Black Sugar Dried Longan Cake 妃娟的黑糖桂圆蛋糕

上个星期趁假日做了这个很东方口味的蛋糕。桂圆其实就是我们这里的龙眼干，可是桂圆听起来是不是文雅好听多了？

周老师部落格里头的食谱已经bookmark很久了，最近网上也流传大家推崇的配方，但是最终还是选了妃娟书里的食谱来尝试，因为发现食谱越买越多但往往真正动手做时却不选花钱买来的的食谱，所以我跟自己说往后要善加利用买回来的食谱。

这个蛋糕的组织太棒了，软绵中不失口感，有点介于海绵蛋糕和磅蛋糕之间。至于口味方面，吃惯西式口味的蛋糕偶尔换换口味也很不错。这个口味家人都很喜欢。我觉得这个蛋糕很养生，送个老人家特别适合。

这里要特别提一提食谱里用的黑糖可不是一般烘培用的黄糖（brown sugar）。黑糖颜色较深，味道也比较香，可以在药材店或是大型超市的干粮部买到。黑糖有杂质和粗粒所以一定要筛过才能使用。龙头干要选用黑色的味道比较香。



泡好的桂圆 Pre-soaked Dried Longan



黑糖 Black Sugar



My family and I like this cake a lot. Dried longan flavour is not a common flavour in Singapore and Malayisa but it is very a common and popular flavour in Taiwan. The taste is rather "oriental" so I would say it is "like it or leave it" kind of cake.

The cake base is sponge cake but the texture is moister and tenderer than usual sponge cake, I think it could be due to the additional use of egg yolk in the recipe. Also need to take note that the “black sugar” used in the recipe is different from brown sugar we commonly use in baked goods. Black sugar is available in medical hall and sometimes the dried food section of supermarket. Black sugar contains lump and impurity, thus it must be sifted before use.

     

Black Sugar Dried Longan Cake

Ingredients:
100g dried longan (cut into small pieces) (use the dark colour type)
70g Yakult (I used Vitagen, original flavour)
2 tsp rum
160g whole eggs (about 3 small eggs or 2 ½ large eggs)
20g egg yolk (about 1 egg yolk)
80g black sugar (黑糖) (sifted weight)
110g low protein flour aka cake flour (sifted)
80g unsalted butter (melted and keep warm)
60g walnut (chopped)(I used some whole walnut too)

Method:
1) Combine dried longan and Yakult, cook over small fire and bring it to a boil, off fire. Add rum once the mixture cool down and soak for 30 mins. Drain and keep the liquid for later use.
2) Beat egg and sugar till ribbon stage (when lift up the beater, the batter will drop slowly and form thick ribbon).
3) Fold in flour in 3 additions.
4) Mix melted butter with the Yakult mixture. Take a small portion of batter and mix with it (this way it is easier to incorporate the fat into the batter) then return to the original batter, mix well.
5) Scoop batter to fill up half of the muffin cup and add dried longan on top, fill the cup with batter till 80% full, sprinkle walnuts on top (can make about 10-12 small cups, depending on the cup size).
6) Bake in preheated oven at 180Ck, middle rack, for about 10-15 mins till the cake surface is set, Then lower the oven temperature to 150C, continue to bake for another 10 mins till fully cooked (a toothpick inserted and come out clean).

Note:
I would love to have some chopped walnut added into the batter next time to make it nuttier.

(Recipe adapted from 《美味糕点新主张》by薛妃娟)