Cherry & Dennis Helper Habitat
Cantonese Water Chestnut Cake
馬蹄糕
Recipe overview
Water chestnut flour and slab-sugar syrup steam into a translucent cake dotted with crunchy chestnut pieces. Cool completely before slicing; hot unset batter is not the finished dish.
01
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 250 g water chestnut flour
- 200 g, peeled and diced fresh water chestnuts
- 800 ml, divided between slurry and syrup water
- 1 tsp to grease tin cooking oil
Sauce seasoning
- 150 g Chinese slab sugar
02
Tools
- knife
- cutting board
- measuring jug
- large bowl
- whisk
- small saucepan
- spatula
- 20 cm square steam tin
- steamer
- oven mitts
03
Steps
Step 1
Wash and peel chestnuts
Scrub, peel and discard discoloured parts.
Step 2
Dice chestnuts
Cut into about 5 mm cubes to retain crunch.
Step 3
Measure flour and water
Measure 250 g flour and divide 800 ml water into two 400 ml portions.
Step 4
Mix cold slurry
Whisk flour with 400 ml cold water until smooth and strain.
Step 5
Dissolve slab sugar
Put sugar in the remaining 400 ml water.
Step 6
Boil syrup
Heat over medium until sugar dissolves and syrup gently boils.
Step 7
Thicken some slurry
Slowly add about one-third cold slurry to hot syrup, stirring until slightly thick.
Step 8
Combine batters
Pour hot thickened mix back into remaining cold slurry and whisk quickly.
Step 9
Fold in chestnuts
Stir diced chestnuts through evenly.
Step 10
Fill steam tin
Grease tin lightly, pour batter in and tap out large bubbles.
Step 11
Steam until translucent
When water boils, steam covered over medium-high about 30 minutes until centre is translucent with no white flour core.
Step 12
Cool and slice
Cool at least 60 minutes before unmoulding and cutting into 12 pieces.
Common mistakes
- Lumpy unsifted flour
- Sugar not fully dissolved
- Deep tin leaves an uncooked centre
- Slicing while hot makes it crumble
Tips
Strain the cold slurry first; keep enough steamer water, then allow the transparent cake to cool fully.
