Japanese steamed sausage cakes
Posted in 30-minutes recipe, cake/ muffin, Chinese, Featured Articles, Japanese
Mushi-pan ( 蒸しパン ), literally translated as steamed cupbread. But if you ask Uncle Google, you will also find it being associated with buns, cakes or muffins. Personally, I like to call it a “cake” as its texture is closer to a light version of mini cupcake, but not as dense and chewy as the tradition Chinese prosperity cakes (“fatt gou/ huat kueh” 发糕).
I must say that mushipan is the easiest thing to make when compared to all the other baked goods that I had tried so far. The original mushipan recipe only uses six basic ingredients, namely egg, sugar, low protein flour, baking powder, milk and salad oil. Mix them well, pour the batter into moulds and steam them! With just 15 minutes of preparation and another 12-15 minutes of steaming, your piping hot steamed cakes will be ready on your table. The best thing is no electrical mixer and oven are required. If you want to learn how to make a basic mushipan, you can refer to Mushipan-Steamed cupbread/ cake recipe posted by Alice of Bits-of-Taste.
The basic recipe, which served as a reference guide, can be tweaked to become a sweet or savoury version depending on individual’s creativity. I have been doing some experiments on both types but end up liking the savoury recipes more. Today, I have selected my favourite savoury recipe (which is adapted from a mushipan cookbook) to share with you. This Japanese-inspired recipe created a touch of fusion by using cheese, sweet paprika and sausage. This perfect pairing makes the mushipans so tasty and fun to chew on. These mushipans are soft and flavourful when served warm. Even when they have cooled down, they still taste good. Of course, the warm ones taste better.
I bet your little ones would find these savoury mushipans totally irresitable as there are hidden bits of sausage and subtle cheese flavour. If you prefer a healthier version, simply substitute sausage with cooked chicken meat or frozen green peas. As these mushipans are small in size, they are easy to handle by your tots and ideal for outing, party, or packed lunches.
If you have tried and liked the steamed pumpkin muffins recipe I posted earlier, then this is another great recipe that should go to your bookmark list. This post is also specially dedicated to those who love baking but do not own any electrical mixer or oven. By putting a little effort, your family will get to enjoy this healthy yet cost saving homemade treat. Happy trying!!! (and succeeding)
Other mushipan recipes:
- Basic mushipan recipe (with milk) – Bits of Taste
- Basic mushipan recipe (with condensed milk) – La Fuji Mama
- Chocolate chips and corn cheese – Just One Cookbook
- Sweet potatoes with pandan (screwpine leaves) flavour – Cuisine Paradise
- Sweet corns – Cuisine Paradise
- Butternut squash – Pigpigscorner
=> Get the Japanese steamed sausage cakes recipe and step by step tutorials at PAGE 2 BELOW.
60 Comments
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I was so intrigued by your blog title and it really does look super yummy! Your photography is beautiful btw – loving the natural light!
Janine: Thanks for dropping by and your wonderful compliments!
Oishii!!!! I love steamed cake. And your sausage sure look great!
Ellena: I love your steamed cake a lot! They really inspire me to bake some for myself too!
Gosh.. the steamed cake looks very delicious and pretty. I’m sure my family loves this steamed cake if I make one at home.
Anncoo: Thanks!!! Looking forward to your feedback!
These are so cute even with sausages and I love your little picks
Xiaolu: Thanks!! The little picks was collected from the restaurant and “recyled” by me.
Wow~~~~ Your mushipan looks BEAUTIFUL! And the cover picture…. gosh, it’s like a photo from a magazine! This is great for kids. Even perfect for lunch! Thank you for the link.
Nami (JOC): Thanks for your wonderful compliments!! Your mushipans look beautiful too!! I also love seeing your two adorable kids in action. You definitely deserve the link back.
I adore the texture of steamed cake! I love that this has a savory edge to it.
Joanne: Thanks!! I never expect this savoury cake can turn out so well and I really fall in love with it.
Beautiful colour and looks moist and delicious.
Mary Moh: Thanks!!
I love making steamed cakes. I’ve never tried adding a savory element like sausage. This variation looks delicious
Kirbie: This is also unusual to me too. Yes, they are a hit in my family now.
you have such a gorgeous blog and the photos are stunning! This is a very different kind of cupcake and looks absolutely perfect.
Kankana: Thanks for dropping by and your nice comment!
Is that a savory cake? I don’t think I have tried mushipan before :O
Tigerfish: Yes, it’s a savory cake. It’s idiot-proof. Give it a try!
I love the color! my daughter would like them!
Peachkins: Thanks! Give it a try!
May I know what’s salad oil and paprika powder?
TIA
Questions: Salad oil means any edible vegetable oil that might be used in a salad dressing. You can use corn oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, canola oil, peanut oil, a light olive oil, or any other fairly bland vegetable oil you can find. To read more, please refer to this link – http://www.ochef.com/1005.htm. Paprika powder is made from bell peppers/ capsicum. It can range from mild to hot. I am using sweet paprika powder. You can refer to the photo in the recipe.
This mushipan looks great! I have to put it in my list! Thanks for the link.
Alice: Thanks!! Do give it a try! Don’t mention that. You deserve it.
Your mushi pan looks so pretty! I have a Japanese cookbook just featuring mushipan and have tried a couple of recipes from it… I am now tempted to go back to it again… sigh, so many recipes so little energy and time!
Shirley: Thanks!! Yes, I have the same problem too. My to-bake list is getting longer and longer now.
They are really gorgeous, love the golden hue ^^
Noobcook: Thanks!!
Wow, they look so pretty. I love Mushi-pan too because they only need simple ingredients and easy to make. Thanks for sharing this one, would love to try one day.
Min: Thanks!! It’s my pleasure to share. Looking forward to hearing your feedback.
Wow savoury cakes… Have yet to try them. Your photos are really great!
The Sudden Cook: Thanks!!! Give it a try!! Highly recommended to cheese and sausage lovers.
Gorgeous! I would have never guessed by the photo that these were steamed.. they look just like a muffin. I love the savory idea, though – I’m always the one who were prefer salty to sweet.
Sasha: Thanks for dropping by and your kind words. It tastes just as good as savory muffin. Give it a try!
I think I might
Sasha: Looking forward to your feedback soon.
Those sausage bites look so great on the steamed muffins and for sure give them some extra flavours and textures.
Angie: Yes, you said it all!
Love the color and this savory steamed cake is definitely new to me.
Ching: Thanks!! It’s very easy to do. Why not give it a try?
We have a restaurant called “Yamazaki” here in Hong Kong and they serve this steam cake.
I am so happy that you shared this authentic recipe with us…
Purabi naha: It’s my pleasure to share. Thanks for dropping by!
Really looks oishii!
Lee Mei (MCH): Thanks!!
Looks really good LK! Love the savoury flavours and the gorgeous colour
Why does’nt my cake rise and become sticky after steaming?
Clairance: So sorry that I overlooked your comment. Did you follow my recipe closely? Did you use DOUBLE ACTING baking powder? Anything that you had omitted? I need more information before I can troubleshoot for you.
By chance I got to know your web and I tried this recipe over the weekend. I have got questions if teacher (“you”,
) can help me? I followed almost everything except for the paprika powder. I sustitued corb nibblets instead of sausages for little one. I pour the paprika powder only for 2 moulds + sausuages for myself. I am not sure why mine did not rise as beautifully as yours? I panicked and I steamed longer. In the end, I got yellow moulds, hardly rise and hard steam cakes. Did I put the baking powdert too little? I Definitely screwed up by steaming at least 15 mins longer than your recipe. 40g of castor sugar is too sweet for me and I will reduce the next time to suit my taste bud. Let me know can? Thank you so much in advance. 
Mrs Ng: Thanks for your kind feedback. I’m still a novice and definitely do not qualify to be a teacher at this stage. However, I will try to troubleshoot for you. How did those muffins with corn niblets turn out? How much corns did you add into the 3 moulds? How much paprika powder and sausages did you add in the 2 moulds? What makes you think that you added too little baking powder? How did you measure all your ingredients? If you bake your muffins too long, they will turn hard. Do you mean that both versions taste too sweet for you?
hi there, the corn niblets turned out fine – not too hard. I added about 5 niblets in each mould. paprika powder – 1/2 teaspoons.
baking powder – because my MIL said so.
yup- both versions i thought is a little too sweet….
Mrs Ng: Did you use cooking measuring spoons to measure your ingredients? Did you add in cheese in the muffins? I still can’t figure out the reason why the savoury version is sweet to your taste bud as sausage, cheese and paprika powder will bring more saltiness than sweetness to the muffins.
I shall attempt this during the deepavali holiday! My daughter loves eating sausage buns but i dont like buying one whole bun for her cos she can finish one whole sausage and sometimes she gets smart and spits out the bread..
With this i know what goes into the batter and i can moderate the amt of sausage too!
Sandra: Glad you like this recipe. Hope it suits your daughter’s palate.
I am so going to make this! Lai Kuan, your blog is a treasure trove!
Shirley: Thanks for your lovely words! Happy trying!
Hi, I had tried your steamed pumpkin muffins and as you know, they are a success. I’m just wondering do I really need to wrap up my wok cover with a piece of cloth to prevent condensation from dripping, since it was not mentioned in your steamed pumpkin muffins’ recipe. The pumpkin muffins came out nice and fluffy even my wok cover was not wrap with cloth. (BTW, my wok cover is those round dome type) Any advice? Thanks!
Ah Meng: If you go to my steamed pumpkin muffin recipe, you will see that the wrapping is mentioned at step 2 and a photo is shown as illustration. Maybe your wok cover has a hole allowing the steam to escape easily. Well, since your previous attempt brought you great success, you can skip this step if you want.
[...] found this lovely little recipe for mushi pan. Mushi pan or Steamed bread, is sort of like a cupcake, but not at all. It is [...]