I'm back to seolgi (설기), steamed cake made with rice flour, sugar and water at its simplest form. This time, together with instant coffee in milk and finely chopped walnuts, a new seolgi is born as an afternoon pick-me-up coffee cake that goes great with, what else, a cup of coffee.
In itself is a guilt-free, mildly sweet dessert. If you are willing to allow yourself a little more 'guilt,' drizzle some coffee caramel sauce over it. Or top your coffee seolgi with simple whipped cream. Or, just maybe, you can try both. Coffee seolgi topped with whipped cream and drizzled with coffee caramel sauce is - h e a v e n l y ~
To make 8 cupcake sized coffee seolgi)
Take out 2 C of frozen rice powder and let it rest at room temperature for easier handling. In the meantime, set up a steamer.
Dissolve 2 TBSP of instant coffee granules in 2 TBSP of warm milk (I microwaved milk for 10 seconds). Set aside.
Sift rice powder twice. If available, use a coarse sieve to help aerate rice powder without making the rice particles finer. Finer rice powder means denser rice cake.
Add the coffee dissolved in milk, 4 TBSP sugar and 1/2 ts of salt to sifted rice powder and mix thoroughly without pressing down rice powder. Carefully mix in 4 TBSP of lightly toasted and finely chopped walnuts. Pass through a coarse sieve one more time. It should feel like a moist powder mix.
Scoop the mix gently in silicon muffin cups or paper cups. Level out without pressing down the mix. Line the steamer with a piece of clean cloth or paper towel and place the muffin cups. Steam for 20 minutes over boiling water, then turn off the stove. Let it rest with the lid on for 5 minutes, then remove the steamer from the stove. Cool to room temperature with the lid off.
To make coffee caramel sauce, heat up 2 TBSP sugar, 2 TBSP milk, 1 TBSP coffee granules and 1 TBSP butter over low heat. Stir to mix all ingredients. Once it starts bubbling, whisk often for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for a couple of minutes. Before the sauce thickens too much, drizzle it over coffee seolgi.
To make whipped cream, add 1/2 ts confectioners sugar to 1/2 C heavy cream and whisk until a stiff peak forms.
You can see more pointers on seolgi from my recent orange seolgi post.
You can also find my other rice cake posts.
Dancing Ghosts and Sleepy Pumpkin Rice Cakes
First Full Moon Day (정월대보름) and Energy Tteok
Songpyeon (송편; rice cake for Korean Thanksgiving Day)
Zucchini - Soy Pulp Cupcakes (애호박 비지 미니떡)
KOREAN WORDS
snack 간식 (gan sik)
dessert 후식 (hu sik)
