This Osmanthus black rice cake totally brings back my childhood memories! When I was in middle school, I always enjoyed treating myself with a slice of black rice cake bought from the canteen.
Steamed black rice cake 黑米糕 is a typical Chinese dessert made with black rice powder, glutinous rice, sugar, and eggs. It has a light, fluffy texture, and is full of unique aroma of black rice. If you have never tasted this healthy, earthy Chinese dessert, why not give it a try?
Ingredients (serves 1-2, about a 4-inch cake):
- 50g black rice powder
- 20g glutinous rice flour
- 1 large egg
- 5-7g vegetable oil
- 20-30g sugar
- 60-80 ml milk
- dried Osmanthus to garnish
Notes:
- If you cannot find black rice powder, simply grind black rice into powder with a food processor, or combine black rice and milk in a blender and blend until super smooth.
- You can use any milk you prefer, such as almond milk, etc.
- If making a 6-inch cake, double the recipe.
Instructions:
1: Separate egg white and egg yolk. Combine black rice powder, glutinous rice flour, egg yolk, oil and milk in a bowl, stir until batter is smooth. Gradually add the milk so that the batter will not be too thin (consistency should be similar to the image above).
2: With a hand mixer, beat egg white in a clean bowl (absolutely no grease or water). Add sugar to egg white within 3 additions, beat egg white until a stiff peak forms.
3: Fold 1/3 egg white into the batter gently (similar technique used in making chiffon cakes).
4: Pour batter back into the bowl containing egg white, gently fold batter into egg white.
5: Pour batter into a baking pan, garnish with dried Osmanthus. Cover pan with plastic wrap. After water comes to a boil, place baking pan into the steamer, steam over medium heat for 25 minutes (lid on), leave the pan in the steamer for another 5-10 minutes after turning off the heat. Do not open the lid during the process. Cool it down before removing from cake pan.
If you are making a 6-inch cake, steam for 35 minutes. It is important not to open the lid when you steam the cake to ensure it “grows”. Please also use baking pan or container that’s taller than the batter (I had to use a small one since my steamer is tiny).
Each bite is filled with the unique taste of black rice, and subtle scent of Osmanthus. In the same time, it is also a little spongy and chewy thanks to the glutinous rice.
In short, this black rice cake is a fascinating Asian dessert to try!
