Snow Pear and Water Chestnut Cake
A silky, delicate Cantonese-style dessert with the natural sweetness of fresh pears and the subtle earthy flavor of water chestnut powder. This steamed cake has a smooth, slightly translucent texture and makes a wonderful treat for tea time or celebrations.
Story
This classic dim sum dessert gets its name from the two key ingredients: snow pear (a juicy Chinese pear variety) and water chestnut powder, which gives the cake its characteristic silky texture and delicate flavor.
Ingredients
ripe snow pear (or Asian pear)
1 large (about 250g)
water chestnut powder
100g
granulated sugar
100g
water
600ml total
Instructions
1
Extract the pear juice
Peel and core the pear, then cut into chunks. Add the pear pieces to a blender with 400ml of fresh water and blend until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh sieve to get clear pear juice, pressing down to extract as much liquid as possible.
2
Make the base batter
Pour 200ml of the strained pear juice into a bowl. Slowly whisk in the water chestnut powder until completely dissolved and smooth. Strain the mixture through a sieve once or twice to remove any lumps—this ensures a silky texture.
3
Create the sweet syrup
In a small saucepan, combine the remaining 200ml pear juice with the sugar. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture comes to a gentle boil and the sugar dissolves completely. Remove from heat.
4
Form the custard base
Quickly pour about 50ml of the hot pear syrup into the remaining batter while stirring vigorously—this tempers the mixture and prevents lumps. Continue stirring until the mixture thickens into a creamy consistency.
5
Combine and steam
Pour the tempered batter back into the remaining syrup in the saucepan and mix well. Pour the final batter into a lightly oiled steaming bowl or cake pan. Steam over high heat for 20-25 minutes until the cake is translucent and set. Let cool slightly before slicing.
