Lady finger cakes, also called champagne cakes, are light, sweet sponge cakes roughly shaped like a large finger. They are a principal ingredient in many desserts, such as trifles, charlottes and tiramisu. This is the Vietnamese-style version, bánh sampa: really crispy, and you can make a batch at home and keep it in a jar to eat day by day. Ingredients 30 g butter 100 g wheat flour 3 chicken eggs 70 g white sugar ½ teaspoon vanilla powder ½ teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon milk powder A little wheat flour, to sprinkle the moulds 1 egg white, for brushing White sugar, to sprinkle on top of the cakes Champagne cake moulds How to make bánh sampa 1. Prepare the butter and eggs Put the butter in a bowl and heat it until it melts. Separate the eggs, with the yolks and whites in 2 different bowls. 2. Whisk the egg whites Use a mixer to beat the egg whites with ½ teaspoon salt and 40 g white sugar. To test, turn the bowl upside down: if the whites don’t flow down, they’re ready. 3. Make the yolk batter Add the remaining ½ of the sugar to the yolks and beat them with the mixer for 5–7 minutes. Then add the milk powder and mix it in well with a spoon. Sift the wheat flour. Add it to the yolk mixture from step 3 with the melted butter and vanilla powder, and mix well with a spoon. Then add the whisked egg whites from step 2 and mix them in gently. 4. Fill the moulds Add a little oil to each champagne cake mould and sprinkle it with wheat flour. Use a spoon to scoop a little batter into each mould. If you don’t have moulds, pour the batter slowly in long lines onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. 5. Bake twice Preheat the oven for 3–5 minutes at 160 degrees, then bake the cakes for 8–10 minutes. Let them cool down a little and take them out of the moulds. Arrange all the cakes on the tray again. Brush the tops with the egg white and sprinkle with more sugar. Bake again at 100 degrees for 5–7 minutes. Make sure the heat is lower than the first time, so the cakes keep their crispness longer. Serve them as they are, or use them to make other cakes such as tiramisu. Share:
