Steamed Sesame Seed Cakes (muki goma mushipan)

Mushipan means 'steamed bread' in Japanese.  This version is made like a sponge cake and steamed in little cupcake cups.  I started with triple-sifted cake flour, powdered sugar and baking powder in one bowl.  In another bowl I mixed together three egg yolks, some palm oil and some toasted, ground sesame seeds.  In a third bowl I whipped four egg whites to soft peaks.

I folded the three parts together, a little at a time.  The resulting batter was bright yellow and very fluffy.

The recipe did call for black sesame seeds (kuro goma) but I didn't have any, so I hoped it wouldn't be a disaster if I substituted white.  Next time I might make both white and black versions and construct a little cake chessboard.

These tasted very eggy, a little savory, and barely sweet.  They were of particular interest to our cat.