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Make this really easy soft and fluffy Chinese huat kueh / kuih infused with sweet mashed banana and recipe is made without eggs and yeast. It is also dairy-free and vegan. The huat kueh also gives you a nice smiling top after steaming.
Eggless Dairy-Free No-Yeast Banana Huat Kueh
A while ago I made this No-yeast Pandan Coconut Huat Kueh and they turned out so well and the kids love them so much. They have a great signature “smiling top” that people want when it comes to huat kueh. This time around I decided to make an eggless huat kueh and to keep it dairy-free. My mom likes to use huat kueh as an offering and so she prefers to have the vegetarian version. Another reader also asked me if I could try out eggless banana huat kueh that she used to have as a kid. I honestly never had banana-flavor huat kueh before, but I’m so glad I gave it a try. My kids LOVE this banana huat kueh. Now I have to make sure I have ripened bananas every week so they can have banana huat kueh LOL!
Ingredients and substitutions
1. All-purpose flour or self-rising flour
Self-rising flour has baking powder and salt already in the mix so you don’t need to use as much baking powder if you use self-rising flour. Previously, I made this banana huat kueh using cake flour, but I found that using all-purpose flour also gives nice tender crumb as long as we don’t overmix the batter
2. Light brown sugar
You can use coconut sugar too. The color of your cake may be darker and coconut sugar is less sweet compared to brown sugar so you may want to add another 15-20 grams more or to your taste
3. Very ripe bananas
I use the Cavendish banana. Make sure they are really ripened or overripened so they are sweet and give that intense banana flavor. If you can get raja bananas, or saba bananas, that would be even better
4. Baking powder
It is needed in this recipe as a leavening agent
5. Baking soda
You might ask do I really need baking powder AND baking soda in this recipe? I highly encourage you to use both because baking soda is a pretty powerful leavening agent and we only need a bit of it. Since our batter is eggless and we don’t whip the batter either, it really depends on these two to make it “huat” and to ensure that it breaks into that smiling top
6. Coking oil
The cooking oil is what keeps the huat kueh moist. So, I won’t encourage you to cut down on the amount. I feel like the amount is appropriate and the huat kueh is still light and fluffy
7. Apple cider vinegar
The apple cider vinegar helps to activate the baking soda and helps the huat kueh to rise. You can also use regular vinegar or lemon juice
8. Cocoa powder
It is used to give two-tone to the huat kueh
9. Salt
A pinch of salt brings out the flavor of the overall huat kueh
This recipe was last published in 2020 and the recipe has been improved and updated on August 1, 2023.
Steamed Banana Huat Kueh / Kuih (No Yeast, No Eggs)
Ingredients
If using self-rising flour:
Dry ingredients:
- 250 g self-rising flour
- 4 g baking powder
If NOT using self-rising flour:
Dry ingredients:
- 240 g all-purpose flour
- 15 g baking powder
- 2 g baking soda
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
For both methods:
Wet ingredients:
- 250 gr mashed ripe banana
- 120 gr brown sugar
- 250 ml water or you can use milk for richer taste
- 70 gr cooking oil
- ¼ tsp apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
To make two colors (optional):
- 1 tsp cocoa powder
Instructions
- Line individual muffin cups with baking paper. Bring water in a steamer to a boil
Prepare the batter:
- Mix all the dry ingredients together and stir to mix thoroughly. Set aside.
- You can mash the banana with a fork or you can use immersion blender or blender to make it really smooth. My kids like to still able to bite into small pieces of bananas. The "huat" is also neater when there are no banana chunks in the batter
- Mix all the wet ingredients together. Fold in the dry ingredients and use a spatula to fold until just combined and you don't see any more pockets of flour. Don't stir as that will overmix the batter and activate the gluten in the flour. A little bit of a lumpy batter is fine.
To make two colors:
- Scoop about 160 grams of the batter into a separate bowl and add cocoa powder and stir to mix
- Fill up the muffin cups to about a little over 3/4 full, almost to the rim of the cup. Spoon a small amount of the cocoa batter and spread on top of the batter. If your steamer can only fit half of the recipe, fill up only those that can be steamed right away
Steam:
- Make sure the water in the steamer is on a rolling boil. Put the muffin cups in there and steam for 20 minutes over high heat. You can wrap the lid with towel to prevent condensation dripping on the cake. Remove from the steamer and let them sit on the muffin cups for about 5 minutes and then remove to a cooling rack to let them cool down further
- Fill up water in the steamer if necessary and bring it back up to a boil. Fill up the next batch and continue steaming the rest
RECOMMEDED TOOLS
*Nutrition facts are just estimates and calculated using online tools*
How to make steamed banana huat kueh without yeast and eggs
1. Line individual muffin cups with baking paper. Bring water in a steamer to a boil
2. Mix all the dry ingredients together and stir to mix thoroughly. Set aside. You can mash the banana with a fork or you can use an immersion blender or blender to make it really smooth. My kids like to still able to bite into small pieces of bananas. The “huat” is also neater when there are no banana chunks in the batter
3. Mix all the wet ingredients together. 
4. Fold in the dry ingredients and use a spatula to fold until just combined and you don’t see any more pockets of flour. Don’t stir as that will overmix the batter and activate the gluten in the flour. A little bit of a lumpy batter is fine.
5. Scoop about 160 grams of the batter into a separate bowl and add cocoa powder and stir to mix
6. Fill up the muffin cups to about a little over 3/4 full
7. Spoon a small amount of the cocoa batter and spread on top of the batter. If your steamer can only fit half of the recipe, fill up only those that can be steamed right away
8. Make sure the water in the steamer is on a rolling boil. Put the muffin cups in there and steam for 20 minutes over high heat. You can wrap the lid with towel to prevent condensation dripping on the cake. Remove from the steamer and let them sit on the muffin cups for about 5 minutes and then remove to a cooling rack to let them cool down further. Fill up the water in the steamer if necessary and bring it back up to a boil. Fill up the next batch and continue steaming the rest
Varations
Flavor ideas: You can substitute with other flavors such as mashed pumpkin, mashed purple sweet potatoes, mashed ube yam, etc
Did you make this steamed banana huat kueh without using yeast and eggs ?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
23 comments
Hi thanks for sharing. I substituted bananas with sweet potatoes and brown sugar with 50% less granulated sugar. It is very nice
I’m glad you like 🙂 I bet it’s delicious with sweet potatoes and brown sugar !
Can use brown rice sourdough starter to replace baking soda and baking powder?
Can substitute the brown sugar with other unrefined sugar such as monk fruit sweetener and all purpose flour to gluten free four such as rice flour?
Hi Kuan, you can use monk fruit sweetener or other sugar of your choice, but as for gluten-free flour like rice flour, I’m not sure because I haven’t tried it myself and I’m sure you can use a sourdough starter too to leaven the cake instead of using baking powder and baking soda.
Hello- I would love to try this recipe for my child. Can you tell me where I can find muffin cups like those in your pictures? Thank you!
Hi Sunni, My mom got those cups for me from Indonesia. It’s hard to find that type of cups here, but you can use something similar like this: https://www.amazon.com/Aluminum-HOMARTY-Cupcake-Wedding-Festival/dp/B07W9BT92Y/ref=sr_1_41?dchild=1&keywords=2.5+inch+disposable+muffin+tin&qid=1611621653&sr=8-41 They can be used to bake or steam directly. They are about the same size with the cups I used
Hi Marvellina,
I tried this today. Mine didn’t “huat” aka open up nicely like yours. Can you advise what went wrong? I even steam for about 20 mins but these cuties too shy to open up. Lol.
Hi Melody,
I would probably check on the baking powder and baking soda. You can pour hot water to 1/4 tsp of baking powder, if it sizzles, it’s good. You can do the same with baking soda but use vinegar instead of water. If it sizzles right away, it’s still good. Also you want to make sure that your steamer is ready to go and water is already on a rolling boil ready to be steaemd. They need to be steamed on a high heat. The “huat” usually happens the first 5-10 minutes. So, you don’t want to open the lid to check on them too.
Hi Marvellina,
Thank you so much for your advise. I’ll definitely try again soon. Once again, thank you so much.
My pleasure Melody. I hope it works out for you next time. Please let me know if anything is unclear 🙂