7.10.2007

Huat kueh -pumpkin, durian, sweet potato

Ever heard of---> Huat Kueh ~ Fatt Koh ~ Prosperity Cake?
Healthy steamed Oriental style fatt kuehs filled with the goodness of steamed pumpkins, durian, yam and sweet potato flesh. High in natural fibres, they are definitely nutritious little snacks for all at home that will bring you health and wealth!


Basically, it is the Chinese version of cupcakes. Most Singaporean or Malaysian Chinese must have had the experience of eating Huat Kueh at some point or another since it is commonly sold everywhere. ( I have never seen these sold in the US). It is usually eaten steaming hot, dipped into sugar (the orange flavored one). It's can also be eaten with fresh shredded coconut. When making this, it is important for the fatt koh to "SMILE" which means that the top has to open or bloom as much as possible. The bigger the smile, the more prosperous or "fa" one will be!

For the all the flavors- sweet potato/yam/durian/ pumpkin, use this basic yeast dough:

A) Yeast dough:
Plain flour 50g
Water 50g
Yeast, 1tsp (7.5gm)
Method:
Mix yeast dough (A) ingredient together. Leave aside for ½ hr until it has proofed.

Sweet potato Fatt cake
(From the picture above, you can tell that my Fatt kueh is smiling real wide!!! It is always exciting to lift up the lid to see how the fatt kuehs turn out. For this sweet potato fatt kueh, I'm surprised at the intense bright orange color because I didn't add any coloring. Maybe it's the sugar. I must say that it taste really good and natural- better than store-bought ones.( The ones sold outside do not use fresh blended ingredients but red/yellow/green coloring to give it a colored look. )

B) Sweet potato (steamed), 200g
Coconut milk, 120g
Water, 40g
Orange sugar, 140g
Egg, 1
Plain flour, 200g
Double acting baking powder, 1dsp

Durian Fatt kueh

( my dad's favorite of the lot. but my mum prefers the pumpkin and sweet potato flavor ;p)
Durian flesh ,200g
Coconut milk, 140g
Water, 40g
Sugar, 150g
Egg, 1
Plain flour( sift), 200g
Double acting baking powder, 1 dsp
Coloring (opt)
B) Pumpkin Fatt Kueh
Pumpkin (steamed), 200g
Coconut milk, 100g
Water, 50g
gula melaka, 140g
Egg, 1
Plain flour, sift, 320g
Double acting baking powder, 1 dsp

Method:
Combine pumpkin/sweet potato/durian, sugar, egg, coconut milk, water together and blend it. Add in flour, double acting baking powder, yeast dough and mix evenly. Pour mixture over cups. Dip a spatula in oil and make an “X” across the batter. Leave it aside to proof for 10 minutes. Steam over high heat for 15 minutes.

*some extra tips: ***

1. Use a rattan basket to steam the fatt kueh as it will cook better.

2. When adding in flour, double acting baking powder and yeast dough into blended batter, do it quick, in one direction, with spread out fingers. Once flour is mixed, stop- do not over mix the batter.

3. Hong kong flour can be used, although unnecessary as it is more expensive.

4. If durian is wet, add in extra 40 g of flour into the batter.

5. Makes about 9-10 fatt kueh for each recipe.

6. It is important to dip the spatula in oil before cutting it deep down into the batter to form an "x".

7. Never remove the lid while the fatt kuehs are being steamed. It might cause them to "not-smile."

***Check out my next post for the similar steamed egg cake recipe....

8 comments:

Simonne said...

hi, Ur fatt koh are lovely. I would like to try Pumpkin fatt Koh someday. Wanna ask for the [B] ingredients, the gula melaka , do you melt it together with coconut milk, + water ?
Thanks
simonneho@yahoo.com

Cherry said...

Hi Sukkimi! Well, just mix all the ingredients together- it will "melt" when you do that. Let me know how it goes!
cheers :)

Anonymous said...

May I know what's orange sugar?

Cherry said...

Hi Sue! I don't know which part of the world you're at but I think it's not available in CA area. It's common in Singapore- at any NTUC or cold storage stores. Orange sugar is typically eaten with Putu Mayam ( i hope it's spelled right) which is something like dried bee hoon.

Blessed Homemaker said...

Hi Cherry, I have a similar recipe from a friend. I've made them twice but both times I didn't managed to get nice smiling huat kueh. I steamed them in plastic cups, do you think that may be the problem? Also, after adding in the yeast dough, I still get some some lumps. How do you ensure that the lumps are all well mixed with the sweet potato mixture?

Reina said...

Hi, Can I dun add the baking powder and can i replace the plain flour with self raising flour?

Unknown said...

Can i use the canned puréed pumpkin? If so, how much liquid to reduce?

Greg White said...

I have made Cherry's recipe and it works great. Just be careful that the Western way of greasing the tin or cup with butter will not result in the cake opening up for a nice smile. If the top of the cake can slide up the side of the container as it steams then it doesn't work very well. The dough is sticky so it catches at the edges as it cooks and hte middle expands and pushes up as it cooks making the nice shape.

Disclaimer: All the recipes posted are for my personal references and/or adapted from mentioned instructors or books. They/I reserve the rights to it. Please remember to cite your sources! Thank you.