Lucuma Honeycomb Cake (Bánh bò Lêkima)

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Save Recipe lucuma banh bo
  • 2Servings
  • 20 mPrep Time
  • 15 mCook Time
  • 40 mReady In
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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:

  • Banh bò rễ tre – standard bánh bò with a chewy texture resembling bamboo roots
  • Bánh bò bông – fluffy cupcake-like bánh bò by adding baking powder as an ingredient.
  • Bánh bò lá dứa – aromatic green-colored bánh bò with pandan leaves
  • Bánh bò gấc – refd-colored bánh bò with the flesh of gấc fruits
  • Bánh bò thốt nốt – a baked version with palm sugar
  • Bánh bò Cao Bằng – a baked version in Cao Bằng province with brown sugar instead of coconut milk and sugar

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.

lucuma fruits
lucuma fruits

Ingredients

Step by step method

  • Step 1

    Peel the lucuma, use a spoon to scoop the flesh and mash it into a paste.

  • Step 2

    Whisk one egg with 1 tablespoon sugar.

  • Step 3

    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.

  • Step 4

    Add a little water to the dough, and knead it for about 10 mins and let it rest for about 1 hour.

  • Step 5

    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.

Tips & variations

  • Commercial bánh bò flour contains rice flour and a sachet of dry yeast which can be substituted for the yeast-fermented glutinous rice.

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