Bánh bò is a traditional Vietnamese sponge cake which is made from rice flour, coconut milk, sugar and yeast-fermented sticky rice or dry yeast. The texture of Bánh bò is like a honeycomb, so some people translate Bánh bò as baked honeycomb cake, but it’s not always true because the traditional and common cooking method is steaming. And baking is less common.
There are many variations of bánh bò, such as:
The lucuma bánh bò version has been around very long time ago. In this version, the lucuma flesh is used together with rice flour as the dough.
Peel the lucuma, use a spoon to scoop the flesh and mash it into a paste.
Whisk one egg with 1 tablespoon sugar.
In a large bowl, add baking powder, yeast water, coconut milk, and lekima paste then mix well. Add the sugary egg mixture and stir well.
Add a little water to the dough, and knead it for about 10 mins and let it rest for about 1 hour.
Coat the cake molds with a layer of cooking oil. Divide the kneaded dough into each cake mold, and place them into a pre-heated steamer. Steam for about 15 mins.
Commercial bánh bò flour contains rice flour and a sachet of dry yeast which can be substituted for the yeast-fermented glutinous rice.