Lotus Recipe

Prep

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line a 9-inch (23 cm) round cake pan with parchment paper. Have all wet ingredients at room temperature.

In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt until evenly combined.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk the eggs lightly. Add the milk, yogurt (or sour cream), melted butter, neutral oil, and vanilla extract; whisk until smooth and homogenous.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula to fold until just combined. Do not overmix; a few small lumps are fine. Batter should be thick but pourable. If too thick, stir in up to 1–2 tbs milk.

In a small bowl, combine the lotus seed paste (or sweetened white bean paste) with ground cinnamon, ground cardamom, light brown sugar, and softened butter. Stir vigorously to combine. If the paste is very stiff, add the tablespoon of milk and mix until spreadable but still thick.

Reserve about 3 tablespoons of this mixture for the topping; keep the rest for the cake center swirl.

Spoon half of the cake batter into the prepared pan and spread into an even layer.

Dollop 1/2 cup of the lotus spice paste in several spoonfuls over the batter. Use a skewer or the tip of a knife to swirl the paste gently through the batter — create a marbled effect but avoid fully mixing it in.

Top with the remaining batter and smooth the surface. Dot the reserved 3 tablespoons of lotus paste in a few spots on the top.

Sprinkle the lotus biscuit crumb mixture (combine the biscuit crumbs, powdered sugar, and 1 tbs melted butter) evenly over the top, lightly pressing so crumbs adhere to batter.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30–38 minutes, or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center (avoiding the bigger swirls of paste) comes out with a few moist crumbs but not raw batter. Rotate the pan halfway through baking if your oven heats unevenly.

If the top browns too quickly, tent loosely with foil for the last 8–10 minutes.

Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edge, invert onto the rack, remove the parchment, then invert back right-side-up to cool completely.

Once cool, dust the top lightly with powdered sugar, sprinkle toasted sliced almonds, and finish with a tiny pinch of flaky sea salt to enhance the lotus flavor.

Slice into 8 equal pieces and serve at room temperature. Store any leftovers covered at room temperature up to 2 days or refrigerated up to 5 days; bring to room temperature before serving.