In the midst of clearing my kitchen out, I came across a full bag of rice flour. So I googled and experimented, coming up with this simple cake that is familiar in South East Asia, especially Malaysia where I used to live. And to be honest, I got nostalgic about this as this is part of Malaysia that is disappearing….not to soon, I hope!

Do watch this video to see what I mean:

To make yeast mixture:

Make sure your yeast is fresh, ie. they make lots of bubbles within 10 minutes. Dissolve 3/4 tsp yeast in 1 TBSP warm water. Leave in a warm place whilst you make the rest of the stuff.

And then, just before use, add 1 TBSP sunflower oil to the mix. Don’t forget!

To make the pandan syrup:

Boil 6 pandan leaves in 150mls water and 100gms sugar for around 10 minutes or until fragrant. Discard the leaves. Make sure you have about 150mls of fluid left.

To make the cake:

• 140gms rice flour, sieved (make sure there is no lumps!)
• 150gms water
• 1/2 tsp salt.

Mix everything together, including the yeast mixture and pandan syrup. Allow to rise in a warm place for 3 hours.

Grease a stainless steel plate. Pour the mixture in. Cover with aluminium foil and steam for 30 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting. I love the texture! (note: I added steamed banana slices for variation.)

Serve with Chinese tea.