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Kueh bahulu or 鸡蛋糕, literally means egg cake, is this tiny golden sponge cakes popular in Malaysia and Singapore. Kueh bahulu is typically made with eggs, flour, and sugar. In this recipe, I have swapped sugar with stevia sweetener instead and added vanilla extract for some flavour and vegetable oil and whipping cream for some moist in the cake. I also experimented with pandan coconut flavour and yuzu honey, which got thumbs up from my family!
Where did kueh bahulu come from?
The name “bahulu” is thought to be a local Malayan adaptation of the Portuguese word bolo, meaning cake, reflecting the influence of Portuguese‑Eurasian communities in Malacca, and the wider regions during the old days. I have seen my aunties and mum baked this cake in small metal moulds over charcoal, which is the traditional way of making the cake. These little sponge cakes are often made during festive seasons such as during Hari Raya and Lunar New Year. But these days, you can easily buy it over the counter in some of the local and traditional bakeries.
How to adapt the recipe for refined sugar-free?
Traditional Southeast Asian snacks often pack a surprising amount of refined sugar and calories, especially when enjoyed in large quantities during festive seasons. I am not a big fan of refined sugar and tend to cut it out of my recipes and cooking most times. In fact, I have not had white refined sugar in my kitchen for a long time, instead I have been used unrefined sugar such as demerara unrefined brown sugar, monk fruit sweetener or stevia sweetener. Of course baking is a huge challenge without white sugar and a lot of trial-and-error involved in experimenting with these alternative sweeteners.
The benefits for substituting refined sugar are tremendous considering sugar is the cause of many chronic diseases out there. A refined sugar–free version still satisfies the sweet tooth but does so with fewer “empty” calories and a gentler impact on energy levels.
A basic kueh bahulu batter starts with eggs, flour, and sugar, beaten until light and fluffy before being poured into hot moulds. To make it refined sugar–free, you can replace granulated sugar with monk fruit sweetener, or stevia sweeteners, which behave similarly in volume‑based recipes and do not spike blood sugar.
Watch how to make kueh bahulu on YouTube
Tips on making kueh bahulu
I have made kueh bahulu many times over the past few years and I usually keep in mind these tips when I make them.
- Kueh bahulu tend to be a little dry for the texture. I added vegetable oil and whipping cream in this recipe for some moist in the cake.
- You can add flavours such as pandan coconut, yuzu, rose jam (happened to buy some from Yunnan, China) and vanilla extract. Otherwise, the original taste is really quite basic due to its humble ingredients of plain flour, egg and sugar.
- The mould needs to be adequately greased and heated up before pouring the cake batter in. It may seemed to be very oily but don’t wipe off the oil. You need enough grease in the mould cavity so that it helps create a crispy crust around the cake and most importantly, prevents the cake from sticking and thus allows easier demoulding of the cakes. Well greased and heated moulds will create smooth cake surfaces, otherwise the cake surface will be ‘hairy’ as part of it stuck to the mould.
- After every bake, you can reuse the same mould again to bake, however it is important to grease and heat the mould again before pouring in the cake batter.
- Ensure ingredients are not chilled, for example, eggs, whipping cream should be in room temperature for easier mixing.
- I used whipping cream in this recipe, but feel free to subtitute with vegetable oil or coconut cream.
- I used cake flour for its finer texture and lower protein content which also produces more tender cakes. However feel free to use plain flour.
How to store kueh bahulu
The kueh bahulu cake should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. It can last for 7-10 days if stored properly, although it is best enjoyed fresh. I wouldn’t recommend storing in the fridge as cakes tend to dry out and becomes harder but if you intend to keep it longer, you can still store it in the fridge.
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Kueh Bahulu 鸡蛋糕 (Refined Sugar-Free)
Detailed Step-by-Step Video
Ingredients
- 70 g cake flour, or plain flour
- 60 g stevia sweetener, optional to increase to 90g
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tbsp whipping cream, or coconut cream, room temperature
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil, or melted butter
- vegetable oil, for greasing the mould
Instructions
- Grease the mould generously with some vegetable oil.
- Pre-heat the oven at 180C or 356F with top and bottom heat setting with fan. Heat the mould in the oven.
- Use food mixer with whisk attachment, mix 2 large eggs and 60 g stevia sweetener, and beat at high speed until ribbon stage. This takes about 4-5 minutes. Note: The egg mixture will thickened, and the mixture will fall off the whisk in thick trails.
- Sift in 70 g cake flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, and 1/8 tsp salt. Use a spatula to fold to combine the ingredients carefully until no signs of flour.Then add 1 tbsp vegetable oil and 1 tbsp whipping cream and 1 tsp vanilla extract and mix with spatula. Take care not to over mix.
- Transfer the batter into a piping bag. This step is optional but will be less messy than using a scoop to transfer the batter into the mould.
- Remove the mould from the oven. Then add the cake batter into the mould cavity, filling it to 95% full.
- Immediately place the mould in the oven and bake at 180C or 356F for about 10+/- min until golden brown. The timing depends on the size of the mould.
- Once baked, demould the cake by using a stick or chopstick and 'flip' the cake out of each mould cavity. Note: You can use the same mould to continue baking, just ensure to grease and heat the mould before adding the cake batter.
- Let it cool completely on a cooling rack.
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