cookbooks with recipes for such cakes here; I could help you have a look at some of them to confirm this.
posted by destrius at 7:03 AM on February 8, 2016

Best answer: I make this all the time. It's chiffon cake and used as the base in many Asian-style cakes-- very flexible because you can flavor it with cocoa powder, green tea powder, red bean, vanilla, etc. The classic filling for Chinese bakeries is fruit (honeydew, cantaloupe, strawberries) and/or chestnuts.

It is not leavened only with egg; there is baking powder in the recipe. The trick is to not over- or under-beat the egg whites, and to fold the whites in properly. Also, make sure that the bowl in which you beat the egg whites is absolutely free of any oil. You can use cream of tartar to help make the eggs behave better as well. Sift the flour before you use it. I have tried cake flour with my recipe, but I don't really see a difference between using cake flour versus using all-purpose + corn starch. Don't line the sides of your pan with parchment paper-- lining only the bottom is enough; the cake needs to use the sides of the pan to "climb" up as it leavens. Depending on your oven, your cake may also benefit from being baked on the bottom rack of your oven with a pan of water to avoid cracking. Invert the cake while it cools to keep it from deflating too much.
posted by gemutlichkeit at 7:07 AM on February 8, 2016 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: I never made the connection between a British sandwich cake or Swiss roll and these Asian cakes. I'm from the land of yellow butter cake and chocolate frosting, so, sponge was never something I ate. After the responses, I re-examined the little cake sandwich I bought last night and what had appeared to be a thin smear of dark cream next to the smear of light cream was a very thin browned crust. Yes, not steamed! I viewed the videos and looked at that book by JUNKO. Yes, totally on the money. I found a few rather promising recipes for sponge cakes, one based on JUNKO's recipe and another site full of British-influenced Asian rolled cakes. Thanks for sending me down the right road and to gemutlichkeit for advice on how to avoid a cake roll disaster. Now that I have a better understanding of British cakes, too, I think this will inspire me to take on some British classics like a Victoria sandwich. I wonder if these Asian cakes were influenced by Britain's presence in Hong Kong or if they are an offshoot of a tradition from a Pacific Rim country. I can't wait to make an adorable JUNKO-style cake roll!
posted by Foam Pants at 12:46 PM on February 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

Yeah, it's definitely influenced by British colonization. I grew up drinking Ovaltine and Horlicks and honestly thought it was a Chinese thing, until I visited the UK and made the connection (d'oh). Also, egg tarts are a huge thing in HK and Guangzhou, and draws from the same influence! Portuguese-style egg-tarts are also a thing in nearby Macau. Very easy to make (certainly not as finicky as the chiffon cake) and very delicious! Enjoy!
posted by gemutlichkeit at 1:09 PM on February 8, 2016

Yeah you need to separate the eggs, and whip the whites to almost meringue texture. Fats are not banned; but use oil, not butter. Here's a recipe I've used to great success.
posted by smoke at 3:35 PM on February 8, 2016