Ma Lai Gao

Ma Lai Gao (Simplified Chinese: 马来糕; Traditional Chinese: 馬拉糕; Pinyin: Mǎlāi gāo; Cantonese: máa lāai gōu; also Malay cake or ma lai go) is a Cantonese steamed sponge cake flavored with brown sugar, with a springy, airy crumb and caramel notes. It is a standard Dim Sum cart item. Despite the name suggesting "Malay," the cake is a Cantonese tea-house classic; it is not Fa Gao (发糕), whose rice-flour bloom-top style and festival role differ, and it is not a Western oven-baked sponge..

Characteristics

Deep golden-brown crumb with large steam bubbles; top may be slightly sticky or sugar-glazed. Sweetness is medium with molasses-like brown sugar aroma. Served in squares or rounds, often warm.

Ingredients (overview)

Wheat flour (sometimes cake flour), eggs, brown sugar or slab sugar, leavening (yeast or baking powder / custard powder traditions vary), oil or lard, milk or water. Distinct from rice-flour Fa Gao.

History and culture

Cantonese yum cha repertoire; the English/Cantonese name "Malay cake" appears on dim sum menus worldwide. Related brown-sugar steamed cakes appear in overseas Chinese bakeries. See Dim Sum, Hong Kong Food, and Guangdong Food.

Serving and variations

Dim sum course, tea snack, or bakery pack. See Dim Sum, Fa Gao, and Put Chai Ko.

See also

• Dim Sum
• Fa Gao
• Hong Kong Food
• Guangdong Food
• Put Chai Ko
• Pineapple Bun
• List of dishes (A-Z)