White sugar sponge cake facts for kids
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| Alternative names | White sugar cake, white sugar pastry |
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| Type | Cake |
| Place of origin | Foshan, China |
| Main ingredients | Rice flour, sugar, water, leavening agent |
| Variations | Bánh bò |
| Similar dishes | Htanthi mont, Fa gao, Bánh bò, Sanna |
| White sugar sponge cake | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Chinese | 白糖糕 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | bái táng gāo | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jyutping | baak6 tong4 gou1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | white sugar cake | ||||||||||||||||||
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White sugar sponge cake is a popular Chinese pastry. People also call it white sugar cake or white sugar pastry. It is a sweet and soft treat.
This cake is made from simple ingredients. These include rice flour, white sugar, water, and a special ingredient called a leavening agent. A leavening agent helps the cake rise and become fluffy.
Contents
About White Sugar Sponge Cake
Even though it's called a "cake," it's not usually round. You often buy it as a square or a small triangle. The cake is bright white. It has a soft, spongy texture.
Taste and Texture
White sugar sponge cake tastes sweet. Sometimes, it has a slightly sour taste. This happens because the batter ferments a little before cooking. Fermentation is a natural process. It helps give the cake its unique flavor.
Like many Chinese desserts, this cake is steamed. Steaming makes it very moist and fluffy. It's different from cakes that are baked in an oven. Baked cakes can sometimes be dry.
Serving and Storing
This cake can get hard quickly if left out. So, it's usually kept covered. This helps it stay soft and moist.
It's best to eat white sugar sponge cake when it's warm. When it's cold, it's not as soft or moist. The batter is poured into a bowl or onto a special cloth for steaming. Sometimes, aluminum foil is used.
Variations
If the cake is made with brown rice flour and brown sugar, it's called a brown sugar sponge cake. It has a different color and a slightly different taste.
A similar cake is made in Vietnam. It is called bánh bò. The Vietnamese version often uses coconut milk. It usually does not have the sour taste that the Chinese version sometimes has.
Names for the Cake
This cake has different names in various places. Here are some of them:
- Baak Tong Gou (Cantonese)
- Bai Tang Gao (Mandarin)
- Pak Thong Koh (Malay)
- Puting Asukal Bibingka (Filipino)
See also
In Spanish: Pastel de azúcar blanco para niños
