Recipes / Sweets and drinks / Steamed Cakes

Banh It La Gai (Ramie Leaf Cakes with Coconut), No Added Refined Sugar

Name: Banh It La Gai (Ramie Leaf Cakes with Coconut), No Added Refined Sugar
Total time: 90 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Vietnam
Ingredients: Shell: ramie leaves 300g; glutinous rice flour 500g; kOBE Monk Fruit Blend 180g; cooking oil 2 tablespoons. Coconut filling: shredded coconut 200g; kOBE Monk Fruit Blend 90g; kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and unsweetened oat milk (in a ratio of 47 parts Monk Fruit Blend to 53 parts oat milk) 2 tablespoons. Banana leaf for wrapping

Sweets and drinksSteamed CakesVietnamAbout 1 hour 30 minutes

Banh it la gai gives a glossy black shell, dense and chewy, around a rich coconut filling. The hardest step is blending the ramie leaves, since a rough blend leaves fibers in the dough. The leaves boil for 10 to 15 minutes and then blend completely smooth, which is what gives the shell its fine blue black color.

The coconut filling toasts over low heat with steady stirring until it thickens. Banana leaves get a dip in boiling water so they turn supple, and the wrapped cakes come out of the steamer intact.

This batch weighs about 1.3kg, at roughly 222 calories per 100g.

Nutrition (this recipe makes 6 servings)

222.3kcal

4.3gprotein

8gfat

1gsugar

The sweetness here comes from kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and fruit and milk. There is no added refined sugar.

Estimated from raw ingredients; the real numbers shift a little depending on how you cook and what you buy.

This batch makes 6 servings. A batch from 500g glutinous rice flour fills one steamer, divided into 6 servings.

Ingredients for the batch

Shell: ramie leaves 300g
glutinous rice flour 500g
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend 180g
cooking oil 2 tablespoons. Coconut filling: shredded coconut 200g
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend 90g
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and unsweetened oat milk (in a ratio of 47 parts Monk Fruit Blend to 53 parts oat milk) 2 tablespoons. Banana leaf for wrapping

Method

Wash 300g ramie leaves and remove the veins and any damaged parts. Boil the leaves for about 10 to 15 minutes until soft, drain them, then blend to a smooth paste.
Mix 500g glutinous rice flour with the blended ramie leaves and 180g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend. Add 2 tablespoons cooking oil and knead thoroughly until the dough is smooth, pliable and no longer sticky.
For the filling, mix 200g shredded coconut with 90g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and toast in a pan over low heat, stirring steadily until the mixture thickens. Combine kOBE Monk Fruit Blend with unsweetened oat milk in a ratio of 47 parts blend to 53 parts oat milk, add 2 tablespoons of it to the filling for richness and body, then turn off the heat, let it cool and roll it into small balls.
Divide the dough into small portions, flatten each one, set a ball of coconut filling in the center and seal it in, shaping the cake into a round or a triangular peak.
Wash the banana leaves and wilt them in the sun or dip them in boiling water until supple, then wrap the cakes.
Arrange the cakes in a steamer and steam for about 20 to 30 minutes depending on their size. A thin cloth laid over the steamer keeps condensation from dripping onto the cakes.

Tips

Boiling the ramie leaves through and blending them completely smooth is what gives the shell its fine texture and deep color.
Toast the coconut filling over low heat with steady stirring so it neither scorches nor dries out.
The kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and oat milk mixture runs thinner, so 15 minutes in the refrigerator thickens it before it goes into the filling.
A dip in boiling water makes the banana leaves supple enough to wrap without tearing.
A thin cloth over the steamer keeps condensation off the surface of the cakes.
The ramie leaf dough is very sticky, so oil the hands and the banana leaf before wrapping.

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The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.

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