Honey Comb Cake (Vietnamese Banh Bo Nuong)

Honey Comb Cake, Banh Bo Nuong, is a sweet and chewy vietnamese cake and semi crispy around the edges.

You can bake this cake in a round cake pan or a rectangle cake pan or any pan of your choice. I like to use a bundt pan because of its unique shape. Some people choose to add pandan leaves or extract but I don't feel the need to add it. So my cake turns out to be a pale yellow or light brown (depending on if brown sugar is added) color instead of a green. Personally, I think the taste is still the same. Be careful to not over mix, over mixing can cause a flat cake.
As the sugar and coconut milk mixture cools, it will thicken slightly, similar to Elmer's glue. Once you tried this recipe and decide it can be sweeter, you can add as much sugar as you please. I learned this from my mother. The only difference between her recipe and mine is that she add a tablet of Alka Seltzer, whereas I just use vinegar and baking soda. Alka Seltzer is basically made of up dehydrated vinegar and baking soda. She doesn't use the typically measuring cups either, she used our daily rice bowls to measure the sugar and tapioca starch. One bowl of each is what she usually use for one can of coconut milk.
This recipe calls for brown sugar, which is optional. The brown sugar will help lessen the aroma of the eggs in the cake and it will give the cake a nice brown color.
Ingredients:
1 can Coconut Milk, shaken
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar, optional
5 Eggs
1 3/4 cup Tapioca Starch
2 1/2 teaspoons baking power
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons vinegar

1. Combine coconut milk and sugars in a medium sauce pan and cook over medium heat until it bubbles. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for about for 35 - 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from stove, pour the mixture in a mixing bowl, and let the mixture cool to room temperature.

2. Grease pan of your choice and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Add the eggs one at a time and beat on low until semi combined.

4. Sift together the tapioca starch and baking powder. Add it to the batter and beat on low until throughly combined and smooth.

5. In a small bowl combine the vinegar and baking soda, it will bubble. Add the mixture into the batter and stir gently until completely incorporated.

6. Pour the batter in the greased pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Allow cake to cool for 20 minutes before inverting and cutting.
If the cake is stuck to the pan, slowly pull the cake away starting from the edges.