Learn how to make this delicious buttery cream cracker cake with layers of pandan and original cream cracker flavors. The sponge butter cake is steamed and has an amazing light, soft and fluffy texture.
Lightly oil the bottom and sides of the pan. Line bottom of the pan with a parchment paper for easy removal. You can line the sides too if you choose to
Bring the water in the steamer to a boil and then lower the heat while preparing the cake batter
Turn cream crackers into crumbs:
There is no flour used in this recipe. The cream crackers are used as the "flour" in this recipe. I put the cream crackers in a food processor and process into very fine crumbs. You can put them in a large plastic bag, push all the air out and seal. Crush with a rolling pin and then roll the pin back and forth to crush the cream crackers into fine crumbs. It is important that they turn into very fine crumbs or the cake won't turn out properly
Prepare the cake batter:
It is important that the eggs are at room temperature. Cold eggs won't whip well and your cake won't rise properly during steaming. The cake depends on the air from whipping the eggs with sugar to rise
Place the eggs and sugar in the mixing bowl. I use a stand mixer with a whip attachment and start whipping on high speed until the egg mixture turns pale, creamy, and thick. We call this a ribbon stage. When you lift the batter up, it will drop down leaving a trail that remains visible before slowly dissolves back into the batter. It is very important to whip to this ribbon stage
Gently fold in the cream cracker crumbs 1/3 at a time using a swipe and fold over motion and continue until you run out of cream cracker. Add melted butter 1/3 at a time and fold using the same motion, swipe down and fold over and continue until you run out of melted butter. There shouldn't be any more traces of butter in the batter. It is very important that all ingredients are well incorporated or the cake will have some separate layers after you bake it. You want to work gently but efficiently not to deflate the batter too much at the same time
Divide batter into two portions:
Bring the water in the steamer back to a boil. Divide the batter into roughly two equal portions, about 400-420 grams each. I make total of 4 layers. Add 1 tsp of pandan essence to one of them and another 1 tsp of vanilla essence on the other batter. Gently fold to combine
Steaming the cake:
The water should be rolling boil. If not using bamboo steamer, wrap the lid of the steamer with a cloth to prevent water condensation falls on the cake creating dense spots. Pour about 200 gr of vanilla batter into the pan and spread to make an even layer. Steam for 5 minutes over medium-high heat. The cake should be dry to touch. When the first layer is done steaming, pour the next 200 gr of pandan batter on top and spread to make an even layer. Steam again for 5 minutes. Continue until you get to the last 4th layer. Steam the last layer for 15 minutes
Cooling the cake:
Remove the cake from the steamer and let it cools down on the pan for 10 minutes and then unmould the cake by loosening the side and place on top of the wire rack to let it cools down completely before slicing
Serving:
Once the cake has cooled down completely, I wrap it in a cling wrap and store at room temperature until the next day to serve. This cake will taste even better if you can age it for 24 hours. The buttery aroma will have time to develop and the cake will be moist and flavorful. Trim the four edges to make the cake looks neat if necessary
How to store:
Keep the cake in an air-tight container and it can be kept at room temperature for about 3 days. They can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Simply let it sit at room temperature for a while and the cake will soften again. Alternatively, you can warm it up in the microwave for few seconds or in the steamer and it's as good as new