3 ways to make delicious traditional xu xê cake with simple potato filling at home

Making the mung bean filling for Xu Xe cake

First, wash 150g of mung beans and soak them for 2 – 3 hours.

Next, put the mung beans in a pot with 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 350ml of water, and cook over medium heat for 20 – 25 minutes until the beans are soft.

Heat a non-stick pan, add the cooked mung beans, 45g of sugar, 60g of grated coconut, 35ml of coconut oil, and 60g of malt syrup.

Sauté the filling over low to medium heat until it becomes sticky, dry, and does not stick to the pan.

Making the Xu Xe cake skin

Put 350g of tapioca flour, 450ml of pandan leaf extract, and 500ml of water into a pot and stir well until the flour dissolves.

Then, place the pot on the stove, add 100g of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 50g of shredded coconut. Stir well over low heat until the mixture thickens and becomes sticky.

Wrap the Xu Xe Cake

Divide the mung beans into 8 equal parts and roll them into balls.

Spread a layer of cooking oil in the cake mold, then add a little dough, and place the mung bean filling on top.Next, take a bit more dough to cover the top to complete.

Steam the Xu Xe Cake

Place the cake in a steamer, then place the steamer over a pot of boiling water, cover tightly, and steam for 20 minutes until the dough is translucent, and the filling inside is clearly visible and cooked.

Finally, sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds on the plastic wrap, then take the cake out and wrap it into a square shape.

Finished Product

The completed xu xe cake has a fragrant smell of pandan leaves, a crunchy texture of coconut, and the rich taste of mung beans. Xu xe cakes are often found at weddings and are a specialty of the Vietnamese people. Try making xu xe cake right away, no need to go out to buy it anymore.

Make the cake mold

Wash the coconut leaves and soak them in diluted saltwater for about 10 – 15 minutes.

For each cake mold, you will follow the steps below in order:

First, strip the rib of the mature leaf, then cut it into 2 pieces, one piece 4cm and one piece 4.2cm.

Next, use scissors to cut one pointed end of the coconut leaf, then use the 4cm piece of wood to press against the leaf and measure to create 5 equal segments.

After forming 5 equal segments, use scissors to cut off the excess leaf.

Then, use your hands to strip away a small part of the leaf on one side of the leaf groove. After that, use your hands to fold the leaf straight corresponding to the points created earlier.

Next, use scissors to cut right at the folded part of the leaf, noting that the cut should only touch the rib of the leaf.

Alternately fold the edges of the leaf together to make a square fold, and by doing this, you will get a square-shaped box. Then, use a toothpick to secure the cake mold and you have completed the base of the cake.

To make the box lid, you will also perform similarly as above but with the 4.2cm piece of wood. After creating the horizontal folds, you continue to fold the edges of the leaf diagonally at a 45-degree angle.

Next, bend the leaf sequentially along the previously created diagonal folds to form a square box lid.

Finally, use a pin to secure the joint and you are done.

Make mung bean filling

Wash the mung beans and soak them in warm water for 4 – 5 hours until soft.

Place a pot on the stove, add the soaked mung beans and just enough water to cover the beans. Cook the beans over medium heat until they are soft.

Transfer the mung beans to a bowl, then add 25g of sugar and use a hand blender to blend until smooth.

Heat a pan on the stove, add the blended mung beans, 25ml of cooking oil, and 20ml of coconut milk. Stir the filling over low heat until it becomes sticky, soft, dry, and no longer sticks to the pan.

Boil the coconut

Use a knife to cut or shred the coconut meat into small strands.

Boil a pot of water, then add the coconut meat and stir for about 5 – 10 minutes to release all the coconut oil.

Mix the flour

Add 80g of sugar and 60ml of water into a pot and stir well until the sugar dissolves. Then, gradually add 100g of tapioca flour and stir until it is dissolved.

Place the pot of flour on the stove, stirring continuously on low heat until the mixture thickens but still has some liquidity.

Turn off the heat, add the boiled coconut, and continue to stir until well combined.

Wrap and steam the cake

Place the mung bean filling between two sheets of parchment paper, then roll it out thinly, and use a knife to cut it into small square pieces.

Put a 10cm piece of pandan leaf at the bottom of the box, then add a little cake flour into the mold and spread it evenly.

Next, place a piece of mung bean in the center and 4 lotus seeds at the corners. Finally, cover with a layer of cake flour over the filling to finish.

Arrange the cakes in a steamer, place the steamer over a pot of boiling water, cover with a cloth, close the lid tightly, and steam the cakes for 10 – 15 minutes.

Let the cakes cool completely before covering with the lid. Covering the cakes while they are still hot can easily lead to fermentation and spoilage.

Finished product

Traditional xu xe cakes, although they have a quite intricate wrapping method, are extremely beautiful. The small, lovely cakes are chewy, crispy, and blend perfectly with the sweet, rich mung bean and lotus seed filling, making them incredibly delicious.

Grate the Coconut

After purchasing the dried coconut, cut it in half, then use a grater to shred the coconut meat.

Steamed Potatoes

Taro and purple sweet potatoes should be washed thoroughly with water several times after purchasing. Then, cut off both ends and slice into small pieces.

Next, place the taro and purple sweet potatoes into a steamer to steam. Steam for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are soft.

After that, put 100 grams of steamed taro and 50 grams of steamed purple sweet potato into a sieve, and use a spoon to mash them finely.

Making the Filling

Place a pan on the stove, and add the mashed potatoes. Next, gradually add 20 grams of granulated sugar and 50 ml of coconut milk to the pan. Turn on low heat and stir for about 45 minutes.

Then, add 50 grams of shredded coconut into the mixture.

Finally, turn off the heat and stir well.

Make the outer shell

You prepare a clean bowl, add 150 grams of tapioca flour, 50 grams of sugar, and 270 ml of water, then stir well.

Next, bring the mixture to a pan on low heat, then add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and stir evenly.

When the dough sticks together as illustrated, you turn off the heat.

Steam the cake

You take a thin piece of dough to wrap the sweet potato filling. Next, you place it in a mold and then steam for 10 minutes.

After steaming, wait for the cake to cool, then wrap it with plastic wrap.

Product

The xu xe cake with sweet potato filling has a beautiful purple color, sprinkled with a bit of sesame on top. Besides its attractive shape, the cake also has a fragrant coconut and sweet potato aroma.

The filling has the rich taste of sweet potato combined with the sweetness of coconut, while the outside has a soft and chewy texture. All of these create a distinctive and mouth-watering flavor.