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Learn how to make kuih bahulu (kue bolu kering) that is soft and spongy and not too sweet. Perfect as an afternoon tea snack or to celebrate the Chinese new year or raya. The kuih bahulu can be made without using the special bahulu mould.
Both hubby and the kids know by now that I love making chiffon cakes and sponge cakes. I’m not a cake with an icing person or any overly sweet and cake. I love the simplicity of the cake itself without much frostings, fondants, etc.
Kuih bahulu or what we call kue bolu kering or bolu klemben or bolu jadul in Indonesia, is one of my favorite mini egg sponge cakes. They are cute, delish, soft, and spongey.
What is kuih bahulu?
Kuih bahulu is Malay-style egg sponge cake made with simple ingredients like eggs, flour, sugar, and a leavening agent. There is no oil used in traditional bahulu recipe, other than to grease the mould. This recipe I’m sharing here uses a bit of oil and it makes a difference! I actually prefer it with some oil as the crumbs are tighter and fluffier. The texture is soft and spongy on the inside and slightly crusty on the outside, similar to those of French madeleines (hence the name Asian madeleines). Traditionally, the cake batter is baked in a special brass-mould with a decorative pattern over an open fire. In this modern-day, they are baked in the oven.
The recipe rundown
Taste: They are not too sweet with a nice eggy aroma
Texture: Crusty on the outside and soft and spongy inside. Traditional bahulu is more on the dry side, which is fine if you dunk it in a coffee, BUT, I prefer to have a moister crumb and this recipe does it
Level: medium
Crumb comparison
The kuih bahulu on the left had oil in the recipe and the one on the right did not. You can see softer and fluffier crumbs on the left. The cake doesn’t feel dry compared to the one on the right.
Ingredients
1. Eggs
I use large eggs, about 58-60 grams each with the shell
2. Sugar
I use granulated sugar. You can use caster sugar too. I do not recommend cutting down further on the sugar, as this is already being cut down. If you cut down too much, the kuih bahulu won’t have that crisp exterior on the outside
3. All-purpose flour
All-purpose flour has medium content gluten.
4. Cornstarch
Cornstarch (also known as corn flour in Singapore/Malaysia). In the U.S., corn starch and corn flour are totally different things. Cornstarch is a starch extracted from corn. Corn flour is obtained by grinding the whole corn kernels. You want to make sure you use the starch (whatever it is called where you are)
5. Baking powder
It helps to leaven the cake
6. Salt
A small pinch of salt brings the flavour out even more
7. Oil
Traditional kuih bahulu doesn’t use any oil, but by adding some oil, really contributes to softer and moist crumbs, unlike the traditional, which is dry
How to make kuih bahulu without the bahulu mould
1. I don’t have the special bahulu mould, but I do have a madeleine pan and egg tart moulds and some little cups used to steam or bake muffin or huat kueh. Arrange these on top of a baking tray and brush generously (like really generous or the cake will stick to the mould) with some cooking oil
2. Preheat oven to 410 F (210 C) for a conventional oven. For a convection oven, preheat to 390 F (200 C) . When it reaches that temperature, put the baking tray on the middle rack and let them preheat for at least 15 minutes. This is very important so the cake won’t stick to the mould.
3. Beat egg and sugar over the high speed with a hand mixer or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment until they are pale, creamy, and thick (or they like to call it the ribbon stage). The volume should triple in size, in about 10 minutes (with my kitchen aid on speed 8) or 15 minutes with a hand mixer
5. Sift in the flour mixture, and use a spatula to swipe down from the side and fold over to combine. Repeat this motion until you don’t see any pockets of flour. 
6. Then drizzle in the oil from the side of the bowl and use a spatula to swipe down and fold over motion again to combine. 
6. Transfer the cake batter to a piping bag it’s easier to fill up the mould that way. Alternatively, you can use a spoon to scoop, which can be a bit messier.
7. Take the preheated moulds out from the oven and carefully but quickly pipe in the cake batter or use a spoon or ice cream scoop to scoop the cake batter into the mould. Fill them up about 3/4 full. 
8. Use a toothpick to pop any large bubbles inside the batter. I bang the pan on the countertop 2-3 times to pop any large bubbles
9. I recommend baking one tray at a time for the best result. I place the baking sheet on 3rd rack from the top and bake the cake for 7 minutes in small cups like this. My madeleine mould is almost twice the capacity of these, so I baked it for 9-10 minutes. The time is just a reference, this depends on the size of the cake too. 
8. Use a skewer or toothpick to pick up the cake from the mould to a cooling rack. Clean up the moulds if anything sticks to eat and then grease and preheat again before baking the next batch
Kuih bahulu gets stuck to the mould
-Make sure you generously grease the moulds or muffin cups (or whatever you use) with some oil, especially if the moulds are pretty new. If the problem persist, you can coat with some flour
-Preheat the moulds for at least 15 minutes
-When you take the moulds out to fill them up with cake batter, you may have taken too long and the moulds have lost most of the heat and the cake batter sticks to the pan
-Clean up the moulds if anything sticks to eat and then grease the pan/cups generously with oil and preheat again before baking the next batch
How to bake kuih bahulu without using special mould
These were kuih bahulu baked in egg tart shells and mini cups I used to steam huat kueh
How to store kuih bahulu
1. Let them cool down completely on a cooling rack
2. Transfer to an air-tight container and they can be kept for 2-3 days. The longer they sit, the drier they get
Did you make this kuih bahulu recipe?
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!
This post was last published in January 2021 and has been updated with an improved recipe, techniques, and photos on January 16, 2023.
Kuih Bahulu (Mini Egg Sponge Cake/Asian Madeleines)
Ingredients
- 100 g eggs about 2 eggs
- 60 g granulated sugar
- 60 g all-purpose flour
- 24 g cornstarch
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- Small pinch of salt
- 36 g oil plus more to grease the pan/tin
Instructions
- I don't recommend making a big batch. The cake batter may deflate if it sits for too long waiting for its turn being baked in the oven
Preheat the bahulu mould (or in my case cups and egg tart moulds):
- I don’t have the special bahulu mould, but I do have madeleine pan and egg tart moulds and some little cups used to steam or bake muffin or huat kueh. Arrange these on top of a baking tray and brush generously (like really generous or the cake will stick to the mould) with some cooking oil
- Preheat oven to 410 F (210 C) for conventional oven. For a convection oven, preheat to 390 F (200 C) . When it reaches that temperature, put the baking tray on the middle rack and let them preheat for at least 15 minutes. This is very important so the cake won’t stick to the mould.
Prepare the cake batter:
- Combine all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and pinch of salt. Whisk to combine
- Beat egg and sugar over a high speed with a hand mixer or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment until they are pale, creamy, and thick (or they like to call it ribbon stage). The volume should triple in size, about 10 minutes (with my kitchen aid on speed 8)
- Sift in the flour mixture, and use a spatula to swipe down from the side and fold over to combine. Repeat this motion until you don't see any pockets of flour. Then drizzle in the oil from the side of the bowl and use a spatula to swipe down and fold over motion again to combine. Transfer the cake batter to a piping bags it's easier to fill up the mould that way. Alternatively, you can use a spoon to scoop, can be a bit messier
Fill up the mould:
- Take the preheated moulds out from the oven and carefully but quickly pipe in the cake batter or use a spoon or ice cream scoop to scoop the cake batter, fill it up about 3/4 full
- Use a toothpick to pop any large bubbles inside the batter. I bang the pan on the countertop 2-3 times to pop any large bubbles
Bake the cake:
- I recommend baking one tray at a time for best result. I place the baking sheet 3rd rack from the top and bake the cake for 7 minutes in small cups like this. My madeleine mould is almost twice the capacity of these, so I baked them for 9-10 minutes.
- If you prefer much crispier on the outside, you can add a minute or two, but be careful not to overbake. They dry up quickly. The time is just a reference, this depends on the size of the cake and your oven too
- Use a skewer or toothpick to pick up the cake from the mould to a cooling rack
- Clean up the moulds if anything sticks to eat and then grease and preheat again before baking the next batch
Cooling down:
- The crust is crispy when they are still warm but they will soften as they cool down and that's normal.
Serving:
- Kuih bahulu is best served on the same day they were made. Any leftover can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. I do not recommend storing in the fridge as the cake dries out very quickly
4 comments
Do you think this recipe would work with just rice flour, 9r a GF mix, to sub in fir the AP flour?
Hi, I”m sorry that I can’t tell you for sure because I’ve never try it with just rice flour and or GF mix. Please let me know how it turns out if you do give it a try!
Hi,
I would love to try making this. But the only thing that I have is a mini muffin silicon pan. Do I need to preheat or oil it first?
Thx for having good Indo recipes with ingredients that’d harder to get in western countries 👍😊
Hi Angie, the reason why we preheat the mold is to prevent sticking. With silicone mold, it’s less likely to stick, but I don’t have a silicone mold that I can try to bake this kuih bahulu. So, theoretically, you don’t need to preheat the silicone mold, but it won’t hurt to spray with some non-stick spray or a bit of oil just in case. The baking time you may have to experiment with it a bit. Silicone is a poor heat conductor, so you may need to bake about the same time or longer. You can insert a toothpick and it should come out clean. I hope this helps!