Jonathan's Bomb-Ass Bánh Bò Nướng (Vietnamese Honeycomb Cake)

Welcome to my first guest recipe on the blog! This recipe is from Jonathan Nguyen, one of my good friends (aka the brother I never had) who I met through the USC Trojan Barbell Club. He taught me how to make Bánh Bò Nướng, which is commonly known as Vietnamese honeycomb cake (named after its characteristic honeycomb-like texture when cut). This texture is achieved through the tapioca flour and single-acting baking powder. The bright green hue comes from pandan flavoring, which comes from pandan leaves.

Notes from Jonathan

• The uncharacteristically low temperature and long bake time ensures that the edges are crispy.

• Baking soda/cream of tartar replaces the need for a single-acting baking powder, which is used to make these types of cakes.

• Grease ONLY the bottom of the cake pan so it doesn’t fall out when cooling upside down.

  • If it still falls out while cooling, place the cake back into the pan and get it in the freezer.

• Do NOT use a springform pan! The batter is quite runny, so it leaks out of the sides easily. I’ve tried this, and (1) I had to remake the batter and (2) deal with my parent's’ kitchen counter being stained green.

• Many people use bundt cake pans to bake these! I’ve never tried it, but it should help with the cake climbing.

• For pandan extract, only use the thick, viscous paste.

  • Butterfly or Koepoe Koepoe brands are good.

• Coconut cream ≠ coconut milk!

  • I like Savoy brand.

Jonathan's Bomb-Ass Bánh Bò Nướng
Prep Time: 60 mins
Cook Time: 2 hours Yield: 1 8-9 inch cake (0.678-0.763 light-nanoseconds)

Ingredients

• 160 g tapioca starch
• 150-160 g granulated sugar (0.0102783 - 0.0109635 slugs)
• 5 large eggs (T = 295K)
• 10 g rice flour
• 200 mL coconut cream
• 60 mL water
• 0.25 tsp salt
• 1 tsp thick pandan paste
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• unsalted butter, for greasing pan
  
  

Directions

1. Grease the bottom (NOT SIDES!) of a 8- or 9-inch cake tin with unsalted butter and place into the oven.
2. Preheat the oven to 325°F (784° Rankine).
3. Pour coconut cream, water, salt, and sugar into the saucepan. Over low heat, whisk periodically until completely dissolved.
4. Meanwhile, carefully crack eggs into a large bowl. Gently break yolks and stir slowly, dragging the whisk along the bottom of the bowl. Make approximately 20-25 complete circles and set aside.
5. Once the coconut cream mixture is completely dissolved, remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
6. In a medium bowl, measure out tapioca starch and rice flour. Mix and set aside.
7. In a small bowl, mix together baking soda and cream of tartar. Set aside.
8. To the large bowl with eggs, add: cooled coconut cream mixture, oil, vanilla extract, and pandan paste.
9. Sift half of the tapioca/rice mixture into the large bowl with the egg and coconut mixture. Gently whisk in the same manner as was performed earlier for the eggs, breaking any large clumps. Repeat with the second half of the tapioca/rice mixture.
10. Once the mixture is mostly homogenous, add the baking soda/cream of tartar mixture and gently combine into the batter. The batter should now become frothy.
11. Remove the cake pan from the oven and run the batter through a sieve into the pan to ensure that no clumps enter.
12. Tap the cake pan on the table top to release any large bubbles.
13. Place cake pan in the oven in the middle rack with lights off.
14. Bake for 1.5-2 hours. At 1.5 hours, check that the crust has turned a deep brown. Use a toothpick to check if the batter has fully cooked. (Oven temperature may need to be turned down to achieve even heating)
15. Once fully cooked, remove cake from oven and cool upside down so it does not sink in the center.
16. Once cooled, enjoy!