Thinking of a delightful Chinese dessert for summer? Mung bean cake (綠豆糕) is the best choice as it is recognized as a cooling ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). You only need the main ingredients, including peeled mung beans, white sugar, and butter, as well as a few enhancing ingredients.
What Is Mung Bean Cake (綠豆糕)?
Mung bean cake (綠豆糕) is a popular Chinese dessert during the summer season. It is traditionally eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival, a folk festival and a memorial ceremony held on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month each year. According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), mung bean is a cooling ingredient that reduces heat from the body.
So, it is no surprise mung bean cake has been a favorite summertime dessert. Mung bean cake is made with three main ingredients: peeled mung beans, white sugar, and butter. My version of mung bean cake also uses milk, condensed milk, and milk powder to enhance the flavor and texture.
To create two mung bean cake flavors, I also incorporate dried cranberries and matcha powder. This dessert is gluten-free and can be easily made vegan by swapping the ingredients for dairy-free or plant-based alternatives. The only special equipment you need to make it more authentic is the cake mold, similar to the ones I used for my snow skin mooncake recipe.
Getting To Know The Ingredients
If you are looking for alternatives and ways to customize this cake, then don’t skip this part. Get to know each ingredient and learn how it makes the cake even better. Here’s what you need to know about the ingredients:
- Peeled mung beans: Mung beans are also known as green gram or monggo and are green in color. For this cake, you will need ‘peeled’ mung beans, which are yellowish in color because the skin has been removed already. It is available in most grocery stores, Asian markets, or online stores like Amazon. In this recipe, the peeled mung beans are soaked overnight before steaming for 30 minutes. It should be soft enough to blend into a smooth mung bean paste.
- Milk: Milk is added for a richer texture and creamier taste. Regular milk, coconut milk, or any plant-based milk will do for this cake. If milk is not available, water is another alternative, but minus the rich and creamy aspects.
- Butter: Another ingredient that adds richness and volume is butter. Butter also helps make the cake more tender and gives it structure. You can swap regular butter with dairy-free butter or corn oil. Corn oil is lightweight and neutral tasting that can add moisture and fluffiness.
- White sugar: I recommend granulated sugar to make it dissolve easily and blend smoothly with the mung bean paste. You can use any type of granulated sugar such as white sugar or unrefined cane sugar. Using brown sugar, muscovado, or coconut sugar is also fine if you don’t mind a dark-colored cake.
- Condensed milk: This recipe requires 10 grams of condensed milk. With just a small amount, it enhances the taste and texture and adds a bit of sweetness. Use regular condensed milk, dairy-free condensed milk, condensed coconut milk, or coconut milk with maple syrup. However, it is generally acceptable to completely omit this from the recipe ingredients.
- Milk powder: Milk powder helps create a milkier taste and a denser texture. You can swap milk powder with more liquid milk, coconut milk powder, soy milk powder, or rice powder. However, you can ultimately remove this as well from the recipe ingredients.
- Flavoring ingredients: There are countless ways to customize and enhance mung bean cakes. In my recipe, I created two flavors of mung bean cake: one with dried cranberries and another with matcha powder. You can also incorporate purple potato flour, green spinach powder, and pink beetroot juice. If you prefer the cake with a filling in the center, wrap the cake mixture with traditional fillings like Taro Paste, Red Bean Paste, or Yam Paste. Put the filling inside before shaping it in the cake mold.
Kitchen Tools And Ingredients For Mung Bean Cake
Unlike traditional cakes baked in an oven, mung bean cake does not require baking. The cake is prepared by steaming and blending the mung beans, heating it in the pan, and shaping it in the cake mold. Generally, the special tools needed are a steamer, blender, and cake mold.
If you don’t have a steaming appliance, you can steam without a steamer in 5 DIY ways: pan with steamer rack, microwave, pan with sieve, rice cooker, and instant pot. For the cake mold, use the ones used for mooncakes or a regular cookie stamp. These special tools are typically available in Chinese stores or Amazon.
Personally, I prefer using a mooncake mold with a screw rod or stamp to push out the cake easily and keep its beautiful shape and pattern. Lastly, use a blender, immersion blender, or food processor to create a smooth mung bean paste. Here are my recommended kitchen tools and ingredients to get started:
Kitchen Tools
- Mixing bowl
- Strainer
- Steamer
- Blender
- Non-stick pan
- Spatula
- Kitchen gloves
- Cake mold
Ingredients
- 250g of peeled mung beans
- 250g of milk
- 50g of butter
- 40g of white sugar
- 10g of condensed milk
- 25g of milk powder
- A sprinkle of dried cranberries
- 2g matcha powder
How To Make Mung Bean Cake
To help you further understand the steps, watch my 1-minute tutorial video on Instagram or TikTok. When you have created your mung bean cakes, share your creations on social media and tag me @kitchenmisadventures! If you enjoyed this recipe, try my other cake recipes like Chinese Sponge Cake, Chinese Turnip Cake (Lo Bak Go), Taro Cake (Yam Cake), and Pumpkin Cake.
Soak the peeled mung beans overnight in a bowl of water. Make sure the beans are submerged with enough water to allow them to expand.
Drain the soaked mung beans with a strainer.
Steam the soaked mung beans over high heat for about 40 minutes.
In a blender, add the steamed mung beans with milk and blend until smooth. It should become paste-like.
Transfer the blended mung bean paste to a non-stick pan.
Then, add the butter, white sugar, condensed milk, and milk powder.
Mix and heat the mixture over low heat until well combined. This should take approximately 30 minutes.
Continue mixing until the paste is foldable and does not stick to the spatula or your hands.
Next, divide the paste into three equal parts.
Take one portion and add chopped dried cranberries. Knead until the dried cranberries are evenly distributed.
For the second portion, add about 2g of matcha powder and knead until evenly mixed.
Lastly, fill the cake mold with the mixture and lightly press it against the surface to take its shape. In my recipe video, I placed a small green paste in the center and filled it with yellow paste to create a flower cake design. Get creative and make your own cake designs!
Release the cake from the mold by gently pressing the stamp.
Store the finished mung bean cake in a sealed container or a plastic wrap. You can keep it in the fridge for 3-5 days.
Mung Bean Cake (No-Bake)
Equipment
- Steamer
- Blender
- Non-stick pan
- Cake mold
Ingredients
- 250 g of peeled mung beans
- 250 g of milk
- 50 g of butter
- 40 g of white sugar
- 10 g of condensed milk
- 25 g of milk powder
- A sprinkle of dried cranberries
- 2 g matcha powder
Instructions
- Soak the peeled mung beans overnight in a bowl of water. Make sure the beans are submerged with enough water to allow them to expand.
- Drain the soaked mung beans with a strainer.
- Steam the soaked mung beans over high heat for about 40 minutes.
- In a blender, add the steamed mung beans with milk and blend until smooth. It should become paste-like.
- Transfer the blended mung bean paste to a non-stick pan.
- Then, add the butter, white sugar, condensed milk, and milk powder.
- Mix and heat the mixture over low heat until well combined. This should take approximately 30 minutes.
- Continue mixing until the paste is foldable and does not stick to the spatula or your hands.
- Next, divide the paste into three equal parts.
- Take one portion and add chopped dried cranberries. Knead until the dried cranberries are evenly distributed.
- For the second portion, add about 2g of matcha powder and knead until evenly mixed.
- Lastly, fill the cake mold with the mixture and lightly press it against the surface to take its shape. In my recipe video, I placed a small green paste in the center and filled it with yellow paste to create a flower cake design. Get creative and make your own cake designs!
- Release the cake from the mold by gently pressing the stamp.
