What is Sugee Cake?
Sugee cake is essentially the Eastern counterpart of your regular butter cake. It originated from Malaysian and Singaporean ancestry. It is one cake that I am proud of and holds a sweet place in my heart. Also known assuji cake, Eurasians serve this moist, fluffy cake on special occasions such as weddings, birthdays, Christmas, New Year, and even during funerals.
Sugee cake is a buttery, rich, nutty cake that is moist with a coarser texture. The main difference is the use of semolina, which is coarsely grounded durum wheat. Semolina is perhaps more known for making pasta or couscous. But believe me, it makes a mean cake too. If you need extra convincing, semolina also has higher natural mineral content!
The main constituents of a sugee cake are: butter, sugar, eggs, semolina or sugee flour. The addition of ground almonds then further enriches the fragrance of the semolina and adds delicious nuttiness.
The richness of the egg yolks and butter used in this sugee cake recipe is what makes this fluffy cake SO DELICIOUS!
Semolina has a texture that is slightly coarser than the regular all purpose plain flour. Thus the coarser looking batter.
How to achieve the right texture and consistency in my sugee cake?
There are many renditions of sugee cake out there. Some recipe calls for the sugee flour/semolina to be toasted beforehand. Some incorporate brandy into the mix; while others call for the semolina to be left to soak in melted butter overnight etc. We will leave all that for another day. Instead, we’d cream the butter as beating air into the batter would result in a light and fluffy cake.
The original recipe called for egg whites to be beaten on its own, then folded into the egg yolk mixture. But I find that by doing so, there is a chance of the egg white to be over-beaten and may result in lumpy texture. Therefore in my recipe below, I have adjusted to beat the egg whites with some sugar (taken from the recipe) tohelp stabilize the meringue’s structure.
As you can see from the oily residue on the board above, this is the type of cake that leaves you with greasy fingers, and richly satisfied taste buds. And if you look close enough, you’d notice that the skin on top can be easily peeled off. Honestly, that is what I love best about this cake.
This step-by-step recipe video below will guide you on from start to finish:
Print Recipe
Classic Almond Sugee Cake
Amazingly fragrant and moist cake that is buttery rich and nutty. This recipe uses the egg separation method to produce a light, airy and fluffy cake.
Prep Time15 minutes mins
Cook Time50 minutes mins
Resting Time2 hours hrs
Total Time3 hours hrs 5 minutes mins
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: Malaysian
Keyword: Butter Cake, Cake, Sugee Cake
Servings: 1 8″ square
Ingredients
(A)
- 250 g butter softened at room temp
- 130 g castor sugar
- 6 egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 40 g superfine cake flour sifted
- 120 g sugee flour
- 120 g ground almond
(B)
- 2 egg whites
- 20 g castor sugar
Instructions
Please note that I have included two methods below – using either conventional mixer or Thermomix so do take note of the sub-headings.
CONVENTIONAL METHOD
Separate egg yolks and whites. For best results, ensure the bowl that you're using to beat the egg whites is clean, and that there are no traces of yolk in the egg whites as it will ruin the meringue's ability to fluff up.
Cream softened butter with sugar on med speed until it becomes pale, light and fluffy – this may take up to 3-4 minutes.
Add in egg yolk, one at a time. Beat well after each addition of egg until creamy.
Add in vanilla and mix until well incorporated. If using brandy, this is when you would incorporate into the mixture.
Add flour, sugee flour and ground almond, mix until well combined.
Cover and leave to soak for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, preheat oven to 180°C.
Whisk egg whites on medium low speed until foamy then add in sugar. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-high and beat until stiff peak.
Fold egg white meringue into egg yolk mixture in 2-3 batches until evenly mixed.
Pour batter into a lined and greased 8" square cake pan and level the top evenly. Bake for 50 minutes or until skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. If cake is browning too fast, cover with foil during the last 10 minutes.
Remove cake from oven. Let cool for 5 minutes then unmould and leave on wire rack for 20-30 minutes until completely cool before cutting to serve.
THERMOMIX METHOD
Separate egg yolks and whites. If you have two TM bowls, the egg whites can go into 1 of them. For best results, ensure the bowl that you're using to hold the egg whites is clean, and that there are no traces of yolk in the egg whites as it will ruin the meringue's ability to fluff up.
Add butter and sugar in the TM bowl and beat for 10 secs/speed 5. Insert butterfly attachment, and whip for 2 mins/speed 3.5. Mixture should be light and fluffy now.
Over 50 seconds on speed 3.5,while the blade is moving, add egg yolks one at a time through the hole of TM lid. Add vanilla extract and beat 10 seconds/speed 3.5. If using brandy, add it along with the vanilla extract.
Scrape batter down. Add sifted cake flour and sugee flour, and mix 20 sec/speed 3.5. Scrape batter again, add ground almond, mix 20 sec/speed 3.5. Pour batter into another big bowl and rest for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, preheat oven to 180°C.
In your clean and dry TM bowl, insert clean butterfly whisk in and add the egg whites. Whip for1 min/speed 3.5with the MC off. Add sugar in, and whip for 2 min/speed 3.5.
Using a spatula, manually fold egg white meringue into egg yolk mixture in 2-3 batches until evenly mixed.
Pour batter into a lined and greased 8" square cake pan and level the top evenly. Bake for 50 minutes or until skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. If cake is browning too fast, cover with foil during the last 10 minutes.
Remove cake from oven. Let cool for 5 minutes then unmould and leave on wire rack for 20-30 minutes until completely cool before cutting to serve.
Notes
FLOUR SUBSTITUTE
If you do not have superfine cake flour on hand, you can also use all purpose plain flour.
CAN I USE WHOLE EGGS INSTEAD?
Not with this recipe, no. Beating air into the egg yolks and egg white separately will give you a light and fluffy cake.
Please do not substitute lesser egg yolks with more egg whites – it doesn’t work that way. Stick to the ratio for a deliciously rich cake! As for the remaining 4 egg whites, I just turn them into frittata or egg white omelette for breakfast the next morning.
GROUND ALMOND SUBSTITUTE
If you’re wondering if ground almond is the same as almond flour or almond meal and if they can be interchangeable, do read on.
My recipe above calls for ground almond which is almond flour – this is finely grounded blanched almonds, with skins removed. This is what you’d want to use to achieve light, airy cakes.Almond meal on the other hand, contains the skin and typically has a more coarse grind. You may also use almond meal, but I wouldn’t recommend as it may affect the texture of the cake.
VARIATION
If you like the addition of alcohol in your cake, you may add 2-3 tsp of brandy into the mixture. You would do so, along with the vanilla extract.
Or you can also add some orange zest into the mix.
BAKING TIN CONVERSION
If you do not have an 8-inch square baking tin, you could also use a 9-inch (23cm) round tin which would give you the same volume/height. Do note that if you are using a smaller baking tin, this would mean your cake would be taller and therefore requires for the baking time to be adjusted.
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