Similar to the all-American chiffon cake, Chinese sponge cake is a light and airy dessert with a soft, fluffy texture and delicate sweetness. The Hong Kong specialty “zi baau daan gou,” or paper-wrapped cake, is a popular version often enjoyed with tea for breakfast. To achieve this buttery, yet cushiony confection, Chinese bakers use a technique called “tang mian,” a roux-like method that starts with combining melted butter with all-purpose flour.
Similar to tangzhong, the traditional Chinese technique that yields the fluffiest bread, the tang mian method of combining hot butter with flour is an effective way to halt gluten formation. In the same way cold butter makes the flakiest pie crust, tang mian ensures that every flour molecule is coated in fat, isolating it from other added liquids and breaking the continuity of the protein structure, and preventing the formation of gluten.
How to bake ultra soft, airy cake
Making a roux from hot butter and flour is the first step to creating one of the softest and fluffiest desserts you’ve ever enjoyed, but achieving an airy texture also requires the help of egg whites. Tapping into the main ingredients in a lofty, cloud-like bake, you’ll need to create a meringue by beating egg whites with a little cream of tartar (or lemon juice) to stabilize it, and then slowly adding sugar until stiff, shiny peaks form. Carefully folding the meringue into the buttery roux will give this superiorly soft sponge the rise inherent in any great chiffon-style cake.
Like angel food cake or chiffon, these Chinese sponge cakes are excellent with fresh fruit, lemon curd, or powdered sugar, but they’re equally delicious unadorned, and still-warm from the oven. It’s a cinch to taste one if you’re lucky enough to live near Hong Kong, or in the San Francisco Bay Area, but they’re also fun and relatively easy to make at home.
