肉松小贝 Pork Floss Cake
This, too, is a thing apparently. I didn’t seek this one out, it came to me. My friend Lu mentioned in passing about her interest in making this at home, and almost bought a hand mixer just to make this sponge cake. I had never seen anything like it before, but there are tons of recipes online.
It’s basically two patties of chiffon-style cake (the kind Asian people love), sandwiching and surrounded by a creamy sauce, then coated in pork floss. Supposedly the sauce is either Kewpie or a pastry cream (which are pretty different). I’ve never had the original, so I don’t know what it’s really like. I ended up making some of both.
Rousong Xiaobei
Chiffon cake
Combine in a bowl, and whisk until sugar dissolves (when you no longer feel the sugar crystals when rubbing between your fingers) and mixture lightens:
5 yolks (reserve whites)
20g sugar
50g oil
50g milk
Sift over wets in (1):
80g cake flour
2g salt
Beat on medium-ish speed with a hand/stand mixer:
5 egg whites (reserved from above)
drop of any acid for stability
vinegar, lemon juice, pinch of cream of tartar, etc
Whip egg whites until they start to become foamy, then start adding gradually:
50g sugar
Whip meringue until medium-ish peaks. Not too soft, not too stiff.
Fold 1/3 of the whites into the batter, followed by the rest of the whites.
Fill a 1/4 sheet tray or a 8x8 square cake pan.
OR pipe little dollops of cake about 3.5” in diameter
Gently tap the sheet tray on the counter to pop larger air bubbles.
Bake at 300F for 20-25 minutes, or until done and golden.
Rotate half way through for even baking if necessary
Optional custard filling:
Heat until simmering (stir occasionally):
150g milk
30g sugar
Combine when almost simmering:
2 yolks
15g sugar
10g AP
Temper yolks into warm milk.
Honestly with this small amount, just dump it all in the pot, turn on the heat, and whisk until thickened.
Cook, constantly whisking until boiling.
Add off-heat and whisk to incorporate:
80g cream cheese
Strain through a fine mesh strainer.
Spread onto a tray in a thin layer, cover with plastic touching the cream (to prevent a skin from forming), and cool in fridge.
Once pastry cream is cool, fold in 90g whipped cream.
Alternatively, just use Kewpie mayonnaise to coat.
To assemble:
Cut rounds out of the tray of cakes, or remove the little rounds of cake and pair them up.
Sandwich a smear of your preferred sauce between two layers of cake, and smother the outside of the sandwich with sauce too.
The easiest way I found to coat the outside is to hold it by the flat surfaces, and ice the rims first.
Then, hold it flat in your palm again, and frost the top side. Turn that top face onto your pork floss mix. Then frost the very last side, and pour floss everywhere.
You could put a generous layer of custard, but a much more sparing layer of kewpie (just enough to let the pork floss stick.)
Notes:
I prefer the Kewpie version. I think the custard is a little too sweet, and it makes the whole thing tastes like cake with pork floss. The kewpie version tastes more like very sweet bread with rousong on the outside.
In the end, I didn’t find it very magical of a combination. It is a little strange, I’ll admit. I wouldn’t make it unless you have tried it in a bakery and know you like it. It’s just a cute little sweet/savory snack. You could skew it toward one or the other with your choice of filling.
This uses more pork floss than I expected. I think a standard small pint container only makes 7, maybe 8.
The cake is a good version of the cakes that you find in every Asian bakery, very versatile recipe. I didn’t include the most beginner-friendly instructions because I think for a successful chiffon, you’d have to already be familiar with some basic techniques like folding, tempering egg yolks, and whipping meringue. That said, this is probably the most forgiving application of a non-perfect chiffon, as opposed to one of those Asian whipped cream frosted cakes!