Ma Lai Go Chinese Steamed Cake

User Reviews

4.9

132 reviews
Excellent
  • Prep Time

    1 hr

  • Cook Time

    mins

  • Total Time

    1 hr 35 mins

  • Servings

    8

  • Calories

    250 kcal

  • Course

    Side Dish

  • Cuisine

    Chinese

Ma Lai Go Chinese Steamed Cake

Ma Lai Go Chinese Steamed Cake is a fluffy brown sugar sponge cake typically found on dim sum carts in Southern China and Hong Kong—the few places where you’ll find it done right.

I Made This!

99 people made this

Save this

79 people saved this

Ingredients

Servings
  • 3 large eggs at room temperature
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil (60 ml)
  • ¾ cup lightly packed dark brown sugar (120 g)
  • teaspoons vanilla extract (8 ml)
  • cup evaporated milk (80 ml, at room temp)
  • tablespoons vanilla pudding mix / custard powder (18 g - we used Bird’s Custard Powder)
  • 1 cup cake flour (120 g)
  • teaspoon salt (1 g)
  • teaspoons baking powder (14 g)
  • 1 teaspoon softened butter or vegetable shortening for greasing cake pan, if using (5 g)
  • A dusting of all purpose flour for cake pan if using
Add to Shopping List

Instructions

  1. Add 3 large eggs, ¼ cup vegetable oil, and ¾ cup lightly packed dark brown sugar to a mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer, and beat on high for 5 minutes until well-combined and fluffy.
  2. Scrape the bottom of the bowl and add 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract, ⅓ cup evaporated milk, and 1½ tablespoons custard powder. Beat for 1 minute.
  3. Sift 1 cup cake flour, ⅛ teaspoon salt, and 3½ teaspoons baking powder. Fold into the batter gently until incorporated. Try to break up any large lumps, but don’t overwork the batter––some smaller lumps are okay!
  4. Let the batter sit for 30 minutes. The dry ingredients absorb, and the baking powder has a chance to do its thing. While the batter is resting, line a 9 inch bamboo steamer basket with parchment paper. You can also use a 9 inch cake pan greased with vegetable shortening or butter and lightly coated with all-purpose flour. Lightly buttering and flouring the metal cake pan is important step, even if it is non-stick!
  5. Gently stir the batter again in a folding motion—just enough to ensure the batter is mixed uniformly, but not too much since air pockets have already started to form in the batter. You will also see that the batter has thickened and most lumps have disappeared.
  6. Pour the batter into the bamboo steamer basket lined with parchment paper or your prepared cake pan. Let the batter sit and settle for another 10 minutes while you heat up your steamer.
  7. Place the Ma Lai Go into your steamer setup of choice, and steam on medium high heat—for 30 minutes if using a bamboo steamer, and 35 minutes if using a metal cake pan. To find out if the cake is done, insert a toothpick in the center of the cake. If it come out clean, then it’s done. Transfer to a baking rack and slice once cooled slightly.

Nutrition Information

Show Details
Calories 250kcal (13%) Carbohydrates 36g (12%) Protein 5g (10%) Fat 10g (15%) Saturated Fat 7g (35%) Cholesterol 66mg (22%) Sodium 101mg (4%) Potassium 275mg (8%) Fiber 1g (4%) Sugar 23g (46%) Vitamin A 130IU (3%) Vitamin C 0.2mg (0%) Calcium 132mg (13%) Iron 0.7mg (4%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 8Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 250 kcal

% Daily Value*

Calories 250kcal 13%
Carbohydrates 36g 12%
Protein 5g 10%
Fat 10g 15%
Saturated Fat 7g 35%
Cholesterol 66mg 22%
Sodium 101mg 4%
Potassium 275mg 6%
Fiber 1g 4%
Sugar 23g 46%
Vitamin A 130IU 3%
Vitamin C 0.2mg 0%
Calcium 132mg 13%
Iron 0.7mg 4%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Genuine Reviews

User Reviews

Overall Rating

4.9

132 reviews
Excellent

Write a Review

Drag & drop files here or click to upload
Other Recipes

You'll Also Love

Steamed Char Siu Bao (Chinese BBQ Pork Buns)

Asian, Chinese
5.0 (57 reviews)

Chinese Steamed Pork Spare Ribs (蒸排骨)

Asian, Chinese
5.0 (9 reviews)

Steamed BBQ Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao)

Chinese
4.9 (555 reviews)

Steamed Crystal Dumplings

Chinese
4.9 (36 reviews)

Steamed Taro Buns

Asian, Chinese
5.0 (36 reviews)

Chinese Turnip Cake (Lo Bak Go)

Asian, Chinese
5.0 (18 reviews)

Chinese Egg Tarts

Chinese
4.9 (57 reviews)

Har Gow (蝦餃) (Chinese Shrimp Dumplings)

Asian, Chinese
5.0 (6 reviews)

Coconut Buns (Chinese Cocktail Buns)

Asian, Chinese
4.9 (63 reviews)

Chinese Curry Beef Buns

Asian, Chinese
5.0 (78 reviews)