Sweets and drinksBaked GoodsVietnamAbout 1 hour 15 minutes
Banh thuan asks for patience at the egg beating stage. Done right, the cakes bloom open like flower petals, with a light, airy crumb scented with ginger and pineapple.
The tricky part is the heat, because the coals on the lid have to be hotter than the fire below for the cakes to bloom. Test the batter by dropping a bead of it into a bowl of water, and a bead that does not dissolve right away means it has been beaten enough.
This batch weighs about 1.6kg, at roughly 158 calories per 100g.
Method
Chop 100g peeled pineapple, blend it and strain out 50g of juice. Squeeze the limes for 40g of juice. Grate 50g ginger and squeeze out 40g of strong ginger juice.
Put 5 duck eggs and 2 chicken eggs in a large bowl, add 1/2 teaspoon salt and beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Add 40g lime juice and beat for another 3 minutes until the eggs are lightly foamy.
Add 405g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend slowly, beating constantly for 10 minutes until it dissolves. Add 40g ginger juice, beat for 10 seconds, then add 50g pineapple juice and beat at medium speed for another 10 minutes.
Add the arrowroot starch, 600g in total, one spoonful at a time into the egg mixture, beating about 10 seconds after each spoonful. Once all the starch is in, turn the mixer to its highest speed and beat for another 3 minutes until the batter is smooth and airy. Test it by dropping a bead of batter into a bowl of water, and a bead that does not dissolve straight away is ready.
Light the charcoal until it glows, then move coals onto the lid of the brass mold to heat both the lid and the mold. Brush a thin layer of cooking oil into every cavity. The fire on the lid needs to be stronger than the fire underneath for the cakes to bloom.
Stir the batter gently for about 5 seconds, then ladle it into each cavity, cover and wait 3 to 4 minutes. Once the cakes smell ready and have bloomed open like flower petals, lift them out with a skewer. Repeat with the rest of the batter.
Tips
Choose arrowroot starch that has been stored for a long time, or sun it and dry roast it for about 10 minutes, and the cakes bloom better.
The fire on the lid needs to be stronger than the fire underneath for the cakes to bloom.
Add the ginger juice and the pineapple juice in stages as the recipe sets out, since tipping them in at once collapses the beaten eggs.
Brush a very thin layer of cooking oil into every cavity before each batch.
Stir the batter gently for about 5 seconds before ladling so it stays even.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.