Hello there, this is my very first eGullet post, but I just wanted to say that this is a topic that I'm very interested. Chinese steamed cake is something that I'm obsessing right now because I don't have a functioning oven but I crave yummy, fluffy cakes. Someone already mentioned Ma-la-gao (馬拉糕), which I haven't tried to make, but I had very good luck with another steamed cake, which is "salty cake" in Chinese (鹹蛋糕). It's a Taiwanese specialty that has fried shallots and minced pork for topping, but the cake is sweet but not too sweet like western-style cakes. I often think of Ma-la-gao and the salty cake are cousins, but it's probably because they both appeared on the same page of my cookbook (and that they're both steamed). Hehe. If anyone is curious, this is the picture of the salty cake: http://studiocyen.net/food/photos/121706_cake1.jpg
