Ma Lai Gao or “Malaysian Cake” as it directly translates to, is a popular cake that is enjoyed at dim sum restaurants in the South of China – Hong Kong and Guangzhou. It is a soft, fluffy, and airy cake that enjoyed warm and is mildly sweet. The key to this beautiful texture is the use of yeast (for fermentation) and also steaming (vs. baking). While it sounds rather strange, this actually yields a gorgeous fluffy, airy texture that this cake is known for. It’s one of my childhood favorites. I have many fond memories of a large bamboo steamed being bought out at the end of a Saturday dims meal, so hot that it often comes out on a plate with a cloth. Once the steamer basket opens, smoke fills the air, and gradually you see this beautiful caramel-brown cake with beautifully cut lines in the center. It’s always such a wondrous sight – I often thought it was like a magic show. The cake is then divided quickly, because it’s best served hot. And because it’s so hot we’re often using our chopsticks to hold onto the cake. Once the chopsticks touches the cake the airy cake just bends in from the weight of the chop sticks because its so soft!
It’s been a while since I’ve had a slice since it’s not a gluten free treat and honestly I’ve never had or seen a gluten free version of this. When we first took our husbands home to Hong Kong, we had many opportunities to take them to family meals where they enjoyed this beautiful dessert. And yes – they absolutely loved it! Loved it so much, that my husband came home and helped me develop this recipe! I have to admit I’m pretty proud of it because I have to say its VERY GOOD for a gluten free version!
A few tips that I’ve learnt as I’ve made this:
(1) Oat flour – you have to use store bought oat flour. It difficult to get fine grains from blending it at home
(2) Please follow the weights provided in the recipe. Like with any baking, weighing is always the most accurate way of making a recipe, and we would recommend doing so here to get the exact texture.
(3) We’ve experimented with different types of sugar (allulose, stevia) and we have to say “real sugar” like coconut sugar works best! But it is not impossible. We have some alternatives listed in the notes section, but will forewarn that it will not yield the exact same result
(4) Please ensure your yeast is still active. Try not to use old yeast here. Also the yeast here is not meant to be a leavening agent, but rather to give it the familiar fermented tasted from traditional ma lai gao
- 120g oat flour (store brought)
- 30g glutinous rice flour
- 1 tsp instant yeast
- 4 eggs (approximately 227g), beaten
- 150g Coconut Sugar*
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 40g olive oil
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- [b]in a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar, soy sauce and vanilla until well combined (sugar is dissolved) using an electric whisk. Optional if the weather is too cold, Prepare a water bath by filling a larger bowl with hot water (hottest water from the tap, you don’t want to use boiling water) then place a smaller bowl with tall edges in the water bath. Place the eggs, sugar, soy sauce and vanilla in the smaller bowl and whisk. Be careful not to have water spill over! You are essentially warming up the batter here gently.
- Add in the yeast and olive oil. Sift in the flour. Beat until the batter is smooth. Do not over mix, until just combined.
- Cover with a damp towel and set aside.
- Preheat oven for 200F for 1-2 mins and turn it off. Place your bowl inside covered with the towel and let it ferment for 3 hours. This allows the batter to rest at a warm temperature.
- hours later check on the batter. You should see bubbles. Since there is no gluten, the mixture will not increase in size. Yeast is there to add flavor!
- Once ready, prepare your steamer. If you don’t have one it’s easy to make a DIY one you just need a large pot with some water and a bowl/rack so the cake tin can sit on top of it! If you have a steamer, fill it with water and bring to boil. The water should be just under the rack.
- In the meantime, sift in baking powder and baking soda into the batter and mix until all lumps are clear. Do not overmix.
- Line a 8x8 baking pan OR a 7 inch cake pan with parchment paper OR oil the pan generously. Pour in batter. Make sure it’s leveled.
- Place in steamer and steam for 20 mins over high heat. You want to put a cloth over the cover between the batter and the cover to prevent water droplets from the steam falling onto the cake.
- After 20 mins, turn off heat and let it sit for covered for 5 mins.
- Carefully remove the pan from the steamer and place onto a heat pad. Let it cool slightly and cut in 12-15 slices. (5 x 3 slices rectangular slices). This is best served hot.
- It can stay good in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. Make sure to heat up before enjoying!
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