Cotton Yoghurt Cupcake - my version of a Hokkaido Cake

 

My favourite sweets during my 6 months in KL last year were the delectable cakes from RT Pastries. They offer a variety of delicious cakes, rolls and pastries. My 2 favourite items from them are their Hokkaido cakes and Swiss rolls. Their Hokkaido cakes have received rave reviews in the blogosphere and are indeed deserving of their praises. They are soft and bouncy, light with a touch of sweet whipped cream, melts in your mouth with every bite. Check out these 2 pictures I took of the Hokkaido cakes from RT pastry; tear-away soft! Their Swiss rolls are superb as well, soft but substantial, innovative in their varied flavors and filled with a light delicious cream. If you ever happen to be in KL, it's a must to grab a box or 2 of Hokkaido cakes, the vanilla ones are the nicest, and try their wholemeal or chocolate Swiss rolls. Fingerlicking smacking good!

 

Back in Singapore now and have not been back to KL in the last 14 months; I'm missing their cakes. There are many recipes for Hokkaido cakes online and most use a chiffon recipe, which I've tried but they are somehow not as spongy. Recently chanced upon a cotton cake recipe that looks really good. Tried it once, it turned out damp and heavy; tried it twice, it was soft, bouncy and really good but the cake collapse; 3x lucky, my 3rd try turned out pretty ok by my own standards. It was light and soft, abit denser than the usual chiffon but I prefer it this way as it lends a yummy melt in the mouth soft texture.

 

My Version

 

Recipe (Source) :

 

Ingredient List

 

Egg Yolk Mixture

65g sifted cake flour

1/4 tsp salt

5 egg yolks

1 full egg

80ml plain yogurt (I used Greek yogurt)

45ml mild tasting oil (I used Sunflower oil)

1 tsp lemon juice

 

Egg White Mixture

5 egg whites

65g fine grained sugar

 

Oven Temperature 150C, place a pan of water at bottom of oven floor. I used 6 metal tart cups and placed 4 at the corners and 2 in the middle.

Prepare 16 cups on a tray, no need for greasing.

 

 

Steps

1. For yolk mixture, sift flour into a big bowl and add salt. Make a well in the middle.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix together until slightly thick. I used a hand held electric whisk and beat for around 2 minutes.

3. Set it aside and in a clean mixing bowl, beat egg whites until frothy and add the sugar slowly. Beat until stiff peaks.

4. Wash your hand up to the forearm clean and dry

5. Fold half the egg white mixture into the yolk mixture with your hand

6. Add the yolk mixture into the remaining egg white and fold until well-incorporated but not deflated. It should still be a airy and light batter.

7. Spoon into cups until 2/3 full, smooth the top and steam bake for 25 minutes.

 

 

 

Tips:

1. If baking into whole cakes, use a 9in square deep pan. I used a 8inch round pan in my 2nd try and the cake rose way too high, and collapsed while it was still in the oven.

2. Place bakes at mid-low level in the oven, I find that this prevents the bakes from browning too fast.

3. I used Greek yogurt which is creamy and thick, which I find that it makes the bakes soft and bouncy, as opposed to the few occasions I used normal plain yogurt (Emmi's or Magnolia) which makes the cakes too wet and they do not rise very well.

4. It's the first time I tried folding by hand and I find that this is indeed more effective. It's faster and the egg white mixes easily into the batter, which is the key to folding egg whites so as not to deflate them with too much handling. I like it this way!

 

 

This was the picture of my 2nd bake which collapsed but the crumb was indeed soft as cotton! I layered them with a spread of our precious raspberry honey from a farm in Italy. Hub and me finished half the 8in cake in minutes!