Summary of 29 Delicious and Simple Ways to Make Cakes with a Steamer

1 Gan Cake

The first dish that TasteVN wants to introduce to you is called gan cake. This is a very famous specialty cake originating from the Southwestern region. Gan cake can use both chicken eggs and duck eggs, combined with coconut milk, cocoa powder,… making this cake have a very special flavor.

Instead of baking in an oven, the gan cake of the Southwestern people is prepared by steaming, which makes the final product soft, fluffy, and lightly fragrant with star anise, very pleasant. To enjoy this cake at its best, you should refrigerate it for about 2 – 3 hours before bringing it out to enjoy with your family!

2 Cow Cake

Linked to the childhood of many Vietnamese people, cow cake with its delicious and simple flavor has passed through many generations and continues to live on to this day. Currently, cow cake has many ways of preparation and recipes, but the most popular are baked cow cake, steamed cow cake, milk cow cake, and coconut cow cake.

The recipe below that TasteVN suggests you is tre root cow cake made from pre-mixed flour steamed in a steamer with a standard flavor. The cake has a chewy and fragrant texture, with a sweet, mild taste that is just right. You can refer to this method to show off your skills and treat your family!

3 Sponge Cake

This cake is already very familiar to us, isn’t it? Besides the basic sponge cake, nowadays, through many creations and combinations, sponge cakes have become more diverse and have won the hearts of many diners.

However, we only know about sponge cake baked in an oven, right? The 3 cake recipes that TasteVN is about to introduce below will surprise you because they are actually made using a steamer – a familiar tool in your kitchen!

Sponge cake with 3 different flavors will give you plenty of options. The sponge cake base is fluffy, soft, has good elasticity, and rich flavor that is no less than oven-baked sponge cake! So what are you waiting for? Try it out right away!

4 Dumplings

Dumplings are a famous dish originating from China. Across many countries like South Korea, Japan, etc., this dumpling has been adapted to better suit the local cuisine and tastes. The most popular and standard method for making dumplings is frying – steaming.

When it came to the Vietnamese, to make this dish more authentically Vietnamese, chefs made slight changes to the ingredient list. Notably, the thick ivory-colored dough skin was replaced with a thin, translucent skin to create a beautiful, chewy finished product.

Steamed dumplings are also the famous mandu of South Korea! Depending on your and your family’s preferences, you can use a variety of ingredients for the filling. TasteVN is confident that your dumplings will be incredibly successful and irresistible.

5 Rice Rolls

Rice rolls are a ”meat sticky rice” version of traditional wet cakes that many people love. Recently, rice rolls made from rice paper have become very popular among housewives not only for their delicious taste but also for being quick, simple, and very convenient for busy days.

You just need to mix all your favorite ingredients and then roll them up with thin rice paper, then steam for about 30 minutes and you will have a delicious bánh cuốn to enjoy for breakfast or to change things up for days you’re tired of rice. You can eat it with bean sprouts, cucumber and dip it with sweet and sour garlic chili fish sauce to enhance the delicious flavors of the dish!

6 Xu xê cake

Xu xê cake, also known as phu thê cake, is a traditional cake often present at weddings, originating from Đình Bảng village, Bắc Ninh province.

The cake skin is soft and chewy, with a filling of mung beans that is rich and fragrant with the characteristic coconut milk, all blending into a cake with a delicious and creamy flavor.

7 Green tea flan sponge cake

Have you ever heard of green tea flan sponge cake? If not, make sure to save this because it will be a great choice for you to experience. The sponge cake base is soft, fluffy, and fragrant with green tea, combined with a smooth, creamy flan layer that will leave you in awe.

Using the steaming method, you will have a unique two-layer cake that can cook at the same time, saving a lot of time, right? You can refer to this cake to enjoy with flower tea on a sunset afternoon to lift your spirits!

8 Steamed sweet potato cake with savory filling

On a rainy afternoon, sitting cozy in a sidewalk eatery by a warm stove with friends is nothing short of wonderful, right? In this weather, enjoying a hot steamed sweet potato cake with savory filling, with steam rising, is simply unbeatable.

Steamed sweet potato cake with savory filling uses familiar ingredients such as chicken, pork,… combined with various vegetables to create a rich and delicious flavor. You can replace various types of sweet potatoes like purple sweet potato, yellow sweet potato,… to make the cake more colorful.

9 Quai vạc cake (pillow cake)

Quai vạc cake, also known as pillow cake, is a favorite snack among young people. Making a quai vạc cake can be considered an art form, as the cake must have a transparent skin after being steamed, and the filling should not break. The slightly chewy skin combined with the rich filling will leave you enchanted.

You should enjoy this cake with pickled papaya, dipped in sweet and sour fish sauce or soy sauce to enhance the flavor of this dish!

10 Thuan cake

Thuan cake is a traditional specialty originating from Quang Nam, also known as thurng cake. At the beginning of December, people start making thuan cake to offer to their ancestors or invite guests during the traditional Tet holiday.

After being steamed, the cake has a fragrant aroma, fluffy and pure white, making it very eye-catching. A light bite will let you taste the sweetness of sugar and the light fragrance melting on your tongue, making you want to eat it without getting tired.

11 Gio cake

Gio cake is very familiar to us with its smooth, shiny skin made from glutinous rice combined with a flavorful filling, including minced lean meat with dried shallots, wood ear mushrooms, shallots, and various spices that blend together incredibly deliciously.

This cake is very easy to make; you only need to steam it for about 30 – 40 minutes to have an attractive dish for a nutritious breakfast for your family. A healthy morning with 1 – 2 homemade bánh giò is simply wonderful!

12 Pork Skin Cake

Pork skin cake is a dessert made from starch, white sugar, grated coconut,… with diverse and rich flavors that suit the tastes and preferences of many people. The filling is mostly finely crushed mung beans and is steamed in small molds of various sizes and shapes.

Even now, this cake is still very popular and is often given as a gift due to its rustic, fragrant flavor, which evokes nostalgia and images of the genuine, honest people of the Mekong region.

13 Corn Cake

Corn is a widely used ingredient in cooking, and today TasteVN will introduce you to a delicious cake, a highly creative combination of corn and various flours – corn cake.

In just 20 minutes of steaming, you can enjoy a fragrant corn cake, with the appealing blend of corn and glutinous rice aroma, and the cake has a chewy texture and a very distinctive sweetness.

You should eat it while it’s still hot, and remember to drizzle a little coconut milk on top to enhance its rich and fragrant flavor; it can be enjoyed for breakfast or as a snack!

14 Water Fern Cake

Water fern cake is a specialty dish from Central Vietnam that is loved by all ages. Across various regions, water fern cake is prepared in diverse ways, from sweet to savory, to better suit the taste of diners.

Today, TasteVN suggests 2 recipes for steamed rice cakes created by people from the Mekong Delta, served with a delicious, flavorful, and appealing shrimp and meat sauce.

The rice cakes after being steamed are eaten with green onions, cilantro, and shredded cucumber, drizzled with a little chili sauce on top, making it irresistible no matter how much you eat. Try making this dish to treat your family on the next occasion!

15 Steamed Purple Sweet Potato Cake

Purple sweet potato is a familiar ingredient for housewives. From purple sweet potatoes, you can make many delicious dishes such as minced meat sweet potato porridge, sweet potato buns, sweet potato noodle soup,… you can also make a delicious and creamy steamed purple sweet potato cake with an extremely easy recipe at home.

Steamed purple sweet potato cake has an eye-catching color, a fragrant aroma, a soft and chewy texture, and a sweet and nutty flavor that is incredibly appealing. When eating, you can drizzle some coconut milk and sprinkle peanuts on top to enhance the delicious flavor of the cake. On a chilly day, enjoying hot steamed purple sweet potato cake is just perfect!

16 Buns

Buns are one of the famous dishes rich in Chinese culinary essence. The highlight that impresses diners about traditional buns is their pure white, fluffy skin, which is not something everyone can master.

However, over many decades, along with the continuous creativity of humans, many types of bao buns have been created with various recipes and forms for you to choose from. Below are some bao bun recipes that TasteVN would like to introduce; please take a look!

17 Har gow

Steamed har gow is a type of dumpling originating from Chaozhou province, China. This dumpling has a chewy, translucent skin made from tapioca flour or corn starch, combined with a delicious and rich filling that varies according to personal taste and preference. When eating steamed har gow, you should dip it in ginger soy sauce to experience the uniqueness of this dish.

With just about 15 – 20 minutes of steaming using a steamer, you can have a delicious and flavorful plate of har gow ready. It’s really quick and convenient, isn’t it?

18 Banana sticky rice cake

Banana sticky rice cake will be a great choice if your refrigerator has a few ripe bananas left that you haven’t eaten. The cake has an extremely simple recipe with inexpensive, easy-to-find ingredients. You don’t need to use a complicated oven, just a steamer pot set is enough to make this delicious rustic cake.

The banana cake is made from steamed sticky rice flour, giving it a chewy texture that’s pleasing to the palate. The natural sweetness of the bananas is the highlight that makes the cake even better. The cake is coated with a layer of roasted sticky rice flour, making it very fragrant; you can enjoy the cake while sipping tea and chatting with family, which is also very delightful and ideal.

19 Steamed Radish Cake

Radish cake is a dish of the Chinese people often served with dimsum, which sounds quite unusual, doesn’t it? Radish cake is a dish that is quite easy to eat, often adapted in many ways, but the best is still the traditional steamed radish cake served with shrimp and pork.

The cake is made from a mixture of tapioca flour, rice flour, and cornstarch, combined with shredded radish and a savory filling that can vary according to taste, such as pork belly, char siu, sausage, etc., all of which are very delicious. The steamed cake is soft and melts in the mouth, with rich seasoning, fragrant with the characteristic radish flavor, eaten with various meat fillings that are both filling and very good for health.

20 Steamed Bread with Pineapple Filling

Steamed bread with pineapple filling is quite unique, with a strange taste but equally delicious. The bread is a perfect combination of a soft and fragrant bread crust on the outside and a sweet and sour pineapple filling on the inside, creating a dish that is easy to eat and appealing.

To make the bread delicious, you need to choose the pineapple very carefully, knead the dough firmly, and pay attention to observe the bread throughout the steaming process. Once steamed, the bread expands evenly, golden thanks to the egg yolk brushed on top, and after steaming, let it cool for about 15 minutes before enjoying it with the whole family!

21 Bánh ít

Bánh ít lá gai is a cake that embodies the essence of homeland as well as cultural values. Bánh ít lá gai has a striking dark black shell, and the filling inside is usually sweet, such as mung beans or coconut.

Bánh ít lá gai is made from glutinous rice flour, wrapped in banana leaves, and then steamed using a steamer. The cake is usually small, about the size of a fist, but you never feel bored eating it due to its chewy, slightly elastic texture and the sweet filling inside that is harmoniously balanced and not harsh on the throat. Bánh ít lá gai is often chosen as a meaningful gift for loved ones.

22 Gấc Cake

Gấc cake is a type of cake made primarily from glutinous rice flour and has a filling inside, usually a pureed mung bean filling. Gấc cake is not only delicious and easy to eat but also contains high nutritional value, especially vitamin A, which is very good for health.

The recipe for making the cake is quite simple, does not take too much time, and the ingredients are easy to find. The cake stands out with its bright red outer layer, contrasting with the shiny yellow of the mung bean filling inside, creating an eye-catching highlight.

Gấc cake is best enjoyed steamed and eaten right away while it is still hot because you can easily feel the chewy sweetness of the outer layer and the rich, fatty taste of the mung bean filling inside.

23 Dày Cake (Giầy)

Dày cake is a type of cake closely associated with our national culture for thousands of years. From the dày cake in the legend of Lang Liêu that established history to the present day, dày cake has become a familiar dish loved by many people.

Dày cake has many variations and creative adaptations such as mung bean dày cake, gấc dày cake,… but the most delicious and easiest to eat is probably the traditional dày cake made from steamed glutinous rice flour eaten with Vietnamese pork sausage.

Dày cake is chewy and fragrant with the natural aroma of glutinous rice, served with the rich taste of pork sausage, sprinkled with a little salt and pepper is enough to make it delicious.

24 Tapioca Cake

If you love tapioca pearls in desserts or sweet dishes, you definitely have to try the tapioca cake!

The cake is made from tiny round tapioca pearls that turn translucent when steamed, providing a chewy texture that pairs well with the smooth and fragrant mashed mung bean filling, making it very easy to eat and quite addictive.

The cake is best enjoyed right after steaming while it’s still warm, and remember to add some coconut milk, sprinkle a bit of roasted peanuts or sesame seeds for a delicious dish to serve your family.

25 Steamed Banana Cake

Steamed banana cake is made with simple ingredients like tapioca flour, ripe bananas, shredded coconut,… and with an easy and quick preparation method, it is always a favorite choice among women to delight their families.

The banana cake has an eye-catching golden color, soft and chewy texture, moderate sweetness, balanced with the rich and fragrant coconut milk flavor that captivates your heart from the very first bite. You can add a little vanilla essence to enhance the cake’s aroma.

26 Sticky Rice Cake

Sticky rice cake is a traditional cake that is easy to eat and simple to make, which makes it popular among many people. The sticky rice cake is made from glutinous rice flour, coconut milk, sugar,… and is often combined with various fillings like mung bean or shredded coconut mung bean.

The authentic sticky rice cake must be wrapped in banana leaves and steamed until cooked. The finished cake has a moderate chewiness, with a fragrant coconut milk aroma, a sweet taste, and an attractive golden color. Sharing stories with family while enjoying hot sticky rice cake is truly warm and happy, isn’t it?

27 Tangle Cake

Tangle cake made from cassava is a type of cake associated with the childhood of many people. Surely everyone has once enjoyed the colorful strands of cake in eye-catching green and red, covered with grated coconut, right?

Tangle cake is primarily made from cassava combined with tapioca flour and a little condensed milk to create strands of cassava cake that are both chewy and fragrant with the smell of cow’s milk. If you want the cake to look more appealing, you can add colors from natural ingredients like butterfly pea flower, pandan leaves, beetroot,… to ensure safety for health.

After steaming, the tangle cake is sprinkled with grated coconut and a little sesame peanut salt and is best enjoyed while still hot.

28 Soft Cake

Soft cake is a traditional cake often found during the Mid-Autumn Festival. The cake is a combination of three types of flour: sticky rice flour, regular rice flour, and corn flour, resulting in a characteristic chewy texture. If you want to enhance the aroma of the outer layer, you can add a little grapefruit flower essential oil as desired.

Soft cake is particularly delicious thanks to the filling inside. The common fillings are either mung bean paste or coconut milk,… Good mung beans must be carefully selected to ensure the original flavor throughout the process of cooking the filling and steaming the cake, while the coconut milk filling is rich, fragrant, and mildly sweet.

Enjoying soft cake with a cup of hot tea is extremely suitable. The sweetness of the cake may seem to contrast with the mild bitterness of the tea, but in fact, it is the perfect combination.

29 Taro Cake

Taro cake is a familiar traditional cake for many people. The cake is made from taro, tapioca flour, combined with pandan leaves, giving it a distinctive purple color. The cake is quite simple to make, the ingredients are easy to find, and the steaming process doesn’t take too much time, which are great advantages.

The cake has a chewy texture, and the taste is quite unique. When eaten, one can feel the rich aroma from coconut milk and the light flavor of taro, which is very appealing.