Rounding out Joy Cho month also known as Cakenado, I made her Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Snack Cake. It all started with her Mochi Banana Bread, which I adore and have made more than once. Following on its heel (yes, I know, cakes don’t have heels) I came across this recipe on a Food Network post. I don’t normally follow Food Network, maybe it was just good karma that it popped up, fortunate since it is delicious, easy to make, and has CHOCOLATE.
Stuck on Sticky Rice Flour
Like the Mochi Banana Bread, it is a combination of all-purpose flour and mochiko or sweet rice flour (sticky rice) that sets this snack cake apart. You get that wonderful bouncy texture from the sweet rice flour and the tender cake with a nice crumb from the all-purpose flour. Based on her mom’s chocolate chip bundt cake and tweaked with her signature addition of sweet rice flour, this really is a decadent, delicious, simple cake. Studded with chocolate chips, this cake will keep chocolate fans happy. Add nuts if you like and serve it with a BIG SCOOP of VANILLA ICE CREAM. Doesn’t that sound good?
Looking for something a little different, ran out of Mochiko? Try her Blueberry Balsamic Glaze Cornbread Cake. Another amazing snacking cake. Cause you never know when you will have a snack attack!
1/2cupplus 2 tablespoons (105 grams) sweet rice floursuch as Mochiko
1teaspoonbaking powder
1/2teaspoonbaking soda
1teaspoonkosher salt
1/2cup1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1cup(200 grams) granulated sugar
2large eggsat room temperature
1teaspoonpure vanilla extract
1/2cupplus 1 tablespoon, (150 grams) full-fat sour creamat room temperature
2tablespoonsmilkat room temperature
Instructions
Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees
Lightly grease an 8-inch square pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottom with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the sides (to make it easier to remove the cake after baking) and grease the parchment.
Combine the all-purpose flour, sweet rice flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk until combined.
Beat the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and cream the mixture until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until combined. Scrape the bowl once more, then beat in the vanilla.
Sift half of the dry ingredients over the egg mixture and beat just until combined. Beat in the sour cream and milk, then sift in the rest of the dry ingredients and beat just until the batter is smooth.
Fold in the chocolate chips.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface with a small offset spatula.
Sprinkle additional chocolate chips on top. Bake the cake, rotating the pan halfway through, for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then gently loosen the edges with a small offset spatula and carefully transfer the cake to a cooling rack.
Cut into squares and enjoy!
Cornbread Cake with Blueberry Balsamic Glaze-More Joy!
Continuing on my “All Things Joy” thread. Joy Cho, creator of Sour Cream Gem Cakes posted yet another winning snack cake (in Eater this time), a stunning Cornbread Cake with Blueberry Balsamic Glaze. I literally ran to my kitchen to try it. Like her Mochi Banana Bread, this is simple, easy to make, and delicious. Instead of sweet rice flour, cornmeal is added to all-purpose flour along with sour cream and butter to create a moist, tender, rich cake.
Think of it as a sweet, light, fine crumb version of cornbread with a killer glaze. The eye-catching blue-purple topping plays off the yellow cornmeal perfectly, it’s a showstopper. With plump, ripe blueberries at the farmer’s market now, this is a no-brainer recipe to try. In all honesty, I am already thinking of substituting mochi flour for some of the all-purpose flour to add that zingy texture to this cake too. Mochi madness persists.
The cake is simple to make. Combine the dry ingredients, in this case, all-purpose flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and baking soda. Add to the wet ingredients which include butter, sour cream, honey, and eggs. Alternate the dry ingredients and milk adding in two steps. The batter may look a little curdled but it’s fine. Pour into an 8×8 baking pan and bake for about 30 minutes. Shoot for a thermometer reading in the range of 195-200 or a clean toothpick stuck in the center for doneness.
True Grit
Stone ground cornmeal tends to be grittier than conventional supermarket cornmeal. Bob’s Red Mill leaves the germ and bran as well as some of the hull in their cornmeal. I’m not a fan of gritty cornbread so I used Bob’s Red Mill Corn Flour which resulted in a cake-like fine crumb texture. If you like a loose crumb and a little bit of grit cornbread, use the fine-grind stone ground cornmeal. If you are a glutton for grit, use the medium grind…but don’t come crying to me. Conventional supermarket cornmeal (like Albers) does not have the hull or germ so it will not be very gritty, perfect for my kinda cornbread.
Icing on the Cake
Make the glaze while the cake is cooling. Mash blueberries and let it sit and macerate for a couple of minutes and then add powdered sugar. The recipe calls for one cup of sugar, I used an extra 2 tablespoons to thicken it up. The color is delightful and plays off the cornmeal cake. I also added some crushed freeze-dried blueberries to amp up the flavor and color, totally optional. Trader Joe’s has an array of freeze-dried fruits including blueberries.
Yet another simple and delicious cake from Joy Cho. Its berry, berry good.
A delicious, beautiful snack Cake by Joy Cho. Cornbread Cake with Blueberry-Balsamic Glaze.
Course Cake, Dessert
Cuisine American, Asian-American
Keyword blueberry, blueberry balsamic glaze cornbread cake, corn flour, cornbreadcake, cornmeal, joy cho
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 35 minutesminutes
Servings 12
Ingredients
For the cake:
¾cup(105 grams) all-purpose flour
¼cupplus 2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal (55 grams) if using stone ground corn like Bob's Red MIll, use corn flour
1teaspoonbaking powder
¼teaspoonbaking soda
½teaspoonkosher salt
1stick(113 grams) unsalted butter, softened
¾cup(150 grams) granulated sugar
2teaspoonshoney
2large eggsat room temperature
½teaspoonpure vanilla extract
¼cupplus 2 tablespoons whole milkat room temperature
⅓cup(80 grams) full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
For the glaze:
¼cupfresh blueberries
¼teaspoonbalsamic vinegaror substitute vanilla
1cup(120 grams)powdered sugar, spooned into the measuring cup, and leveled off, plus more as neededI needed an additional 2 tablespoons of sugar
Kosher salt
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-by-8-inch square cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottom with parchment paper, leaving a two-inch overhang on the sides (to make it easier to remove the cake after baking), and grease the parchment.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric hand mixer or in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until smooth. Add the sugar and honey and cream the mixture until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl after each addition, then beat in the vanilla.
Add half of the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and beat just until combined. Carefully beat in the milk and sour cream, then beat in the rest of the dry ingredients just until the batter is smooth.
Transfer the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface with an offset spatula. Bake the cake for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the cake cool for 15 minutes, then gently run a knife around the edges to loosen. Using the parchment sling to assist, transfer the cake to a cooling rack.
Make the glaze: Thoroughly mash the blueberries in a medium bowl with the back of a large spoon. Let the berries macerate for a minute or two. Add balsamic vinegar, powdered sugar, and a few pinches of salt to the bowl and whisk until smooth. The consistency of the glaze should be pourable but not overly runny — if needed, add more powdered sugar, a tablespoon at a time.
Set out a rimmed baking sheet. When the cake is completely cool, set the cooling rack (with the cake on it) over the parchment or baking sheet. Pour the glaze over the cake, spreading it to the edges and letting it run down the sides. Allow the glaze to set completely before slicing and serving.
I think of myself as a pie person but lately, I have found myself baking cakes. Not fancy multi-layer show-stopper cakes, simple one layer, easy to make, snacking cakes. That grab-and-go type treat, unfussy, portable, the bar cookie of cakes.
Brooklynite pastry chef, Joy Cho, first caught my attention with her amazing Sour Cream Gem Cakes. Made with sweet rice flour and AP flour, the cakes are tender, moist with a bit of springiness. The rice flour gives it that zing that sets them apart from traditional cakes.
The Joy of Snacking Cakes
Her Mochi Banana Bread and Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Snack Cake are a rift on her Gem Cakes. Baked in an 8×8 pan and cut into squares, they’re the low maintenance but no less yummy cousins to Gem Cakes.
The combination of all-purpose flour and sweet rice flour once again makes them springy yet still tender and moist. The butter and sour cream add flavor and richness. The banana cake calls for just ONE banana. Who doesn’t have one over-ripe banana sitting forlornly on the kitchen counter? No more waiting for more bananas to ripen to make banana bread. The toppings add more texture and flavor. Besides nuts and coconut, try chocolate chips or toffee bits. Doesn’t that sound tasty?
So Berry Good
Strawberries are in season so I tweaked the Mochi Banana Bread to make Mochi Strawberry Pistachio Cake Bars. Delicious, but I still like the banana version best. Substitute the same volume of macerated strawberries for the banana. Sprinkle the top with chopped pistachios. To intensify the strawberry flavor, crush freeze-dried strawberries and add 1 tablespoon to the batter or sprinkle it on top of the finished cake.
Chip Off the Old Block
The Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cake also has sweet rice flour and all-purpose flour giving it that trademark springy texture. Studded with chocolate chips it definitely satisfies any chocolate cravings. Find it here.
These cakes are in the one bowl realm of simplicity. Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl, wet ingredients in a large bowl, add dry to wet, stir until just combined then STOP. BadaBing-BadaBoom, done. Pour batter into a prepared pan, sprinkle goodies on top, bake, cool, cut. DONE. Eatin’ cake in less than an hour. Yep, easy-peasy.
One of these days when I am in Brooklyn I will try her desserts, on my NYC bucket list. Until then, I hope she continues to share her creations and recipes.
Delicious snack cake made with AP flour and Sweet Rice Flour and one banana, the perfect little treat. The Mochi flour gives the cake a hint of springiness. Delicious.
Heat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8x8-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray, line the pan with parchment paper, and grease the parchment.
In a medium bowl, whisk the rice flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.
In a large bowl, mash the banana with a fork; some small chunks are fine. Add both sugars and whisk until combined.
Add the butter, sour cream, egg, and vanilla to the banana mixture and whisk until completely smooth.
Sift the dry ingredients over the wet ingredients, then whisk just until no flour lumps remain. Try not to overmix.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface with a small offset spatula. Sprinkle top with chopped nuts and/or shredded coconut, or any topping you’d like. Toffee chips or chocolate chips come to mind, but that's just me 🙂
Bake for 25 to 27 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely before cutting into squares. This will keep for 2 to 3 days in an airtight container.
Notes
Use these to hold your parchment in place, everyone has metal clips lying around. Keeps parchment from getting in batter by clipping to top rim of baking pan.
Skipping across my feed lately have been a series of articles on chefs adapting to life during the pandemic. As we know, the food industry has been hit particularly hard by COVID-19. Restaurants, bakeries, caterers have worked hard to adapt to the harsh reality of the pandemic. It hasn’t been easy and we have lost so many restaurants and businesses it’s depressing. There are some bright spots though and Joy Cho is one of them. Her Glazed Sour Cream Gem Cakes has taken Brooklyn by storm.
Laid off from her position at the Grammercy Tavern (she has CHOPS people) she created these wonderful little cakes in her Brooklyn home. The cakes went viral and let’s just say ordering a box of these babies is like trying to score a table at the French Laundry pre-COVID, without the last name of Newsom (JUST KIDDING).
Lucky for those of us who don’t live in Brooklyn, Ms. Cho’s recipe for her ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS Gem Cakes is available on Epicurious. It immediately went viral, I stumbled upon it and yep, got busy in the kitchen.
A Gem of a Recipe
These are crazy good and pretty easy to make. Here’s what makes these gems stand out.
All-purpose Flour and Sweet Rice Flour- The combination of the two flours is the best of both worlds. Tender, cakey, moist, with a bit of springiness. They have a nice balance of cakiness and chewiness. Using just sweet rice flour would result in a denser, chewier texture, a classic mochi dessert without any sort of crumb. All AP flour will give you a regular old cupcake and come on peeps, we are looking for something FRESH.
Butter, eggs and sour cream – The trifecta of fat that adds richness, flavor, moisture, and tenderness to the cake.
Be sure to keep a light hand which means don’t overmix the batter. Your batter should be light and fluffy. Finish incorporating the flour by folding the ingredients together by hand. You want to retain the air bubbles in the batter to keep the cakes light. Overmixing develops the gluten in the AP flour which makes the cakes tough. The batter may look a little curdled at some points but keep gently folding and the batter will come together. Promise.
The original Gem Cakes are baked in a brownie bundt pan. I made them in a standard muffin tin which worked out well (don’t you think?).
Bake until the cakes are golden brown. If you like your cakes a bit crispier on the outside bake a couple of minutes longer.
A Sparkling Finish
Genius Glaze – The glaze for the little cakes is a simple powdered sugar, a little bit of milk, and any flavor your heart desires. The original recipe includes strawberry matcha and milk tea glazes. Strawberry jam is used for the glaze, while the matcha and milk tea glazes start with powders. Not having milk tea powder, I went with two jam flavors, strawberry and blackberry and a black sesame seed icing using black sesame powder I found at the Asian grocery store. You can make your own by grinding roasted black sesame seeds into a powder.
Dippity Do-Da-Dippity-Damn These are Delicious
While the cakes cool, make your glazes. Speed is of the essence with the glaze as it sets pretty quickly. Glaze your cakes by inverting the cupcakes and dipping them into the icing. Rotate the cakes in a circular motion. You will get drips down the side which adds to the appeal. Set them on a wire rack and garnish each cake immediately after glazing before it hardens.
For the black sesame icing, I started with a tablespoon of black sesame powder, start with less, and add to taste. My next batch will include a Citron-flavored glaze made with Citron Tea which is popular in Korea. The array of freeze-dried fruits that can be crushed and used to flavor frostings and icings would also work well (just like Eric Kim’s Lofthouse Cookie frosting-so good). You may need a smidge more milk to thin the glaze made with powders. Use your imagination, the sky’s the limit. I’m thinking Mocha glaze with cocoa nibs to garnish.
Garnish adds that visual zing, nuts, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, citrus zest, so once again, be creative. These cakes are scrumptious-make some now. Or if you are going to Brooklyn soon, please, be a GEM and bring me a box!
Place a rack in center of oven; preheat to 325°. Lightly coat 20 molds of 2 brownie Bundt pans or the cups of a standard 12-cup muffin pan or 2 standard 6-cup muffin pans with nonstick spray; lightly dust with flour, tapping out excess. Whisk rice flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, and all-purpose flour in a medium bowl to combine. Get yourself a scale, so much easier!
Beat butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed just until smooth. Add granulated sugar and beat until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula. With motor running, add eggs one at a time, beating to incorporate and scraping down sides of bowl a&er each addition. Add vanilla and beat just to combine. (Mixture may look slightly curdled at this point, but don’t worry, it will come together in the end.)
Sift in half of dry ingredients and beat on low speed just until a few dry patches remain. Scrape down sides of bowl and add sour cream and milk; beat just until incorporated. Sift in remaining dry ingredients and beat until combined. Finish by hand to avoid overmixing.
Divide batter among prepared pans (about 2 Tbsp. per mold for Bundt pans or about 3 Tbsp. per cup for muffin pan). Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until a tester inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean, 14–16 minutes for Bundts, 17–20 minutes for muffins. Let cakes cool in pan 10 minutes, then gently loosen cakes with a small offset spatula and turn out onto wire racks; let cool completely.
Dip tops of cakes in glaze of choice; set back on racks, letting excess glaze drip down sides. Double-glaze cakes if you like.
Sprinkle cakes with toppings as desired (e.g., a pinch of flaked salt-like Maldon on Milk Tea Glaze, coconut or sesame seeds on Matcha Glaze, and lemon or orange zest on Strawberry Jam Glaze).
Do ahead: Like doughnuts, gem cakes are best enjoyed the day they are baked but can be made 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
The perfect finish for Joy Cho's Glazed Sour Cream Gem Cakes
Course Dessert
Cuisine Asian-American
Keyword Icing for Glazed Sour Cream Gem Cakes
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Ingredients
Base for Glaze
1⅓cups160 g powdered sugar
2Tbsp.whole milk
1/2 tspvanilla
Kosher salt
Jam Glaze
3Tbsp.strawberry or OTHER FAVORITE JAMpreferably seedless (push through a sieve before measuring if jam has large pieces of fruit)
Black Sesame Glaze
1 tbspBlack Sesame Powderor grind roasted black sesame seeds to a powder.
1tspmilkIf the glaze seems a little too thick
Freeze Dried Fruits
15gmsfreeze-dried fruitStart with about half-cup of freeze-dried fruit, crush and strain for seeds. Approximately 1 tbsp of fruit
1tspmilkIf the glaze seems a little too thick
Instructions
While the cakes cool, whisk powdered sugar, milk, jam, or powder and a few pinches salt in a medium bowl until smooth. The consistency should be viscous but not overly thick; adjust with more powdered sugar or milk as needed.
