Soft, light, and spongy, Japanese Steamed Cake (Mushi-pan) is surprisingly easy to make at home with this recipe. You can enjoy them as a healthy breakfast or after-school snack. Choose savory or sweet based on the ingredients you use.

These treats may look like muffins, but as you might have guessed – they’re not. We call these Steamed Cakes “Mushi-pan” (蒸しパン) in Japanese. The biggest difference between these cakes and muffins is that these delicious little treats are steamed instead of baked.
What is Steamed Cake (Mushi-pan)?
The Japanese steamed cakes are made with very simple ingredients: flour (all-purpose flour or cake flour), baking powder, eggs, milk, sugar, and neutral-flavored oil (such as vegetable oil). While Chinese steamed bun called Mantou (饅頭) uses yeast as a leavening agent, Japanese steamed cakes use baking powder.
After WWII, when a massive amount of wheat flour was imported from the U.S., and the Japanese started to eat more bread. We call it “pan” (パン) in Japanese. Around the same time, steamed cakes started to appear in Japanese kitchens. As sugar was expensive back then, the Japanese included small chunks of Japanese sweet potatoes (Satsumaimo) to sweeten the steamed cakes. These Satsumaimo Steamed Cakes are still the most popular flavor today.

In the late 1980s, convenience stores in Japan started to sell Cheese Mushi-pan (チーズ蒸しパン) and Chocolate Mushi-pan (チョコ蒸しパン) that became really popular. I remember being addicted to Cheese Mushi-pan. The savory cheesy flavor was really too hard to resist.
My homemade steamed cakes are not the same as those Cheese Mushi-pans. However, homemade steamed cakes are equally delicious and you can play around with various flavors. Unlike store-bought cakes, there are no preservatives and additives.
These healthy steamed cakes are soft and easy to digest, so they are perfect for small children!

3 Reasons To Make Mushi-Pan (Japanese Steamed Cakes)
1. Quick and easy to make
This recipe is so quick and easy to make! Even my children can make them as long as I help with the steaming. It only takes 20 minutes from start to finish. You can make them fresh whenever you want to eat them.
2. Versatile
The best part of steamed cakes is that they can be easily changed to either savory or sweet flavor. My Basic Steamed Cake recipe below is the standard where you can adapt to sweet or savory as you please.
For sweet steamed cakes, you can add vanilla extract. I didn’t add it so the recipe can be changed to a savory one. I recommend keeping the sugar for the savory version as a slight sweetness helps to enhance flavor.
3. Re-steam to make it fluffy
You can store it in the refrigerator or freezer for later and re-steam it when you want to eat for a quick snack. The steamed cakes will be soft and spongy again!
If you give my Mushi-Pan recipe a try, let me know. I’d love to hear about your variations and results in the comments!
Love Matcha (Green Tea)?

Check out my Green Tea Steamed Cake too!

Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.

Steamed Cake
Ingredients
For the Basic Steamed Cake
- ½ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell)
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil
For the Corn and Cheese Steamed Cake
- ½ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell)
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil
- ¼ cup frozen or canned corn
- ¼ cup shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar)
For the Double Chocolate Steamed Cake
- ½ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1½ Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell)
- 3 Tbsp milk
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 2 Tbsp neutral oil
- 2 Tbsp chocolate chips
Instructions
- Cover the lid with a kitchen towel to prevent condensation (please don’t skip!). Fill a large frying pan with water about ½ inch (1.3 cm) deep. Cover the pan with the lid and slowly bring water to a boil. STEAMER: You can also use a regular steamer, but the cooking time will be slightly longer than my method here. Please read the storage and reheating information at the end of the recipe.
To Make the Basic Steamed Cake
- Gather all the ingredients. You will also need 4 6-oz ramekins and cupcake liners.
- In a medium bowl, combine ½ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour) and 1 tsp baking powder and whisk well to combine (shortcut for sifting).
- In a small bowl, whisk 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell), 2 Tbsp milk, 2 Tbsp sugar, and 1 Tbsp neutral oil together until combined and the sugar is dissolved.
- Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and mix until just combined and smooth. Do not overmix.
- Put a cupcake liner in each glass ramekin and divide the batter into the cupcake liners.
- Place the glass ramekins in the boiling water and cook covered on the lowest heat for 8 minutes.
- They‘re done when a skewer inserted comes out clean without wet batter. Turn off the heat and remove the ramekins from the pan and let them cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
To Make the Corn and Cheese Steamed Cake
- Gather all the ingredients.
- In a medium bowl, combine ½ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour) and 1 tsp baking powder and whisk well to combine (shortcut for sifting).
- In a small bowl, whisk 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell), 2 Tbsp milk, 2 Tbsp sugar, and 1 Tbsp neutral oil together until combined and sugar is dissolved.
- Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and mix until just combined and smooth. Do not overmix.
- Add ¼ cup frozen or canned corn and ¼ cup shredded cheese and mix until combined. Put a cupcake liner in each glass ramekin and divide the batter into the cupcake liners.
- Place the glass ramekins in the boiling water and cook covered on the lowest heat for 12–13 minutes. They're done when a skewer inserted comes out clean without wet batter.
- Turn off the heat and remove the ramekins from the pan and let them cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
To Make the Double Chocolate Steamed Cake
- Gather all the ingredients.
- In a medium bowl, combine ½ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour), 1 tsp baking powder, and 1½ Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, and whisk well to combine (shortcut for sifting).
- In a small bowl, whisk 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell), 3 Tbsp milk, 2 Tbsp sugar, and 2 Tbsp neutral oil together until combined and sugar is dissolved.
- Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and mix until just combined and smooth. Do not overmix.
- Add 2 Tbsp chocolate chips and mix until combined. Put a cupcake liner in each glass ramekin and divide the batter into the cupcake liners.
- Place the glass ramekins in the boiling water and cook covered on the lowest heat for 8 minutes. They‘re done when a skewer inserted comes out clean without wet batter. Turn off the heat and remove the ramekins from the pan and let them cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
To Store and Reheat
- You can store the steamed cakes in the airtight container for up to 2–3 days or freeze them for up to 1 month. You can reheat the steamed cake with one of 2 methods: 1) Cover the steamed cake with a damp paper towel and reheat in the microwave (but be careful not to overheat; it‘ll become very hard). If you reheat the frozen steamed cake, defrost first before microwaving. 2) Use the same steaming method above or a steamer or to reheat refrigerated/frozen steamed cake till warm.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on May 4, 2011. The new images were added in April 2017. The post was edited and republished in May 2020.
Hi Nami, Greeting from Ireland, Just make the super quick easy chocolate one. Fluffy, soft and just sweet enough. Perfect for my hubby and I. Steam it in a one bowl for 15 mins. Hubby loves it. Thank you.
Hi Seanny, Thank you so much for trying Nami’s recipe and for your kind feedback!
Nami and all of us at JOC are so happy to hear everyone loved it.🥰 Happy Cooking!
Is it possible to make mushi pan with rice flour instead of AP flour? If so what amount would you use and would any other changes to the recipe be needed?
Hello, Cara. Thank you for taking the time to read Nami’s post and try her recipe!
Rice flour can be used to make a Mushi pan, but we haven’t tried it yet.
Please let us know how it goes if you give it a try.
Did the chocolate ones and added some mandarin zests, delicious! My daughter loved it! 🤩
Hi Annie! Wow! It sounds like a good combination of ingredients!
Thank you so much for trying Nami’s recipe and for your kind feedback.❤️
Made the chocolate ones and it turned out great! Just sweet enough without being too much. Thank you for the recipe Nami!
Hi, mi t! Aww.🥰 This is a very nice-looking Steamed Cake!
Nami and all of us at JOC are so happy to see the result. Thank you so much for trying Nami’s recipe and for your kind feedback!💞
1st attempt, all cheese Steamed Cake. Fluffy, but looks to be improved. 🤣
Hi Cecilia! Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your Steamed Cake photo!
We hope you enjoyed the flavor!🤗
Hi, my mushi pan was dense and doughy.
I’m a new baker and can’t figure out what I did wrong. Any tips?
Hi Eileen, Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe!
We are sorry to hear that your Mushi-pan) got dense and doughy.
It sounds like your Cake batter got mixed too much, and the batter developed too much gluten.
Don’t forget to mix until just combined and smooth.
Happy Baking
I was wondering whether you have tried making this recipe with the silicone egg mold for the instant pot?
Hi Francine! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe!
Nami has not tried this recipe with the silicone egg mold before. Let us know how it goes!
Hi Nami…i would like to make just one plain recipe but just divide and add flavors in one mix. i wonder how much cocoa powder should i add to two pcs. and also with the corn and chhes. thank you.
Hi Chit, Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe!
If you are making one batch with ½ cup of all-purpose flour (plain flour), you can divide the other recipes’ flavors by the number of your cups.
Please note that the chocolate one needs a bit more milk than the other.
We hope this helps!
Made the chocolate ones this evening, super quick to make. So light, fluffy and delicious. Ate two and now wondering if I can manage a third!
Hi Emily! Aww. Nami and JOC team are so happy to hear you enjoyed Mushi-pan!
Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and for your kind feedback.☺️
hello! if u use ceramic instead of glass ramekins, does the cooktime change? thx:)
Hi rin! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe!
It depends on the thickness of your ceramic. So it’s best to insert a skewer and see if it comes out clean without wet batter.
We hope this helps!
I love this recipe, and use it all the time for a quick treat! I steam them in a large pot in silicon cupcake wrappers with a metal steamer basket and they come out pretty great, very bouncy and fluffy, like a cotton ball! Sometimes I add some instant coffee for a lightly sweet coffee-flavored cake 🙂
Hi Rin! Wow! Coffee-flavored! It sounds yummy!🤩
Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your experience with us!😊