The old-school Thai cake topped with orange jam may be unknown to today's Thai children, but it was a hallmark of Thai life in the past, remembered for decades, with a simple, classic method. Today we bring you an article about this vintage Thai cake.
A Childhood Favourite
One hugely popular treat that lives on in the childhood memories of Gen X and Gen Y, from 20–30 years ago, is the orange jam cake, also known as khanom cake boran (old-fashioned cake) or syrup cake. You could buy it at school snack shops or the corner shop near home for around 1–2 baht a piece, or by the box of 12. Back then, cream-topped cakes weren't as common as they are today, and bakeries were rare, almost non-existent. In those days, just getting to eat cake at New Year was considered wonderful.
A Brief History of Cake
According to history, cake began in the 19th century. The word "cake" comes from the language of the Vikings, an ancient warrior people, from the word "kaka". In 1843, English chemist Alfred Bird discovered baking powder, which allowed him to make bread without yeast for the first time.
Cake in Thailand
In Thailand, in 1937 (around the time of World War II), cake was still not widely known, except among people close to Westerners doing business here, and there were few bakeries in Bangkok. Later, in 1947, after World War II ended, Thailand traded and did business with other countries more, and tourism was growing. This created demand for cakes, bread and pastries for foreign customers and tourists, so the bakery business, including cakes, bread and cookies, expanded and became widely known. Bangkok residents began to get to know baked goods after World War II ended.
Vintage Thai Cake Recipe
The traditional vintage cake has three components: the cake, the orange jam and the cream decoration. Here are the ingredients and details.
Cake ingredients
Mixture 1
- 85 g sugar
- 3 large eggs (size 1)
- 10 g SP (cake emulsifier)
Mixture 2
- 1 tsp orange or vanilla flavouring
- 35 g warm evaporated milk
- 30 g warm water
Mixture 3
- 90 g cake flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Mixture 4
- 50 g warm melted butter
Method
- Sift Mixture 3 and set aside, adding the salt after sifting.
- Beat Mixture 1 for about 15–20 minutes until fluffy and forming soft peaks that curl over like a hawk's beak.
- Warm Mixture 2 together in a saucepan, then pour Mixtures 2 and 1 together and beat at top speed.
- Add Mixture 3 and beat at the lowest speed for 1 minute, then at medium speed for 8 minutes.
- Add Mixture 4 and beat at the lowest speed for 1 minute, stirring slowly to break up air bubbles in the batter. Turn off the mixer and stir slowly with a whisk to break up the air bubbles again.
- Weigh out 35 g of batter per cake into 8 cm bowl-shaped tins lined with no. 3220 paper cups.
- Bake with bottom heat at 170°C for about 15 minutes, adding top heat towards the end to darken the tops.
- Take the cakes out of the oven and let them cool.
Orange sauce ingredients
- 300 g water
- 70 g Sunquick orange concentrate
- 110 g sugar
- 25 g cornflour
- 30 g salted butter
Method
- Mix the cornflour, water, sugar and orange concentrate together.
- Heat until it starts to thicken, then turn off the heat.
- Stir in the butter and remove from the heat.
- Pour over the tops of the cakes.
- Decorate with coloured buttercream as you like.
