This old fashioned Chinese egg cake has a dense crumb and comforting flavor that have a sweet nostalgia for many, including me. They are mini cakes—bake the whole recipe in one standard 12-cup muffin pan!
I love to eat these cakes on their own with my second cup of coffee for the day or a cup of herbal tea. Kaitlin also had the idea of serving them with sliced peaches or berries and a dollop of whipped cream!
Chinese Egg Cake: Background
This Chinese Old Fashioned Cake has a long history that can be traced back to the Qing Dynasty. It is one of the first cakes in China to be made in a mold, influenced by Western baking conventions.
Chinese northerners known it as 槽子糕 (cáo zi gāo). Cáo zi means mold. But for we southerners, it’s simply known as a plain egg cake, 蛋糕 (dàn gāo) or honey cake, 蜂蜜蛋糕 (fēng mì dàn gāo).
During my childhood, I knew of two types of cakes in Shanghai: these old-fashioned cakes and whipped cream cakes (the familiar fruit-topped cakes you’ll see in many Chinese bakeries today, called 奶油蛋糕, nǎiyóu dàngāo, which translates to “butter cake”). As I was developing this recipe, I was chasing the familiar texture and flavor that I remember from that time.
Old-fashioned is Best!
I’ve always been an old-fashioned girl. I prefer old-fashioned donuts—no special toppings or fillings. And this Chinese Old Fashioned Cake with its original flavor is still my favorite.
I simply love the texture. It has the firm consistency of pound cake, but there’s no butter and only five ingredients, making it a bit more eggy and less rich. This is in line with many Chinese cakes, which are lighter than Western cakes. It is still loved by many, as it remains a popular baked good in China.
Both sugar and honey sweeten the cakes. I’ve been indulging and using Bill’s homegrown honey for my cooking and baking. His journey with the bees has been filled with trial and error, but the little honey we have been able to harvest has been wonderful.
How to Store Old Fashioned Chinese Egg Cakes
You can store these in a covered cake stand or sealed container on the counter during the cooler months. During the warmer months when food can spoil faster, store in a sealed container in the refrigerator. They’ll keep for about 1 week.
To enjoy them, you may want to let them come up to room temperature.
Chinese Egg Cake Recipe Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325°F with a baking rack positioned in the middle of the oven. Brush the cups of a standard 12-cup muffin pan lightly with neutral oil.
In a wide bowl, sift the cake flour, and set aside.
Make sure the bowl of your stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl) is completely dry. Add the eggs, sugar, and honey.
With the whisk attachment, turn your stand mixer (or hand-mixer with beater attachments) on medium speed for 2½-3 minutes until you almost have soft peaks. When you let the mixture run off the beater, it should fall in round ribbons. Be careful not to over-whip.
Using a rubber spatula, fold in the sifted cake flour. Then fold in the oil until well-incorporated. You don’t have to be too precious about knocking the air out of the batter—too many air bubbles in the batter will cause the cakes to collapse once baked.
See photos below for proper consistency.
Using a small ladle or ice cream scoop, fill the oiled muffin cups to about 90% full. The batter should fill 12 muffin cups.
Top each with a small pinch of sesame seeds or other chopped nuts of your choice.
Immediately bake for 11-12 minutes until the cakes are lightly golden brown. Cool completely.
These cakes are best served when completely cooled, or the next day. (Hot out of the oven, the flavor is pretty eggy.)
Looking for more authentic recipes? Subscribe to our email list and be sure to follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube!
Recipe
Chinese Egg Cake
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil (such as vegetable, canola, or avocado oil; plus more for brushing)
- 1 cup cake flour
- 4 large eggs (at room temperature; 4 large eggs should weigh about 190g without the shell))
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- Sesame seeds (or finely chopped nuts of your choice, optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F/160°C with a baking rack positioned in the middle of the oven. Brush the cups of a standard 12-cup muffin pan lightly with neutral oil.
- In a large bowl, sift the cake flour, and set aside.
- Make sure the bowl of your stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl) is completely dry. Add the eggs, sugar, and honey. With the whisk attachment, turn your stand mixer (or hand-mixer with beater attachments) on medium speed for 2½-3 minutes until you almost have soft peaks. When you let the mixture run off the beater, it should fall in round ribbons. Be careful not to over-whip.
- Using a rubber spatula, fold in the sifted cake flour. Then fold in the oil until well-incorporated. The batter should pour in flat ribbons at this stage.
- Using a small ladle or ice cream scoop, fill the oiled muffin cups to about 90% full. Top each with a small pinch of sesame seeds or other chopped nuts of your choice. Immediately bake for 11-12 minutes until the cakes are lightly golden brown. Cool completely before enjoying.
