Taiwanese Brown Sugar Cake (黑糖糕)

Taiwanese Brown sugar cake combines the best attributes of boba and sponge cake to become some satisfyingly chewy, tender, moist, and springy. You've likely never had a cake like this before, so you owe it to yourself to give this a try!

Taiwanese brown sugar cake has an amazing texture and mouth feel as well as a rich smokey brown sugar aroma. It's basically like boba pearls but in cake form. It originated from Penghu (澎湖) island during the time when Taiwan was occupied by Japanese. It has now became a popular regional delicacy that people love to get when they visit Penghu.

I've never been to Penghu, but I still remember how satisfying it was to bite into the brown sugar cake that my family brought back from Penghu. The QQ texture plus the aroma of brown sugar along with the nuttiness from sesame seeds are a winning combination.

With my recipe, you can also make Taiwanese brown sugar cake at home without flying to Penghu. Just grab a few simple ingredients from the grocery store and you can easily recreate this delicious treat no matter where you live!

Why You Should Try This Recipe

• The texture and mouthfeel are really special, you've likely never had a cake like this!
• It's a delicious and popular Taiwanese treat that you need to give it a try!
• It's hard to buy Taiwanese brown sugar cake outside of Penghu island, but this recipe is easy to make at home.
• Using baking powder and baking soda as leavening agents makes this recipe much easier and quicker.

Ingredients You'll Need

Here are the main ingredients you'll need for making this recipe. Check the recipe box below for the full ingredient list with actual measurement.

Notes

• Flour - I use the combination of cake flour and all purpose to reach the spongy and springy texture I like; however, you can also use cake flour only for a fluffier texture if you prefer.
• Taiwanese Brown Sugar (黑糖) - This is the key ingredient for making this recipe and it cannot be replaced by regular brown sugar. You can find it in your local Chinese grocery store or online. Alternatively, Japanese black/brown sugar (kokuto), will also work perfectly. Make sure you get the sugar in powder/grain form, not in blocks.
• Honey - This helps the cake maintain moist for longer.

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1 - Boil brown sugar with water to bring out the aroma.

In a small sauce pan, cook brown sugar with 2 tablespoons of water over medium heat until the sugar mixture starts bubbling. Lower the heat to medium low and continue to cook for another 30 seconds. Swirl the pan occasionally (but don't stir).

Add a bit of water into the sauce pan and swirl the pan a few more times before adding the rest of the water. Turn off the heat and let it cool down a little.

Meanwhile, line a 9" cake pan with parchment paper and set it aside.

Step 2 - Make cake batter.

When the brown sugar mixture cools down to near body temperature, stir in tapioca flour and mix well.

Add in flour, baking powder and baking soda. Mix well before mixing in honey, oil and salt. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes.

Step 3 - Steam the cake.

While the cake batter is resting, prepare the steamer pot by placing a steamer rack in a wok or a big pot, add 3 cups of water and bring it to a boil.

Place the cake pan on the steamer rack and pour the cake batter into the pan. Cover and steam over medium to medium high heat for 20 minutes. When it's done cooking, open the lid and quickly sprinkle toasted white sesame on the top of the cake. Cover, turn off the heat and let it sit for another 5 minutes.

Step 4 - Let the cake cool down for 15 minutes and enjoy!

Remove the cake from the cake pan, peel the parchment paper on the side and let it cool on a cooling rack. To serve, cut the cake into cubes and enjoy it with tea or milk.

Brown sugar cake tastes the best when it's fresh. Once it cools, store the leftovers in a ziploc bag and try your best to squeeze out the air, this will allow the cake to stay fresh until the next day.

The cake may become less chewy the next day. If so, steam it for 15 minutes to bring back the chewiness. To reheat, you can steam even in something like an Instant pot.

Tips and Tricks

• Boiling sugar helps bring out the smokey aroma of the brown sugar; however, if you are not comfortable doing it, simply mix all the water and brown sugar together in the sauce pan, heat up and stir until the brown sugar is dissolved.
• When boiling brown sugar and water, swirl the sauce pan instead of stirring the sugar mixture with spoon or spatula.
• When mixing in flour, mix in half of the flour first and stir well before mixing in the other half, this will prevent the flour mixture from sticking in your whisk.
• I use a 12" wok to steam my brown sugar cake, but if you don't have a pot/pan that's big enough, you can try making half of the amount of recipe and use a smaller tray that can fit in your pot/pan.
• During the steaming process, you should see a good amount of steam coming out from the the steamer, if not, adjust the heat. If the heat is not high enough, you will end up with a denser cake.
• Taiwanese brown sugar cake tastes the best when it's fresh, feel free to make the half amount of the recipe in a smaller tray if a 9" cake is too big for you.

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