Non-baked Japanese steamed cupcakes (cheese and blackcurrants)

I love these. These are sooo Japanese. Not just the look and texture. Even its recipe is very Japanese. You know how Japanese's stuffs are very cute, small and dainty. So is this recipe. Its a recipe that yields only 4 cupcakes! (5 for my case). It's a recipe I learnt from Nami, a Japanese who's now living in the US. I have always wanted to try out some of her recipes, cos they look really pretty and simple and I have no regrets after trying this out.

 

Over generous blackcurrants added into it.

"Would you like a bite?"

 

 

 

Verdict? Photos of my little one tell it all. Hahaaa.. It was not the very soft kind of mushi-pan type of bun you find at Sunmoulin. But it was good. The flavor was very subtle, cos I further reduced the amount of sugar. But it has the tang from both the cheese and blackcurrant. With such simple ingredients and steps, I wasn't expecting a WOW type of texture from it. But again, this is definitely another keeper recipe for me, cos it can be such a versatile recipe. I can literally add ANYTHING to it and it's something different every morning. 

 

Basic Steamed Cake recipe from Just One Cookbook by Nami

1/2 cup (75g) all purpose flour* (or self raising flour)

1 tsp. baking powder (if you're using self raising flour, just add 1/2 tsp baking powder)

1 egg

2 Tbsp. milk or cream  

2 Tbsp. sugar (I used 1tbsp brown sugar)

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil (I used grapeseed oil)

 

Add your favorite ingredients - it was cheese and dried blackcurrant for me

1/4 cup dried blackcurrant

1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

 

You will also need

4 cupcake liners

4 ramekins / ceramic bowl or I used silicone cupcake liner and had paper liner inside it

 

*This recipe was supposed to yield 4 cupcakes, but I made 5 from it.

 

Instructions:

1. Sieve flour and baking powder. Add sugar into it.

2. Beat in egg, milk and oil. Add in grated cheese and blackcurrant. Mix gently. Do not overmix.

3. Place about 1tbsp of batter into paper cupcake liner and place in a silicone cupcake holder.

4. Steam for 8min.

Note: Cover the lid with kitchen towel. This will prevent the water formed from condensation to drop on the cupcakes.