IP Steamed light egg cake (松糕)

I have been searching for a steamed egg cake (kai dan gao) for a very long time because that's what my Kao Mo used to make. I've documented comparison recipes, tried Fatt Gao,  Malay cake, and even the real deal 鸡蛋糕. While some were good in their own right (eg malay cake), none really hit the spot. They all use traditional ingredients which can be difficult to find eg Fanta orange. Transcribed recipe from Small Tang Cat reel on FB which uses yeast. Interesting! 

This is my adapted recipe which comes out with a chewy but tender crumbed texture like Castella. The original recipe called for 300g normal flour but I only had 200g and substituted cake flour for the last 100g. It works a treat! I've included honey in the recipe (honey) for a tea/coffee time treak else leave it without for a breakfast cake. See feedback note below.

Slice is soft and fluffy

Top side was bloated despite loosely tenting with foil

Ingredients

200g plain flour

100g cake flour*

3 eggs

3g instant yeast

30g sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

30g honey (thinned in 1 - 2 tbsp of the warm water (below) if too thick)

180g warm water (finger warm)

Method

1. Whisk all ingredients together until a smooth batter emerges.

2. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

3. Remove the cover and whisk to deflate and remove air.

4. Pour into a pre-oiled deep glass container. (I can't tell the size but I'm going to say 8" pyrex cake 'tin')

5. In a bamboo steamer on top of a wok, warm up the water and switch off the flame. The water should not be too hot. Place the glass container in the steaming rack. Allow to rise again for 10 minutes Once the batter has risen about 80 to 90%, it's ready to steam.

6. Turn on the flame on high and bring to the water in the wok to steaming point. (He doesn't seem to have removed the cake tin while waiting for the water to reach boiling point). Steam for 20 minutes.

ALTERNATIVELY

5. Place back in a warm place to rise for 10 minutes until 80 to 90% risen.

6. Pour 1 C water into the base of the IP pot. Cover top of cake tin loosely and tent with foil. Put the steaming rack on and steam for 15 minutes, with 10 to 15 minutes natural release.

First attempt yesterday - using salt by accident! Straight to the bin

Underside looks golden!

Recipe feedback: 

* I only used 100g cake flour and 200g normal flour. The texture is very much like Castella - chewy yet tender crumbed. This is a happy accident and the unlikely outcome of wasting flour on the salt version yesterday. Traditionally Castella is difficult to make cos they cook it in a wooden box and then have to wrap in plastic and let the moisture seep back in overnight. I prefer this method chiefly because I more often have cake flour in my cupboard alongside normal flour than bread flour (which castella uses). The recipe above has been adjusted to include the cake flour.

- The original recipe only calls for 30g sugar, which is just enough for the yeast to 'eat'. This is more like a breakfast cake as it is not sweet at all and needs additional sweeteners like eating with honey, butter or jam. I've included 30g honey and vanilla to the recipe above for a more tea/coffee time treat.