Steamed Banana Cupcakes
14 November 2013 | 90 comments
Posted in cake/ muffin, Chinese, Featured Articles, snacks, Vegetarian
Posted in cake/ muffin, Chinese, Featured Articles, snacks, Vegetarian
Recipe for Steamed Banana Cupcakes
Source: Adapted and modified from Amanda of Held by Love, Bake from Scratch
Make: 12 cupcakes (7cm diameter x 3.5cm depth pudding mould) – note 1
Ingredients:
150g low protein flour (cake flour)
1½ teaspoons double acting baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs (large, 65g each) – at room temperature
90g castor sugar
Pinch of salt
75g salad oil (note 2)
3 fully ripen bananas (net weight 160-180g) – mashed (either fresh or frozen) (note 3)Methods:
- Preheat steamer (note 4)
- Mix together flour, baking powder and baking soda. Sieve and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, using electrical mixer with low speed beat eggs until foamy. Add sugar bit by bit to combine. Then beat with medium high speed until the mixture is pale yellow, almost white in colour and reaches ribbon stage (meaning when you lift the mixer over the mixture, the batter should fall slowly forming a ribbon that will hold its shape for a few seconds). It takes you about 5 minutes.
- Add smashed bananas and salt to mix.
- Add flour mixture through a sieve in 3-4 batches and gentlely fold in to incorporate the batter till just well combined. Do not deflate the air bubbles in the mixture.
- Lastly, add oil to combine well.
- Spoon the batter into the lined cupcake moulds until 90% full. Lightly tap the base of the mould to release the air bubble.
- Steam on high heat for 15 minutes or until cooked (depending on the size of the moulds) (note 5 & 6)
- Once it’s done, open the lid slightly to release the heat for a few seconds. This is to avoid the cupcakes from shrinking due to change of temperature.
- After releasing the heat, remove the moulds from the cooking pot or wok immediately and transfer to a cooling rack. Remove cupcakes from the moulds to cool down.
- Best to serve warm.
Notes:
- These pudding moulds are sold at Daiso.
- You can use corn oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, canola oil, peanut oil, a light olive oil, or any other fairly bland (flavourless) oil you can find. I used organic extra virgin coconut oil.
- Use bananas that are fully ripen. I use Pisang Berangan.
- Fill a cooking pot or wok with water. Place a steaming rack. Wrap the lid with a piece of cloth (to avoid condensation during steaming). Bring water to boil. (Refer photo in this post). I didn’t wrap my wok cover as it is not possible to do so.
- Make sure you have added enough water. It is not advisable to top up water during steaming.
- The water must be boiling hot before you cover the lid.
- The base of these cupcakes must be supported with moulds, ramekins, teacups or small bowl so they can rise nicely. It is not advisable to put the batter on cupcake liners or soft paper baking cups as they are too flimsy and can’t hold the mixture well. Alternatively, you can grease the moulds with oil and steam without cupcake liners.
- These cupcakes can be frozen for later consumption. Before eating, remove from the freezer, thaw slightly and steam again for 10-12 minutes until the muffins are soft.
I love your steamed cupcakes… They look so petite and “gentle”…..
Victoria Bakes: Thank you for sweet words! 😉
I love banana and this recipe is definitely on my to do list. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Ann: Thanks! Looking forward to your feedback! 😉
OMG.. these looks so perfect and amazing.. loved your presentation too.. great job 🙂
Hari Chandana: Thanks a lot for your comment! 🙂
Hi! This looks lovely! But I heard not all type of bananas are suitable for children.
Do you think this recipe will still work if I use pumpkin instead of banana?
Working Mum: Banana has many health benefits. It would be good to include them into your kids’ diet unless they are having cough or allergic to it. Always remember moderation is the key. I haven’t tried it with pumpkin but you may try. You can also try my steamed pumpkin muffins – https://food-4tots.com/2011/06/08/steamed-pumpkin-muffins/
hi,may i know where can i buy double acting baking powder from? i couldnt get it from cold storage
Winnie: Have you tried NTUC? You can also find it in any local baking supply shop. 🙂
Can I use a food steamer instead ?http://www.lazada.com.my/cornell-food-steamer-cfs-el13-white-and-gold-148641.html
Cindy: I don’t have luck using my TEFAL electrical steamer but you can try if you want. 🙂
Hi, just to check. After steaming for 15mins or until cooked, do I have to off the fire first before opening the lid slightly to release the heat? Thks.
Mrs Yap: Off the fire and slightly open the lid to slowly release the heat. 🙂
Hi…I’ve follow your steps but my muffin turn out to be rise as much like your pumpkin muffin version.
I’ve tried to compare both of the recipes and realised that pumpkin muffin don’t need baking soda?
Do you know what’s wrong with that?
Paulynn C: Thank you for your kind feedback. I had tried this recipe twice and they turned out without any cracking. Could it be due to the mould that you use is different than mine?
Hi, great job with your website! Im motivated to cook now coz your recipes all sounded so simple! I hAve a noob question to ask. I have baking powder but im not sure if it is double acting. Would it turn out the same if i use the normal baking powder?
Corynne: Thank you for your lovely compliment! It is better to get the right one before attempting this recipe. There is a different between single acting and double acting. The explanation can be read here: https://food-4tots.com/2011/06/08/steamed-pumpkin-muffins/2/. You can buy DA baking powder from any baking supply shops. 😉
Hi,
Som recipe will add oil and lastly flour, but this recipe flour then oil.
Any reason why so?
Jayna: Different recipes have different methods. For steamed cakes, the salad oil is always the last one to be added. 🙂
I’m a newbie. Never bake before. Going to try this recipe for my little girl’s upcoming birthday. Can I just use hand whisk, without adding sugar and salt into the recipe? Please advise. Thanks!
NicolleChung: Yes, you can but you will need a strong arm to do the beating. 🙂 Baking is about science. I would suggest that you follow closely this recipe to get the best results. Happy Birthday to your little girl in advance!
i just made this last few weeks. my picky eater baby and even his dad loves it! i hope some other ingredients lie flour, oil, etc are in cups. hehe. sorry for not having the knowledge. (. will definitely make this again tonight or tomorrow still waiting our bananas to arrive ((= thanks and more power.
Shy: So glad it suits your family’s palate!! 🙂
Hi there,
Yr blog really encouraged me to bake. When I tried the banana cupcakes, it turn out to be not moist. Can I ask why pls?
Roslyn: Thank you for sharing your feedback. There are many reasons that your cupcakes are not moist. May I know whether you have followed my recipe closely without changing anything? Sometimes, it could be due to wrong measurement, over-under mixing, wrong moulds and steaming problems. If you have photos, please send me a copy to have a look. 🙂
Please give me how much is 150 gm of flour, 100 Gm of sugar and 75 gm of oil by using cups since we do not use the metric system?
Erlinda Rojas: You may use this online conversion calculator and chart to convert the ingredients from gram to cup – http://www.dianasdesserts.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/tools.measures/Measures.cfm. 🙂
The cupcakes taste divine!! 😛 Thank you for sharing the great recipe! BTW, for consumption tomorrow, do I still need to store the cupcakes in the freezer, or referigerate, or leave it out overnight?
AL: Thank you so much for the prompt If you have just baked them and would like to consume them the next morning, it is find to store them in an air tight container at room temperature. They will be even more moisture the next day. 🙂
Thank you for the fantastic recipe. The cupcakes are light and fluffy , taste heavenly with slight coconut fragrance from the virgin coconut oil used. I’ve made them 3 times, even my hubby who is not fond of sweet cakes, loves them. Thank you very much! Gonna try your other recipes soon.
Lydia: Thank you for your wonderful feedback. It makes my day!!! Looking forward to hearing your feedback again. 🙂
Very pretty petite cupcakes!
Side tracked abit, may I know the brand of the mixer that you are using?
I am very new to baking.
HT: Thank you! I’m using Cornell brand. 🙂
YSan: You can replace low protein flour with plain flour (or normal wheat flour). The texture will be different. For double acting baking powder, I don’t know how to substitute. So sorry about that. 🙂
Thank you for this great recipe.. Just tried this.. And they taste very good.. My picky eater toddler even ask for more and more.. 🙂
I will definetely make another batch of these soon.. Thanks again..
Rini: Thank you so much for your kind feedback! So glad that it suits your toddler’s taste bud! 🙂
Hi.. Thanks for this easy to follow recipe! IT TASTES GOOD! However, looking at your pictures, I’m just wondering how did you turn it brown? Did you put anything in it? In my 1st and 2nd attempt, the cupcakes turned white in color.
I tried to do it for the 3rd time, I put some yellow & brown food coloring in it… and I’m so happy that it turned out great! I got the color right!
Fujiloo: Thank you for your kind feedback, and so glad you like it. I’m not sure why yours turned out white. I didn’t use any food colouring. I suspect this may due to some of the ingredients I used such as cake flour (unbleached), sugar (cane sugar) and banana (type: Berangan, fully ripe and frozen). 🙂
Hi,I have tried this recipe for the 4th time and gets disappointed of the cracks on top of my cupcakes.. Can you help me figure out why this happen in my cupcake? I really love your steamed cupcakes,they look so smooth on top!
Christina: Thank you for the feedback. In this case, try to adjust your heat to medium. Bring the water to boil and lower it to medium. Hope it helps! 🙂
I should steam the cupcake and the keep in the freezer for next day consumption or keep without steam?
Mandy: If you consume these cupcakes the next day, you can just keep in the fridge (not freezer) and steam before eating. Alternatively, keep them inside an air-tight container. In this case, you can eat them straight without steaming. However, steaming will always give you a better taste to these cupcakes. 🙂
Hi,
I saw from the picture, is it need to add in water for mixture?
Thanks in advance for the advise.
Venus: Did you refer to photo no.8 in my step by step photo? It was extra virgin coconut oil. 🙂
Hi, i just tried this recipe with my new electric steamer and the muffins turned out wonderful… Very simple and easy to follow instruction… Its actually my first time steaming cake… Looking forward to more steamed dessert recipe !!
MC: Glad that it turned out well with your electric steamer!! Hope you like my latest steamed bun recipe (pumpkin mantau). 🙂
I just tried this steamed banana cupcakes and it was oh so fantastic!!!! Thank you so much!
Li Lian Ooi: Wow! Happy to receive another success story!! Thank you for your feedback! 🙂
Can’t wait it try it, I’ve been searching all kind of steamed cake recently, because i have no oven in my apartment and i found your blog with lots of kind of steamed cakes. This one will be my first try. Thanks!!
Clarissa: Glad to know that you like my steamed cake recipes. Do share your feedback after trying it out. 🙂
I just steamed these muffins.
Thanks for sharing this recipe 🙂 It is a keeper!
Veronlovestobake: Thank you for the kind feedback!! 🙂
Hi,
I would like to ask can I replaced the 150g low protein flour (cake flour)with self raising flour?
I super like steam cup cake now. As it is not so heaty and plus I dont have an oven. Ha..ha…Your recipe is so encouraging.
Keep up!
Thanks.
Siew May: Self-raising flour contains rising agent. So, it is not interchangeable with low protein flour unless the baking powder and baking soda are adjusted accordingly. I’m not sure how to do this substitution. Maybe you can check out this substitution list and do your own experiment: http://www.joyofbaking.com/IngredientSubstitution.html. 🙂
YK: It is one of the rising agents for these cupcakes. Without it, the cupcakes may not rise as much as mine, and the texture may not dense as well. 🙂
What is the difference if the cupcake was steamed?
Michelle: It’s difficult to explain. You got to try it out to taste the difference. 🙂
Hi, do you have any recipe that is eggless?
Wen: Yes, I have a few. Can you tell me what type of recipe you are looking for? For snacks, you can try the following:
a) https://food-4tots.com/2014/11/05/wholemeal-thin-crackers/
b) https://food-4tots.com/2012/07/11/gluten-free-brown-rice-quinoa-and-seeds-crackers/
c) https://food-4tots.com/2013/07/31/homemade-goldfish-crackers/3/
I am looking for eggless cupcake / muffin recipe..I will try to substitute the egg with extra banana, see if it works. 🙂
By the way, can you teach me how to freeze the cupcake and defrost to serve? When you defrost, the cupcake will release ice water?
Just to update you, I tried yesterday replacing egg with banana…Failed…I think is too moist and the cupcake like kuih, dense.. 🙁
Wen: Sorry to hear that. 🙁
Wen: Banana is not a good substitute for egg. It will make the muffins more dense. After the cupcakes are cooled completely, put them into a air-tight freezer bag and store in the freezer. On the day you want to eat them, just remove them from the freezer and thaw them at the room temperature. Under the normal circumstances, you shouldn’t find any ice water releasing from the cupcakes. 🙂
Hi
i tried your recipe but my banana muffin sink all the time. Would you be able to advise why?
thanks
Cherie: Did you follow my recipe closely without any modification or variation? What type of mould did you use? How many cupcakes did you get? It is difficult for me to troubleshoot your problem unless you can provide more details. 🙂
Halo, thanks for answering my query.
I tried twice using muffin cups(thicker) and cupcake cups(paper)about 5 – 7cm those kind and all yield abt 12 cups?
Cherie: Did you fill up the muffin cups up to 90%? How did you steam the cupcakes? Did you make sure all the ingredients especially egg, milk and banana (if frozen) at room temperature? Did you follow my recipe closely without any modification or variation? Did you do any substitution of ingredients? I need to gather more info for your case. Please answer all the above mentioned questions and provide as much details as possible. Thank you.
Hi! i tried again over the weekend and they turned out very well! thanks for the trouble shoot help. I think the problem lies on the beating, esp the egg part. this recipe is a keeper! thank you so much!
by the way, how long can i keep these cupcakes?
Cherie: 2-3 days in the fridge and 1-2 months in the freezer. 🙂
Cherie: Great to know that you had figured out the solution!! 🙂
These look and taste so good
Lillian: Thank you for your compliment! 🙂
Hi.. i would like to try making this too but i do not have an electric mixer. What can i do? Sorry for asking a noob question. I’m very bad at baking.
Carol: You can do it by using a hand whisk but it may take a longer time and extra arm muscle. 🙂
Hi,
Can I reduce the amount of oil to half for the steamed banana cake.
Jessie: Baking is all about science. If you cut down half the amount of oil with any substitution, it will definitely affect the texture of the cupcakes. You may do your own experiment if you want. 🙂
Hi, can i ask on how can you convert your ingredients from gram to cups. Because i don’t have weighing scale i only have measuring cups. I want an accurate measurement for me to be able to make this as perfect as you did. I really wanted to make this. Thank you 🙂
Joyce: You can try this site for the conversion – http://www.dianasdesserts.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/tools.measures/measures.cfm. Hope it helps! 🙂
HI, i do not have cup cake trays, can i put it in normal 8″ baking pan?
Pinkie: I haven’t tried it before but it sounds feasible. You may give it a try but you have to use your own judgement to adjust the time of steaming accordingly. 🙂
Thank you so much for this nutritious recipe. I tried it and for the first try my 85 year old mother and 90 year old father love them for their breakfast.I brought some in the office, Wow! they all grabbed the muffins, nothing left for me. Ha ha ha, love it too.
remedioos garcia: Wow! What a wonderful feedback! You make my day! 🙂
My steamed banana cupcakes are too soft? How can i make it firm? Can i put cornstarch? Thank you in advance.
Jessica: The texture for steamed cupcakes is different than baked cupcakes. I’m not sure what had caused your cupcakes to be “too soft”. Thus, I would not suggest you to add cornstarch to make it firm. 🙂
Can i know why my cupcake turned out to be have uneven surface and its not round.
Wong Siew Ching: What type of cupcake holder did you use? If you use those soft paper cup, then you will need a mould as a support. 🙂
Hi, wonder if you know what would be a good substitute for eggs in this recipe? My baby loves muffins and i want to try steamed ones! But she is allergic to eggs 🙁
Haslinaa Lim: Sorry, I’m not sure how to substitute eggs for this recipe. It’s better to skip this recipe if your baby is allergic to eggs. 😉