Vietnamese Steamed Layer Cake with Pandan and Mung Bean Paste (Banh Da Lon)
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Vietnamese Steamed Layer Cake with Pandan and Mung Bean Paste (Bánh Da Lợn)
One of my favorite Vietnamese desserts is bánh da lợn, a colorful green and yellow steamed layer cake. You can easily spot this dessert at a Vietnamese bakery by its beautiful alternating layers of yellow and green.
Some of the items you will need: tapioca starch, rice flour, glutinous rice flour and mung beans.
This cake is made up of a base mixture of rice flour, glutinous rice flour, tapioca starch, coconut milk and sugar. The mixture is then equally divided into two, and flavored with pandan for the green layer and sweetened mung bean paste for the yellow layer. It’s then steamed, layer by layer.
Pandan Leaves (Lá Dứa) - Mainly used in Vietnamese desserts for their green color (although dull) and coconutty aroma.
First cut into small pieces then chop in a food processor or blender with a bit of water.
Then strain through a fine sieve. Discard the pulp and use the liquid.
Vietnamese Steamed Layer Cake with Pandan and Mung Bean Paste (Bánh Da Lợn)
Yellow mung bean is the consistency of pancake batter.
Green pandan batter is thinner in consistency.
It’s not overly sweet like other desserts. It’s springy, chewy, and slightly sticky. It’s the perfect dessert to satisfy a sweet craving without the sugar rush. Best of all, it’s so much fun to eat. You can separate the layers of the cake and enjoy each layer one by one, which is what I love and must do every time I have this cake.
I introduced this cake to my daughter recently and she too loves it. She pulls off a layer, gives it a jiggle, then pops it in her mouth, just like mommy.
Vietnamese Steamed Layer Cake with Pandan and Mung Bean Paste (Bánh Da Lợn)
You don’t need a Vietnamese bakery to enjoy bánh da lợn. If you have the time (and a steamer basket and blender), it’s actually quite simple to make at home. Most of the time is spent waiting for each layer to finish steaming. Other than that, it’s a piece of cake. Pun intended.
Vietnamese Steamed Layer Cake with Pandan and Mung Bean Paste (Bánh Da Lợn)
There are popular tweaks to the traditional cake. Some cakes use durian instead of mung bean for the yellow layer. Some use taro for an additional purple layer. I’m sticking to the traditional cake below. Happy steaming!
Vietnamese Steamed Layer Cake with Pandan and Mung Bean Paste (Bánh Da Lợn)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Wash dried mung beans until water runs clear then transfer to a small pot. Add water to cover by 1½ inches. Cook until softened on medium-low heat, uncovered (about 20 minutes).
- To a blender, add cooked mung beans, salt, tapioca starch, rice flour, coconut milk, vanilla extract, and sugar. Blend until smooth. Pass the mixture through a sieve to remove clumps. The mixture will have the consistency of pancake batter.
- Rinse the blender. Cut pandan leaves into small pieces. Add cut leaves and water. Blend until smooth. Strain liquid through a sieve to extract the liquid and set it aside. Discard the pandan pulp.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together pandan water, tapioca starch, rice flour, glutinous rice flour, sugar, salt, coconut milk, and pandan gel extract. Pass the mixture through a sieve to remove clumps. The mixture will be much thinner in consistency than the yellow batter.
- Use a large steamer that will fit a 9-inch circular cake pan with a depth of at least 2 inches. You can also use two smaller cake pans. Get the steamer ready by filling the basin halfway with water. Bring the water to a medium simmer. Have some kitchen towels handy to wipe down the inside of the steamer lid. This will prevent water from falling onto the cake while steaming.
- Divide the green batter equally between 3 bowls. Divide the yellow batter equally between 2 bowls. The cake will have 5 layers, starting and ending with the green pandan layer.
- Brush vegetable oil on the bottom and the sides of the pan. Steam the oiled pan by itself for 5 minutes. Add the first bowl of green batter. Warning: It will be hot but you will have to pour slowly, close to the pan, to prevent bubbles. If there are bubbles, you can scoop them away with a spoon (purely for aesthetics) or leave them be. Steam for 5 minutes.
- Open up the lid and give it a quick wipe down on the inside. Add a bowl of yellow mung bean layer. Steam for 7 minutes. Continue this pattern until all batter is gone. 5 minutes for green. 7 minutes for yellow. Make sure to wipe down the inside of the lid each time a new layer is added.
- Carefully remove the cake from the steamer and allow the cake to cool completely before cutting.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
695Fat
29Sat. Fat
25Carbs
108Fiber
7Net carbs
101Sugar
34Protein
10Sodium
219Cholesterol
0The values provided should be considered estimates. Factors such as brands purchased, natural variations in fresh ingredients, etc. will change the nutritional information in any recipe. To obtain accurate nutritional information for a recipe, use your preferred nutrition calculator to determine nutritional information with the actual ingredients and quantities used.
