Steamed Ma Lai Gou （马来糕）

 

Today I will share with you how to make Malay kuih also known as “Ma Lai Gao”.  A steamed sponge cake from Malaysia, drew inspiration from British cakes. Later, Cantonese chefs modified it to become what we now know as dim sum.

Traditionally, Ma Lai Gao's starter dough takes 24 hours to prepare. I'll show you how to make Ma Lai Gao quickly and easily today without losing out on texture or flavour.

In fact, the appearance of “Ma Lai Kou” is very ordinary, not much different from ordinary cakes on the market, but its preparation method and texture are worth learning from. Because it is a fermented flour product, it has a soft and smooth texture.

This recipe doesn't require baking, and the preparation of “Ma Lai Gao” is very simple, and the ingredients are divided into dry and wet. The wet ones are milk and eggs, while the dry ones are powdered ingredients. To put it simply, stir the wet ingredients evenly first, then slowly add the dry ingredients, ferment and then steam them. 

To speed up the fermentation, I keep the batter on the middle or upper rack of the oven, close the oven door with a glass of hot water beside the dough. The steam and heat from the hot water will create a warm ad steamy environment for the batter.

I am using Molasses Sugar or dark brown sugar for this recipe. Thus, this Ma Lai Koh has rich Gula Merah flavour and deep brown sugar colour. It needs to be sifted before using it. It tends to be clumpy. Discard the rough pieces, you may replace it with an equal amount of dark brown sugar. The recipe also includes yeast, baking powder, and baking soda. I am using a two-piece 7”x3” round aluminium alloy cake pan, you can use bamboo steam basket to create a double texture - fluffy like cake and chewy like bread. 

Unmold the cake while still hot; when cut open, you will see loads of honeycomb structure, rich brown sugar flavour, and deep caramel colour.

Let us get all the ingredients to hand and the detailed instructions to make this advanced version of childhood nostalgic taste cake.

 

INGREDIENTS

210g All Purpose Flour (sifted)

¼ tsp Salt

2 tsp Instant Yeast

2 Large Eggs

250ml Milk (Room Temperature)

160g Gula Merah/Molasses Sugar/Dark Brown Sugar

½ tsp Baking Powder

1 ½ Baking Soda

2 tbsp Corn Oil/Vegetable Oil

 

METHODS

1. Combine the sifted flour and salt in a mixing bowl.  Add the instant yeast and mix well. (Avoid putting the yeast directly with salt; otherwise, the salt will kill the yeast)

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat 2 eggs. Pour in the milk, and molasses sugar. Whisk until well combined. Add in the flour mixture, whisk until all well incorporated. Sift the batter to prevent flour lumps. Cover it up. Let it ferment for 2 hours in an oven. Until bubbles are shown on the surface.

3. Scoop out 3 ladles of batter, mix with baking powder, baking soda, oil in a bowl. Combine it back into batter with spatula.

4. Pour in the batter in a 7” baking pan lined with baking paper. Slightly tapped the pan to get rid of the excess air bubbles. Place it in a bamboo steamer.

5.  Fill a wok with water and place over high heat. When the water is boiling, place the bamboo steamer over the wok and steam buns for 40 minutes at medium high heat.

Note: If you are not using a bamboo steamer, you need to cover the steamer’s lid with a clean kitchen towel to prevent water droplets. (It won’t create uneven surfaces on the Ma Lai Gao.)

6. Remove the Ma Lai Gao and unmould it while hot, prevent bottom from soggy due to steam. Wait until slightly cools, cut into small pieces and serve.