This week at I Heart Cooking Clubs our theme is "Time for Tea" - creating Donna Hay recipes which are perfect to enjoy with a cup of tea, are inspired by tea drinking, or even use tea as an ingredient.
I have to say that Donna has literally dozens and dozens of recipes that would fit the bill, so narrowing the choice down was by far the hardest part of this challenge.
Leafing through my copy of "Dining" (which is now published as "Entertaining"), I came across these Tea Cup Steamed Coconut Cakes. Donna prepared hers in little Chinese tea cups, but I chose to use a selection of these gorgeous little demi-tasse cups which used to belong to my mother.
I made a few minor changes to the recipe: I replaced the 1/2 cup of white sugar and 1/4 cup of palm sugar called for in the original recipe with 1/2 cup of coconut sugar, and I added some ground ginger for a little extra flavour.
The coconut sugar brought beautiful caramel flavours to these little cakes, which were very easy to put together (even for a non-baker like me), and they made a delicious afternoon treat with a cup of jasmine tea. I also loved that, by virtue of these little cakes being steamed, I didn't need to use the oven on a hot and sunny afternoon.
Tea Cup Steamed Ginger & Coconut Cakes Recipe
Adapted from recipe by Donna Hay
from Entertaining
Makes 6-8 (depending on size of your cups)
Click here for a printable copy of this recipe
4x free range eggs
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1-1/4 cups self raising flour
3 tablespoons dessicated coconut
Place eggs and sugar in a medium sized bowl and, using an electric mixer, beat mixture until it is light and thick - about 8-10 minutes.
Gently fold the sifted flour and ginger, along with the coconut, into the mixture.
Spoon the mixture into lightly greased small tea cups, and place cups in a steamer over boiling water.
Cover and steam until the cakes are puffed and firm - 10-15 minutes depending on the size of your cups.
Serve with jasmine tea.
If you would like to get to know Donna Hay a little better, and to see all the fabulous tea-inspired dishes my friends have come up with, then do go visit I Heart Cooking Clubs and check out the links.
I will also be submitting this post to Sweet New Zealand. Inspired by Alessandra Zecchini, Sweet New Zealand is an event for all Kiwi bloggers (whether living at home or abroad), or all foreign bloggers living in New Zealand, to link up their sweet treats. This month, the event is also hosted by Alessandra.
I'll also be sharing this post this week at See Ya In the Gumbo hosted by the lovely Michelle at Ms. enPlace, Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth at Beth Fish Reads, at Cook your Books hosted by Joyce at Kitchen Flavours, and at Foodie Fridays hosted by Designs by Gollam.
I could make these!!! What a great idea to do them in those beautiful cups!
ReplyDeleteYes, Pam, even with your reluctance for baking, you could make these.
DeleteSiempre me llama la atención.
ReplyDeleteun saludito
Thanks you so much, Miju, and thanks for visiting.
DeleteSteamed cakes! How lovely!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Alicia. Funnily enough, I never would have thought of steamed cakes, but really we make steamed pudding so why not steamed cakes.
Deletethese are so adorable
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rebecca, and thanks so much for visiting.
DeleteThank you for your beautiful entry for Sweet New Zealand, can't wait to see which photo you will choose :-).
ReplyDeleteCiao
Alessandra
Thanks, Alessandra. I completely left Sweet New Zealand slip past me last month, so it's nice to be joining in again. I'm having a tough time deciding which photo to choose.
DeleteThose definitely sound delicious! Very cool :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Blogging!
Happy Valley Chow
Thanks, Eric, and thanks for visiting.
DeleteSo pretty - think I would have been scared to use those delicate looking cups.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lesley. Don't think I would have been brave enough to put them in the oven, but in the steamer they were fine.
DeleteI love the photos and your lovely cups. You made a wonderful selection.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Chaya - it was nice to create an opportunity to use the cups, as they tend to spend most of their life tucked away in a cupboard.
DeleteLovely steamed cakes, and beautiful tea cups!
ReplyDeleteCoconut sugar is a new ingredient for me, I have heard of it, but have not come across it yet!
Love your idea of this steamed cake in a tea cup!
Thanks, Joyce. Coconut sugar is a relatively new ingredient to me too - it's absolutely delicious and adds a lovely butterscotch/caramel flavour to things. You do have to be a bit cautious substituting for regular sugar though, as it seems to be quite a bit sweeter, so I would use a bit less of the coconut sugar than you would granulated sugar.
DeleteBeautiful tea cups! The flavours of the cake sound wonderful, especially with the added ginger. I've never made a steamed cake...I'll have to give it a try.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Zosia. Actually I think next time I would add a little bit more ginger, as the flavour was quite subtle. Even adding a bit of stem ginger would be quite nice I think.
DeleteUmmm.... wow! They looks so beautiful in those lovely cups. Great tip on the parchment paper when using a metal steamer.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Beth, and thanks for visiting.
DeleteWhat a delightful and absolutely cute idea to steam cakes in a tea cup! I don't think you could have picked a better recipe to make for this week's theme, Sue.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Michelle - I was so thrilled with the results I really was wishing that I had invited friends over for afternoon tea. Would have been a nice treat to share.
Deletelove the flavors in this - reminds me of these filipino steamed cakes I have made on my blog called puto
ReplyDeleteOoooh, I need to check out those little cakes, Mireille.
DeleteThese are just perfect for tea--love the flavors Sue. (I am also totally coveting your beautiful tea cups too!) I'd love to come share tea with you. ;-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Deb - I would have loved to have you here to share tea with me. As it was, I ate them all myself, which is never really a good thing!
DeleteThose cups are exquisite, initially I missed the 'steamed' and wondered at your bravery putting them in the oven- I'm very glad to see that I was wrong, and you were much too sensible for that. I hope they were delicious.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Louise. The cups are rather gorgeous, aren't they? I'm pretty sure my parents got them for a wedding present, and using them for this was a great reminder that I need to use them more often instead of keeping them hidden away in a cupboard.
ReplyDeleteThe tea cups are just gorgeous and the steamed cakes sound luscious! Lovely post!
ReplyDeleteI have to admit to giggling when I read about your hot and sunny weather. Last week we had subzero temps and it was absolutely wretched outside. However, our time will come and I think it is really cool that you can steam these little cakes right on the stovetop. I think the cakes look beautiful in your mother's tea cups. The pictures are stunning.
ReplyDeleteYour tea cup is gorgeous. Today I bought some coconut sugar, but have yet to use it. This looks like a good place to start.
ReplyDeleteM~
These are gorgeous - what beautiful teacups, Sue! I love that the Ginger Coconut Cakes are steamed - they remind me of steamed puddings but a whole lot classier! I'm going to share this post on FB and pin it as well :-)
ReplyDeleteSimply the best recipes made by you Donna.Love to see coconut cake recipes.I must try for myself because this is easy to prepare after reading your nice recipes elements.
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