http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_wrapped_cake

One of my favorite Chinese pastries is the “paper wrapped cake” (zhǐ bāo dàn gāo) so I searched for a recipe online and decided to try this one out. You can find the full
recipe here. Since I only had 3 eggs, I had to alter it a bit, basically cut most ingredients by half since the recipe calls for 5 eggs.

INGREDIENTS

30 g all purpose flour
8 g cornstarch
45 g sugar
3 eggs, separated and at room temperature
Pinch of cream of tartar
30 g butter, melted

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Line standard 12-cup muffin tin with parchment paper. Squares 5×5 inches seem to work well.
2. Sift flour and cornstarch together.
3. In separate bowl, beat egg yolks with 15 g sugar until fluffy until lemony colored. Beat in melted butter. Sift in flour mixture and beat until smooth. (I did this step by hand).
4. In another bowl, whip egg whites with a pinch of cream of tartar. When you can see trails from your beaters, beat in the remaining 30 g sugar. Whip to firm peaks. (I did this step with my stand mixer with wire whisk).
5. Stir in spatula-full of egg whites into the yolk mixture. Gently fold in the rest of the whites.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan, about 2/3 full.
7. Bake at 400 F for 5 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350 F and bake for another 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

I was able to make 10 cakes.

Smelled delicious while baking and tasted just like they are supposed to. Of course these are much shorter than the ones you buy at the bakery but a good little snack (and probably just the right size for my carbohydrate portion allowance).

The only thing I find inconvenient is having to weigh out ingredients. I know this is probably the most accurate way to make a delicious cake but I’m so used to using cups and teaspoons and tablespoons. But I would definitely make this again if I can’t find a Chinese bakery to buy them.

I still want to attempt to make my own egg tarts (dan tat) but most recipes use lard for the tart which is a bit daunting.

Hmm… so yummy, thinking of having another one… but must resist until my next snack time.

I am trying to use up a carton of buttermilk so came across this Food Network recipe for Buttermilk Pie. The recipe didn’t have a crust so I decided to try making it with a graham cracker crust.

Graham Cracker Pie Crust INGREDIENTS
* 1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs
* 1/3 cup white sugar (reduced to 1/4 cup)
* 6 tbsp butter, melted
* 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional so I did not use)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 F. Mix all ingredients together then press into 9 inch pie tin (I used a 9 inch springform pan). Bake for 7-10 minutes until lightly browned.

Buttermilk Pie INGREDIENTS
* 1 1/2 cups sugar (used 3/4 cup sugar)
* 1 cup buttermilk
* 1/2 cup biscuit mix (recommended: Bisquick) (used 3/4 cup Bisquick)
* 1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons) butter, melted
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 3 eggs

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 F. Blend all ingredients together with electric mixer or hand mix with a wire whisk. May be poured into a greased 9 inch pie pan or on top of some sort of crust. Bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. May be served after cooling for 5 minutes or after refrigeration.

It smells and looks delicious. I can’t wait to try it. I hope I didn’t overcook it and that it still has its custard-like texture. I plan to top it with some fresh fruit, maybe some strawberries and bananas.

Had a slice this afternoon and it ended up more like a piece of cake rather than a custard. Next time I would probably reduce the amount of biscuit mix and increase by 1 egg instead. The graham cracker crust was a bit too sweet so I would reduce it to maybe 1/8 cup of sugar. I topped it with a sliced banana and strawberry which gave it a fresher taste.