Palm sugar honeycomb cake (banh bo thot not)

Instructions

1. Step 1

   Put 180 g palm sugar, 180 g water and 200 g coconut milk in a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring until the sugar has fully dissolved, then let it cool. Low heat preserves the aroma of the sugar without making the coconut milk split. The syrup is ready when it is a clear amber brown and has cooled to lukewarm.

   Low heat.

   Mark step 1 as done

2. Step 2

   Mix 250 g rice flour, 50 g tapioca starch, a pinch salt and 5 g instant yeast together in a large bowl. Mixing the dry ingredients first spreads the yeast evenly through the flour. The mixture is ready when it is an even color with no clumps of yeast or starch.

   Mark step 2 as done

3. Step 3

   Pour the warm syrup into the flour in several additions, whisking constantly, then strain everything through a sieve. Gently warm liquid wakes up the yeast, and straining keeps the batter free of lumps. The batter is ready when it is as thick as pouring cream, an even golden brown and silky smooth.

   Mark step 3 as done

4. Step 4

   Cover the bowl tightly and let it ferment in a warm spot for about three hours. The long fermentation builds a network of air bubbles, which become the honeycomb strands in the crumb. The batter is ready when it has puffed up, the surface is covered in small bubbles and it smells gently sour and yeasty.

   Suggested time: about 180 minutes.

   Mark step 4 as done

5. Step 5

   Sprinkle 4 g baking powder over the fermented batter and stir gently for about one minute. The extra leavening helps the cakes spring up evenly as they steam without losing the yeast bubbles. The batter is ready when the baking powder has dissolved and the surface is still dotted with bubbles.

   Mark step 5 as done

6. Step 6

   Brush small cups with to taste vegetable oil, set them in a steamer over rapidly boiling water and heat them for about three minutes. Hot cups make the batter spring up the moment it is poured in. The cups are ready when they are beaded with steam and very hot to the touch.

   Suggested time: about 3 minutes. High heat.

   Mark step 6 as done

7. Step 7

   Fill the cups almost to the top with batter, cover with a towel-wrapped lid and steam over high heat for about 18 minutes. Strong, steady steam makes the cakes rise tall and forms the spongy strands inside. The cakes are done when the tops are puffed and taut and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

   Suggested time: about 18 minutes. High heat.

   Mark step 7 as done

8. Step 8

   Take out the cups, let them cool for about five minutes, then run a bamboo skewer around the sides to release the cakes; serve with 60 g freshly grated coconut if you like. The cakes shrink slightly as they cool, so they come out of the cups more easily. They are right when a cake split open shows a golden brown crumb with honeycomb strands running through it.

   Mark step 8 as done