Thai Steamed Pumpkin Cake | Khanom Fak Thong | ขนมฟักทอง

Topped with shredded fresh coconut, this Thai steamed pumpkin cake is a fun finger food that is easy to make, delicious, and totally portable. It's the perfect treat for afternoon tea, get-togethers, and holiday parties.

Why This Recipe Works

Looking to up your pumpkin dessert game this Autumn or Thanksgiving and try something different? You’ve come to the right place! This Thai steamed pumpkin cake, known in Thai as khanom fak thong ขนมฟักทอง is one of the easiest Thai desserts to make and requires only six simple ingredients!

The Thai steamed pumpkin cake has a squidgy texture and is usually topped with shredded coconut, adding more depth to it. It's easy to grab and go well with drinks like hot butterfly pea tea or simple honey and lemon tea as well.

If you love Thai desserts, check out my Thai pumpkin in coconut milk, sweet potato balls, mango sticky rice, sticky rice pudding with corn, and tubtim grob recipes.

Good To Know

The Thai pumpkin or squash is called “fak thong” in Thai. People make jokes about the name ALL the time because the first syllable is pronounced more or less the same as the word fu*k in English.

But since we want to keep the sound of any dishes and desserts involving it pleasant, we try and come up with all sorts of spellings to avoid flat-out writing F*** thong. So don’t be surprised if you come across other transliterations like faak thong or fug thong.

Video Tutorial

Ingredients

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.

Ingredient Notes

Thai Pumpkin or Squash: While we refer to fak thong as “pumpkin” in English, the thing actually looks different from what most Westerners might envision in their minds when they hear the word pumpkin.

Fak thong is a kind of squash that is green on the outside and bright yellow on the inside. It has a very thick and rough skin that’s quite hard to peel but edible. Thai people use Thai pumpkin with the skin on in certain dishes and desserts but NOT in this steamed pumpkin cake.

If you cannot find any Thai squash, use whatever that is available for you but make sure to remove the skin before you steam it.

Tapioca Flour: This type of flour is often used to thicken sauces and create texture in Thai desserts. Here, it's what makes the cake squidgy.

Shredded Coconut: This is used to top many Thai desserts. You need you use fresh coconut for this. Traditionally, we use old coconut meat but young will work too. If you can't find a fresh coconut, you can omit this.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1: Fill half a large saucepan with water and bring it to a hard boil. Add a steamer basket on top and place the pumpkin in it. Then, cover with a lid and steam for 15-20 minutes.

Step 2: Remove the steamed pumpkin from heat and put it in a large bowl. Place your cake molds in the same steamer without turning off the heat. Then, mash the steamed pumpkin with a fork.

Step 3: Mix rice flour, tapioca flour, and sugar in a bowl with a spoon.

Step 4: Add coconut milk to the dry mixture.

Step 5: Whisk the dry mixture and coconut milk together until well combined.

Step 6: Pour the flour mixture into the mashed pumpkin bowl.

Step 7: Whisk together until well combined.

Step 8: Open the lid of the steamer and spoon the batter into the molds.

Step 9: Add shredded coconut to the top of the batter.

Step 10: Close the lid and steam for 15-20 minutes. Let cool before removing the cake from the molds to enjoy.

Tips

1. You can use any shapes of cake molds you have but make sure they are safe in the steamer.

2. Don't make your steamed pumpkin cake too thick or large. It's supposed to be something easy to grab and eaten in one or two bites.

3. You can store any leftovers in an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator for a day or two and eat them cold or reheat them in the microwave. However, it's best to finish them within the day of making and without refrigerating them.

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