Cooking and Baking Laboratory: sponge cake

November 15, 2008

Steamed Rainbow Sponge Cake (Bolu Kukus Pelangi)

This cake is very famous kind of steamed sponge cake in Indonesia. People usually call it Bolu Kukus Pelangi. Pelangi or rainbow is presented by its colorful batter. I’ve seen people add various food coloring such as red, green, yellow, and blue. But, I choose to make it not so colorful and add some raisins.

Ingredients:

3 low cholesterol organic eggs
⅓ cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cake emulsifier
½ cup wheat flour (medium protein/all purposes flour)
100 ml low fat milk
A drop of cocopandan pasta for red color as much as necessary
A drop of pandan pasta for green color as much as necessary
2 tablespoons raisin

Instructions:

Set the cake pan. Cover with thin layer of margarine. Set aside.
Set the steamer. Assure the steamer has enough steam before put the cake in.
Beat eggs and sugar until the sugar well dissolve and the color turn pale/white. Add cake emulsifier.
Add baking powder. Mix it until well improved or become smooth.
Set the mixer in low speed.
Add flour and milk little by little alternately. Mix it only for a while just to make sure the batter is mixed homogenously.
Separate the batter into 3 parts. Give part 1 the red color, part 2 the green color, and part 3 give it no color (I try to reduce using food coloring/additive).
Pour the part 1 into cake pan. Steam it for about 5 minutes in medium heat.
Pour the part 3 into it. Spread the raisin. Steam it for about 5 minutes.
Pour the last part, that green batter. Steam it again for about 20 minutes.
Turn off the heat. Take it out. Cool it in room temperature then unmold it
Slice it and ready to serve.

(fit for 8-10 slices)

Caution:
If you can’t use glass steamer cover, you need to wrap the cover with a clean napkin to prevent water flecks drop onto your cake surface. The flecks will cause your cake surface become billowy.

Steamed Sponge Cake: Indonesian Bolu Kukus

This is my first try…

I added soda water too much. Thus, the batter was so watery..and the outcome was so embarrassing..hehehe. They didn’t blossom at all.

And below, my second try. Not so good but yeah it was okay I think. I poured the batter to tin cups fully without considering they would blossom so large like that. Whatsoever is too much is not beautiful indeed.

This is my mother recipe with some modification:

Ingredients:

200 g white sugar
2 large low cholesterol organic eggs
1 teaspoon cake emulsifier
250 g wheat flours with medium protein
½ teaspoon vanillin crystal
50 ml low fat diluted milk plus 100 ml soda water
1 teaspoon chocolate powder

(Result: 16 cups, but it depends on how much you pour the batter)

Instructions:

Cover tin cups with cake paper or parchment paper
Boil the water in steamer. I’d rather use steamer with glass cover, so I can watch what happen inside. When you use glass cover steamer, you do not need cover it with napkin to prevent water dropping to the cakes. The glass will prevent it for you
Stir well egg yolks. Add sugar until the color turn into white or pale color
Then add cake emulsifier (I used ovalet) and vanillin crystal, mix until the batter turns into a smooth one
Put in turns half portion of flour and half of milk with soda water, back to back. Mix well. Stop when the batter turns into appropriate texture or consistence which is the batter not only too watery but also not too sticky
Take about 10 tablespoon of the batter, put it in a bowl. Then mix it with chocolate powder
Pour the uncolored batter into covered tin cup. Not too much, until ¾ cup. Pour the top with chocolate batter about 1 or 2 teaspoon
Steam them for about 15 minutes with medium heat. Lower the heat for about 5 minutes
Turn the heat off and they ready to serve.