Mushipan, not Mushy-Pan

About 2 weeks ago, I was browsing cake recipes to find one suitable for my sister’s 15^th birthday. I had strawberry shortcake in mind, but there were a few constraints. Well, just one major constraint really—the cake couldn’t be baked. Why? Due to the relatively recent research regarding acrylamide formation in starchy baked goods, a baking ban has been enacted in our household. In observing this, most of the recipes I happened upon were out of the question. And, since I was looking for a recipe that would yield something light and airy, dense, no-bake concoctions were out of the question as well. As my last resort, I turned to steamed cake recipes, and discovered mushipan. What is mushipan?
It literally means ‘steamed bread’ in Japanese, but in reality this translates to something more along the lines of fluffy steamed cake. In hindsight, I wonder why I didn’t think to try this before. Steaming the batter resulted in a remarkably moist airy cake. For reasons beyond it being acrylamide-free, I will definitely be making this cake again. I ended up adapting a recipe I found online. To make it whole wheat (I used white whole wheat, which is milder in flavor and bakes better compared to typical whole wheat flour), I cut down the overall amount of flour used. I also replaced all fats with coconut oil, and used more milk but less sugar.

Fresh out of the steamer!

The baking steaming process entailed
 some ingenious kitchen improvisation 
of using an inverted bowl as a lid                                         

As for my sister’s birthday cake, I opted to give it a more conventional appearance, but stuck with the strawberry shortcake idea, filling it fresh strawberries and sweetened plain Greek yogurt, topped off with a light whipped cream frosting. Her verdict? Delicious.

Strawberry Shortcake-Mushipan--serves 12
 Adopted from food.com

Ingredients:

 For the cake~

• 1 ½ cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 Tb. baking powder 
•  ½ tsp. baking soda
• 5 Tb. coconut oil
• 4 eggs, room temperature*
•  ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 ¼ cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract 

For the filling~

• 1 lb. strawberries, washed
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 Tb. granulated sugar
•  1 ½ cup plain greek yogurt
• 1-2 Tb. honey

For the whipped cream~

•  1 packet (.5 oz) unflavored gelatin  
•  ¼ cup cold water
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 Tb. powdered sugar

For the garnish~

•  ¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips
•  1 plastic sandwich bag

*If you just got your eggs out of the fridge, no worries. Place the eggs in a bowl of warm water for about 10 minutes instead.

Directions:

Mushipan

1. Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan. Begin boiling water to prepare steamer (A large pot with a rack or criss-crossed serving spoons will also work).
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Mix in milk, oil and vanilla extract. Set aside.
3. Over a large bowl, separate egg whites from egg yolks, placing  egg yolks in a smaller bowl. 
4. Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites on medium low  speed until foamy, then increase speed to high and beat until soft peaks form. Continue beating on medium speed, adding in powdered sugar a tablespoon at a time. Beat until glossy, firm peaks form. Set aside.
5. With the same beaters, beat egg yolks on medium-high speed until they are smooth and are a lighter yellow, about 1-2 minutes. Add to flour mixture, mixing in by hand. If batter is too thick, add in more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, up to 2-3 tablespoons.
6. Using a spatula, gently fold in the flour batter, about a half cup at a time. Do not mix/over-mix, as this will result in a much denser cake. 
7. Pour batter into cake pan, spread evenly with spatula. Tap cake pan on counter a few times to remove large air bubbles. Place in steamer.
8. Cover cake pan with a cheesecloth or paper towel to catch any water droplets. Cover the steamer and steam for about 25 minutes--check for doneness with a toothpick. 
9. Carefully remove cake pan from steamer. Invert onto a plate and let cool. Once cooled, split the cake into two layers and set aside.

Filling

1. Stem and slice strawberries lengthwise. Reserve about a half cup for garnish.
2. Add lemon juice and sugar to remaining slices, refrigerate for 10-15 min. 
3. Combine yogurt with honey, sweetening to taste. Mix well.

Whipped Cream

1. Sprinkle gelatin over cold water, let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes.
2. In a chilled bowl, beat heavy whipping cream on medium-high until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes. Add in sugar gradually. Slowly add in gelatin, and continue beating until peaks are firm. 

Assembly

1. Spread half of the Greek yogurt over the bottom layer of mushipan. Top with strawberry slices, followed with remaining Greek yogurt.
2. Gently place the top layer of mushipan on filling. Frost with whipped cream
3. Garnish with strawberry slices.
4. For the chocolate garnish, place chocolate chips in sandwich bag, removing air before sealing. Place in bowl of hot water and let chocolate melt. Once melted, cut tip off corner of bag and pipe onto cake. Alternatively, pipe onto parchment paper and let harden in refrigerator, then place on cake.

And finally...serve and enjoy!