Funny story: Last weekend, I celebrated a friend’s birthday, and since he’s from Singapore, I thought it’d be fun to bring a taste of Singapore to his party. So, I asked ChatGPT, “What are some Singaporean birthday foods?” One of the top suggestions was “kueh.” Naturally, I went straight to Pinterest to find a recipe and came across one by What To Cook Today. I whipped up a few batches, making them in a variety of flavor and eye-catching colors, and brought them to the party, feeling pretty proud of myself.
But when I showed the kueh to my friend, he had no idea what it was! He even called over his parents and they had no idea what it was either 😂! Apparently, the kueh they were familiar with is a multi-colored, jelly-like dessert, not the steamed cakes I made. It turns out “kueh” is a broad term for a whole range of desserts, and what I made is specifically “huat kueh” (or “fa gao” in Chinese). So, not exactly what I intended, but everyone still enjoyed the steamed cakes and trying the different flavors.
When making the huat kueh/fa gao, I initially followed the recipe to the T, but found it too sweet. So, I adjusted the sweetness and decided to experiment by adding sourdough discard to the batter for a subtle, yogurt-like tang. I loved how that version turned out, especially how the sourdough added a unique twist to the flavor of the cake that is complementary.
Inclusion/flavor suggestions:
To achieve your desired color and flavor, start by adding extracts and powders in small amounts, adjusting as needed.
| 🧪 Extracts | – ube extract: Adds a vibrant purple hue and a unique, sweet flavor. – pandan extract: Infuses a nutty, fragrant flavor and a green tint. |
| 🍵 Powders | – black sesame powder: Provides a nutty taste and dark color. – cacao powder: Offers a rich chocolate flavor and deep brown color. – quality matcha: Delivers a vibrant green color and a distinct, earthy flavor. |
| 🍫 Inclusions | – chocolate chips: For a sweet, melty texture. – M&Ms: Adds color and a crunchy candy shell. – sprinkles: Perfect for a fun, decorative touch. – dried fruit: Provides natural sweetness and chewiness. |
Looking for more ways to incorporate sourdough discard in desserts? Check out these recipes:
- Not-too-sweet Taro Filled Sourdough Chocolate Cake with Okinawan Sweet Potato Frosting
- Sourdough Mamon: Filipino Egg Sponge Cake
- Honey Basil Olive Oil Cornbread (sourdough or not)
- Sourdough Ube Crumble Sweet Rolls
Sourdough Discard Huat Kueh aka Fa Gao
Equipment
- bamboo steamer / steam basket
- paper baking cups optional
Ingredients
Wet ingredients
- 115 g cane sugar
- 1 large egg
- 100 g milk or coconut milk
- 100 g sourdough discard
- 100 g melted coconut oil or neutral oil
Dry ingredients
- 200 g all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
Inclusions (optional)
- pandan or ube extract, cacao powder, black sesam e powder etc.
Instructions
Make the cake batter
- Make the wet mixture: cream together sugar and eggs until it is pale and creamy. Then combine in sourdough discard followed by milk.
- Make the dry mixture: sift together all the dry ingredients
- Combine the wet & dry ingredients, and coconut oil: Mix in a third of the dry ingredients into the wet mixture followed by a third of the melted coconut oil. Alternate until everything is mix in and a thick batter forms. At this point, you can customize the flavor of the cakes by adding extracts (like pandan or ube), powders (like black sesame and cacao powder) or other inclusions (like chocolate chips, dried fruit etc).
- Fill silicone baking cups 3/4 full with the cake batter . Optionally, you can pre-line the silicone cups with paper baking cups if you want to steam the cake in batches and re-use the silicone cups. Place the silicone cups in a bamboo steamer / steam basket
Steam
- Prepare a wok or large pot with water and place it on the stovetop on high heat. Once the water starts to simmer, place the prepared steam basket on top. Let the cakes steam on high for 15 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and let the cakes rest covered with the heat turn off for five minutes.
- Uncover the steam baskets and, if you used paper baking paper, remove the cakes from the silicone mold. Let the cakes cool completely and enjoy! Store in an air tight container or wrapper in saran wrap at room temperature for up to 4 days.
