Kabocha Ghost Rice Flour Cake
かぼちゃのおばけ米粉ケーキ
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
These little "obake" (ghost) cakes are a Halloween treat from the preschool snack menu. Mashed kabocha squash gives the batter its natural sweetness and golden color, and the rest of the batter is rice flour, potato starch, soy milk, oil, sugar and baking powder. The cake is made without egg, milk or wheat. Once the cake is cut into pieces, a simple cocoa sauce is all you need to draw a friendly ghost face on each one.
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Ingredients
Amounts for 1 child (1 serving). An adult counts as 2 servings.
One serving here is 1.5× the portion served to a child in a Japanese preschool, sized for Western appetites. An adult counts as two servings. Tap an ingredient to check it off.
Ingredients
- 30 gkabocha squashSweet, dense Japanese pumpkin with dark green skin and orange flesh. Substitute: Butternut squash or another sweet winter squash.
- 26.3 grice flour
Seasonings
- 7.5 gvegetable oil
- 37.5 gsweetened soy milk (Japanese chosei tonyu)Japanese 'prepared' soy milk that is lightly sweetened and flavored to taste milder than plain soy milk. Substitute: Regular (original, lightly sweetened) soy milk from the supermarket.
- 5.3 gsugar
- 5.7 gpotato starch (katakuriko)Japanese potato starch used for thickening sauces and coating fried foods. Substitute: Cornstarch: start with the same amount and add a little more if it is still thin. It thickens a little less than potato starch and needs a couple of minutes at a gentle bubble to reach full thickness.
- 2 gbaking powder
- 3 gunsweetened cocoa powder
- 0.8 gsugar
- 5.3 ghot water
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- kabocha squash (かぼちゃ)
- Sweet, dense Japanese pumpkin with dark green skin and orange flesh. Substitute: Butternut squash or another sweet winter squash.
- sweetened soy milk (Japanese chosei tonyu) (調製豆乳)
- Japanese 'prepared' soy milk that is lightly sweetened and flavored to taste milder than plain soy milk. Substitute: Regular (original, lightly sweetened) soy milk from the supermarket.
- potato starch (katakuriko) (かたくり粉)
- Japanese potato starch used for thickening sauces and coating fried foods. Substitute: Cornstarch: start with the same amount and add a little more if it is still thin. It thickens a little less than potato starch and needs a couple of minutes at a gentle bubble to reach full thickness. Read the guide: Katakuriko (Japanese Potato Starch) and What to Use Instead → Guide: japanese-school-lunch.com/articles/katakuriko-potato-starch/
Directions
- 1
Peel the kabocha squash, cut it into roughly even pieces, boil until soft, and mash.
- 2
Add the soy milk to the oil and mix well until emulsified. Add the sugar and mix well. Add the rice flour, potato starch, baking powder and the mashed kabocha from step 1, and mix well until smooth.
- 3
Pour the batter into a loaf pan (or onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper) and bake in an oven preheated to 170°C (340°F) for about 25 minutes.
- 4
Mix the cocoa powder, sugar and hot water together to make a sauce. Cut the cake from step 3 into pieces and draw faces on them with the cocoa sauce.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 264 kcal | 528 kcal | 264 kcal |
| Protein | 4.1 g | 8.1 g | 4.1 g |
| Fat | 9.8 g | 19.5 g | 9.8 g |
| Carbohydrates | 41.8 g | 83.7 g | 41.8 g |
| Fiber | 2.4 g | 4.8 g | 2.4 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.3 g | 0.6 g | 0.3 g |
| Calcium | 70.5 mg | 141 mg | 70.5 mg |
| Iron | 1 mg | 2.1 mg | 1 mg |
| Potassium | 367.5 mg | 735 mg | 367.5 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 264 kcal | 4.1 g | 9.8 g | 41.8 g | 2.4 g | 0.3 g | 70.5 mg | 1 mg | 367.5 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 528 kcal | 8.1 g | 19.5 g | 83.7 g | 4.8 g | 0.6 g | 141 mg | 2.1 mg | 735 mg |
Values are per serving (1.5× the Japanese preschool portion); an adult serving is double. They were calculated by a licensed Japanese nutritionist using the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan. "Salt equivalent" is sodium × 2.54, the standard Japanese measure. Allergen flags cover egg, milk and wheat only and come from the nutritionist's records. Soy sauce and miso are made with wheat but are usually allowed on Japanese wheat-free school menus, so check with your doctor.
