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.
Steamed Pumpkin Cake
If you want 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 or khanom fak thong (ขนมฟักทอง) is one of the best Thai desserts that’s really easy to make and only uses 6 ingredients!
Like the Thai sweet potato balls, mango sticky rice, sticky rice pudding with corn, tubtim grob, and many other Thai desserts, Thai steamed pumpkin cake uses a part of a plant, in this case, the fruit (Thai squash), as the main ingredient. Also, it contains coconut milk, which I think makes our desserts rich and delicious.
Thai steamed pumpkin cake has a squidgy texture and is usually topped with shredded coconut, adding more depth to it.
What Goes in This Steamed Pumpkin Cake Recipe
- 15.2 ounces or 430 grams of pumpkin, peeled and cut into chunks
- 8.8 ounces of 250 grams of granulated sugar
- 8.8 ounces or 250 grams of rice flour
- 7.05 ounces or 200 grams of tapioca flour
- ½ cup of shredded fresh coconut
- 2 cups of coconut milk
Thai Pumpkin or Squash | Fak Thong (ฟักทอง)
First things first, in Thai, pumpkin is called “fak thong.” People make jokes about the name ALL the time. Why? 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 confused if you come across other transliterations like faak thong or fug thong. Enough about the name, I think? Let’s agree that we’re going to go with fak thong in this post!
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. I’m not a big fan of it, but thankfully, we don’t use the skin in our steamed pumpkin cake.
Instructions
- Fill half a large pot with water and bring it to a hard boil. Add a steamer on top and place all the pumpkin in it. Then, cover with a lid and steam for 15-20 minutes.
- Remove the pumpkin from heat and put it in a large bowl. Place your cake molds in the same steamer and steam.
- Mash the steamed pumpkin with a fork until fine.
- Add the rice flour, tapioca flour, and sugar to a bowl and mix with a spoon.
- Gradually add the coconut milk to the dry mixture and whisk until well combined.
- Pour the flour mixture into the mashed pumpkin bowl and whisk until combined.
- Add the pumpkin cake batter into the molds in the steamer and top each one with shredded coconut.
- Steam for 15-20 minutes. Then, remove from heat and let cool before removing the cake from the molds to enjoy.
Other Pumpkin/Squash Recipes You Might Enjoy:
- Haupia Pumpkin Pie (Gluten-and-dairy-free)
- Buttermilk Pumpkin Pancakes
- Taste of Autumn Squash
- Vegan Stuffed Pumpkin
- Turkey Pumpkin Chili
- Pumpkin, Cranberry and Almond Salad
Steamed Pumpkin Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 15.2 ounces pumpkin peeled and cut into chunks
- 8.8 ounces rice flour
- 7.05 ounces tapioca flour
- 8.8 ounces granulated sugar
- 2 cups coconut milk
- ½ cup shreded fresh coconut
Instructions
- Fill half a large pot with water and bring it to a hard boil. Add a steamer on top and place all the pumpkin in it. Then, cover with a lid and steam for 15-20 minutes.
- Remove the pumpkin from heat and put it in a large bowl. Place your cake molds in the same steamer and steam.
- Mash the steamed pumpkin with a fork until fine.
- Add the rice flour, tapioca flour, and sugar to a bowl and mix with a spoon.
- Gradually add the coconut milk to the dry mixture and whisk until well combined.
- Pour the flour mixture into the mashed pumpkin bowl and whisk until combined.
- Add the pumpkin cake batter into the molds in the steamer and top each one with shredded coconut.
- Steam for 15-20 minutes. Then, remove from heat and let cool before removing the cake from the molds to enjoy.
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