Delicately Kueh Bahulu are classic precious sponge cakes usually served during the Chinese New Year. They are delicious, crunchy from the outside and soft on the inside, perfect for dunking in coffee! These little beauty bake up in a minutes and are gone in seconds!

Kueh Bahulu, is our all time favorite cake during the festive season. It's hard to believe that these Kueh Bahulu is made from humble ingredients as flour, eggs and sugar, but it's true. While the task might seem intimidating on the outset, actually it's easier than it seems once you get the rhythm going.

Chinese New Year baking is in full swing at my house and one of my favorite treats to make this time of the year is, Kueh Bahulu. Mom requested her favorite Kueh Bahulu for this coming festive season. Making these little cakes do evoke lots of her childhood memories which my late grandma used to made during the festive season. Mom mentioned that the first thing that came to her mind was the smoke getting into their eyes, making them tear as they fanned the flames. It was a tough job then but no one complained because, everyone was in such festive mood. Mom totally forgotten the recipe, thankfully my neighbour, James Wan Chee Keong an editor for Famous Cuisine was gracious enough to share the recipe.

My first attempt using BBQ gas converter with lava rocks to bake these basic sponge cake. Surprisingly, it turn up well more than I expected. Using high heat is the secret in making these popular, traditional treats. To make this classic recipe, you need to fry the flour on low heat or you can easily place the flour under the hot sun for 3-4 hours to let the flour dry, thus will make the cake lighter. Followed by beating the eggs with sugar until fluffy, incorporate as much air as possible and gradually adding flour in three batches at a time. It appear to be simple but required a lot of patience and you will need to follow the instructions and tips carefully.

As simple as they are tasty, these Kueh Bahulu keep extremely well and a good choice to give as a gift during the festive season. It's also great any other day of the year! Happy Baking!

On low heat, fry the all-purpose flour with pandan leaves until light and dry.

Once cool, sift all-purpose flour with rice flour together, sift at least twice.

Whisk the eggs, castor sugar and salt on high speed, approximately 20 minutes.

The mixture turns to pale and fluffy and ribbons form when the beaters are lifted.

Sift flour into the wet ingredients 1/3 at a time, folding after each addition.

Gently stir all the ingredients until well incorporated. Do not over mix the batter!

All ready to bake!

Preheat the BBQ gas converter with lava rocks at 200°C ( 400°F ) together with the moulds. The moulds must be extremely hot before adding the batter, so this delicate cake will not stick to the mould when removing them.

Spoon batter into the moulds, slightly above the top.

Takes only a few minutes and they're ready to be eaten.

KUEH BAHULU

Author : Vivian Tee
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Yields: 35- 45 pieces


INGREDIENTS:

• 110 grams all-purpose flour
• 2-3 pandan leaves
• 1 tbsp of rice flour
• 3 large omega eggs (chilled)
• 130 grams of castor sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• Butter or cooking oil for greasing the moulds

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. On low heat, fry all-purpose flour with pandan leaves until light and airy about 20 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool. Once cool, sift the all-purpose flour and rice flour together at least twice and leave aside.
2. Place the eggs, sugar and salt in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat until pale and fluffy, approximately 20 minutes on medium- high speed. 
3. Gently add in the sifted flour and fold lightly, best to do it in three or four stages until incorporated. *Do not over mix the batter, the cake texture it will turn dry and tough.
4. Preheat the BBQ gas converter with lava rocks at 200°C (400°F). Place the bahulu moulds and heat about 6 minutes. *The moulds must be extremely hot, so these delicate cake will not stick to the mould when removing them. 
5.  Using a silicon pastry brush, greased the interiors of the mould with butter or any cooking oil.
6. Spoon in the batter to the top of the mould. Bake for 8 minutes with the BBQ  lid closed until golden brown. Remove the baked kueh bahulu using a bamboo skewer or a cake tester. Greased the mould and repeat the same step with the remaining batter.
7. If you're using oven , preheat the oven at 190°C (375°F) together with the bahulu mould on the baking pan (for easy handling when removing the hot mould from the oven). Carefully remove the hot mould from the oven and grease with cooking oil.
8. Spoon in the batter and bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Using a bamboo skewer or cake tester, gently loosen and remove the kueh bahulu from their mould. Greased the bahulu mould again and place in the oven to heat up. Repeat the process with the remaining batter.
9.  Cool on wire rack and store in air tight container.

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