Bánh Bò Nướng
What is Bánh Bò Nướng?
Let’s start with a quick Vietnamese language lesson: “Bò” means “cow” in English, so “Bánh Bò Nướng” translates to “Baked Cow Cake“. Interestingly, despite the name, there are no cow ingredients in this cake whatsoever. The cake earned its amusing title because the inside of the cake was said to resemble cow udders. While I cannot personally attest to the inner workings of a cow, I am glad at some point in history, the cake underwent a name change and adopting the more fitting title of “Honeycomb Cake.”
What does Bánh Bò Nướng taste like?
In my opinion, the best thing about Bánh Bò Nướng is its chewy texture. It is a characteristic I enjoy in many asian desserts like Mochi Cake. Bánh Bò Nướng or Honeycomb cake is lightly sweetened, with a hint of pandan and coconut flavor. It also has a prominent eggy flavor due to the large amount of eggs that is added to the batter.
What is Pandan?
Pandan is a plant that is used in a lot of Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian desserts. Pandan taste like coconut and vanilla with a light grassy note. It pairs perfectly with coconut and you will see it complimenting each other in many dessert recipes. There are many ways to infuse pandan into your dish. You can blend the leaves with coconut milk or any other liquid and strain it before adding it to your recipe. I find that Pandan extract is a great and easy substitute for fresh pandan and I love the bright green color it adds to any dish.
What makes this recipe Easy?
Bánh Bò Nướng or Honeycomb cake is my moms favorite cake. When she asked me to make this for the first time I was nervous due to its reputation for being difficult to make. Many recipes suggested various tricks to maintain the distinct honeycomb shape, such as preheating the pan or cooling it upside down, but I found that these extra steps were unnecessary. With gentle mixing and a pandan extract shortcut, the process is actually quite simple and yields a delicious cake.
Ingredients
- 14 oz Tapioca Flour – This also makes the cake completely gluten free and gives the cake its chewy texture. This can not be substituted with anything else.
- 8 Eggs – Large eggs to be exact.
- 2 cups sugar – White granulated sugar.
- 22 grams (2 Bags) of Single Acting Baking Powder – Most stores have double acting baking powder. I have substituted with Double Acting Baking powder before and it turned it just fine. A lot of recipes will say that you will end up with inconsistent results but I did not notice much of a difference. Having said that, the cake is typically made with Single Acting Baking Powder and Alsa is the brand I find most in stores.
- 400 ml Coconut Milk – Coconut cream can be substituted for a richer flavor.
- 1 tsp Pandan Extract – Super simple to use and has that great green color to make the cake really pop. It can be omitted altogether or substituted with other extracts such as vanilla or ube.
How to make Bánh Bò Nướng or Honeycomb cake
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your bundt pan. Spray with non stick cooking oil or brush all over with oil. Set aside.
Step 2: Mix flour and baking powder together in a bowl. Set aside.
Step 3: Add the eggs and sugar in a separate bow. Very gently and slowly, stir the mixture with a spoon or a rubber spatula so that no air bubbles form. A tip my mom gave me was to not lift up the spoon at all while stirring and only stirring in one direction. This the most important step to ensure your cake does not turn out flat.
Step 4: Once the eggs and sugar are blended together, you can add the pandan extract and coconut milk. Again, being very careful to not stir to fast which will too many air bubbles. Its okay of the mixture is still a little lumpy.
Step 5: Strain the entire mixture into another bowl. I use a strainer like this.
Step 6: Pour the strained mixture into your prepared baking pan.
Step 7: Gently place in the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes until the crust is nicely golden. Insert a toothpick into the center of the cake to make sure it is crumbly and not gooey.
Step 8: Remove the cake from the oven. Let cool before removing from pan. The cake will stick to the sides. I always have to use a small spatula to help me get it out of the pan.
The cake is delicious served warm. It will be best eaten the same day. However, you can store it for a few days at room temp and reheat in the microwave for a minute before eating.
Easy Pandan Honeycomb Cake or Bánh Bò Nướng
Equipment
- 1 Bundt Pan
- 1 Strainer
Ingredients
- 14 oz Tapioca Flour
- 8 Large Eggs
- 2 cups White granulated sugar
- 22 grams Single Acting Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Pandan Extract
- 400 ml Canned Coconut Milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your bundt pan. Spray with non stick cooking oil or brush all over with vegetable oil.
- Mix flour and baking powder together in a bowl. Set aside.
- Add the eggs and sugar in a separate bowl. Very gently and slowly, stir the mixture with a spoon or a rubber spatula so that no air bubbles form. A tip my mom gave me was to not lift up the spoon at all while stirring and go in one direction. This is the most important step to ensure your cake does not turn out flat.
- Once the eggs and sugar are blended together, you can add the pandan extract and coconut milk. Again, being very careful to not stir to fast which will too many air bubbles. Its okay of the mixture is still a little lumpy.
- Strain the entire mixture into another bowl.
- Pour the strained mixture into your prepared baking pan.
- Gently place in the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes until the crust is nicely golden. Insert a toothpick into the center of the cake to make sure it is crumbly and not gooey.
- Remove the cake from the oven. Let cool before removing from pan. The cake will stick to the sides. I always have to use as mall spatula to help me get it out of the pan. The cake is delicious served warm. It will be best eaten the same day. However, you can store it for a few days at room temp and reheat in the microwave for a minute before eating.
