Steamed Cream Cracker Layered Cake (Kiam Piah Cake)

Learn how to make this delicious buttery cream cracker cake with layers of pandan and original cream cracker flavors. The sponge butter cake is steamed and has an amazing light, soft and fluffy texture. You only need 5 ingredients to make this cake

This cream cracker layered cake is probably one of my favorite steamed butter cakes. I have always enjoyed eating cream crackers since I was a kid. I had them for breakfast and as snacks as a kid. We call it kiam pia in Medan. Kiam means salty, piah means biscuits or anything pastry related. The cream cracker basically replaces flour in the recipe. It gives a nice aroma to the cake.

The recipe rundown

Taste: The right amount of sweetness with a nice buttery aroma and flavor from the cream crackers
Texture: soft, light in texture, and moist
Difficulty: Medium

How to make steamed cream cracker layered cake

1. Lightly oil the bottom and sides of the pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper for easy removal. You can line the sides too if you choose to. Bring the water in the steamer to a boil and then lower the heat while preparing the cake batter

2. There is no flour used in this recipe. The cream crackers are used as the “flour” in this recipe. I put the cream crackers in a food processor and processed them into very fine crumbs. You can put them in a large plastic bag, push all the air out and seal them. Crush with a rolling pin and then roll the pin back and forth to crush the cream crackers into fine crumbs. It is important that they turn into very fine crumbs or the cake won’t turn out properly

3. It is important that the eggs are at room temperature. Cold eggs won’t whip well and your cake won’t rise properly during steaming. The cake depends on the air from whipping the eggs with sugar to rise. Place the eggs and sugar in the mixing bowl. I use a stand mixer with a whip attachment and start whipping on high speed until the egg mixture turns pale, creamy, and thick. We call this a ribbon stage. When you lift the batter up, it will drop down leaving a trail that remains visible before slowly dissolving back into the batter. It is very important to whip to this ribbon stage

4. Gently fold in the cream cracker crumbs 1/3 at a time using a swipe and fold-over motion and continue until you run out of cream crackers. Add melted butter 1/3 at a time and fold using the same motion, swipe down and fold over and continue until you run out of melted butter. There shouldn’t be any more traces of butter in the batter. It is very important that all ingredients are well incorporated or the cake will have some separate layers after you bake it. You want to work gently but efficiently not to deflate the batter too much at the same time

5. Bring the water in the steamer back to a boil. Divide the batter into roughly two equal portions, about 400-420 grams each. I make a total of 4 layers. Add 1 tsp of pandan essence to one of them and another 1 tsp of vanilla essence to the other batter. Gently fold to combine

6. The water should be a rolling boil. If not using a bamboo steamer, wrap the lid of the steamer with a cloth to prevent water condensation falls on the cake creating dense spots. Pour about 200 gr of vanilla batter into the pan and spread to make an even layer. Steam for 5 minutes over medium-high heat. The cake should be dry to the touch. 

7. When the first layer is done steaming, pour the next 200 gr of pandan batter on top and spread to make an even layer. Steam again for 5 minutes. Continue until you get to the last 4th layer. Steam the last layer for 15 minutes

8. Remove the cake from the steamer and let it cools down on the pan for 10 minutes then unmould the cake by loosening the side and place on top of a wire rack to let it cools down completely before slicing

9. Once the cake has cooled down completely, I wrap it in a cling wrap and store at room temperature until the next day to serve. This cake will taste even better if you can age it for 24 hours. The buttery aroma will have time to develop and the cake will be moist and flavorful. Trim off the 4 edges if necessary to make the cake looks neat

How to store

Let the cake cools down completely and then wrap it in a cling wrap. It is best served after 24 hours as the cake usually feels dry on the same day you bake it. Allow some time for the butter to develop flavor and to moisturize the cake. You won’t regret waiting a little bit extra!