Okay… Last time I made banh bo, it tasted good, but it came out flat. I tried baking it again, same problem. I did some major research… and I figured it out, the recipes I had been using call for a convection oven. I don’t know about you, but I had no idea there was that much of a difference between con-VEC-tion and con-VEN-tion ovens. Once I figured this out, I asked others if they knew of the difference, no one knew! Because I had to explain to a few different people, I thought I should also share this with all of you, just in case.

Here’s a convection oven:

Notice anything? It’s got a freaking fan in the back of the oven. If your oven does not have a fan it is a conventional oven. So if you’re trying this recipe, you have to up the temperature from 350˚F to 375˚F.

Here I am at it again:

Sifted the tapioca flour/starch, baking powder and salt together. I think you could probably use less salt or forget about it all together.

Stirred, NOT WHISKED, eggs, sugar, coconut cream/milk, pandan and vanilla extract.

After STIRRING the wet and dry ingredients together, it will be lumpy, pour it through a strainer to get rid of all the lumps. Do this once or twice, it’s up to you.

After the mixture has been strained, pour it in the baking pan that’s been heating in the oven. You should hear a sizzle. I have a convention oven so I baked it at 375˚ for 10 minutes and 305˚ for an additional 30 minutes.

This is what it should look like when it’s done. Flip the pan upside down and let it cool over a cooling rack. It’ll most likely unmold itself, mine did!

Perfection! Look at the texture, this is why they call it a honeycomb cake in English. There’s no honey involved, it just looks like a honeycomb. 🙂

Ingredients:

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350˚F for convection or 375˚F for convention ovens. Brush vegetable oil on the bottom portion of the baking pan and heat it in the oven. Sift the flour, baking powder and optional salt together. In a large bowl, gently stir the eggs, sugar, coconut milk, pandan and vanilla with a whisk or a fork so that no bubbles form. Remember to stir just enough to homogenize the whites and yolks. Over stirring the eggs can cause the cake to be flat. Use a strainer to strain the mixture into another bowl and use a spoon to help break the lumps up.