The original ‘dot cake’: How this nostalgic birthday staple leaves viral bakes behind

Growing up in Malaysia, Raymond Tan’s festive memories revolved around steamed sweets and savoury bites – he hadn’t even touched an oven before moving to Australia in his late teens. Suddenly, his sweet tooth kicked into gear.

Two decades on, the Melbourne-based baker has built a global reputation for his inventive approach to pastry. Through his popular bakeries, Raya and Dua Bakehouse, he uses a multicultural pantry to create desserts rooted in memory and nostalgia.

Now, Tan has poured that magic into his debut cookbook, You’re Welcome!, whose title playfully nods to his casual signature reply when handing over bakes, and it doubles as an open invitation to his table.

Between its cheery yellow covers, recipes riff on memory. A cocoa-and-syrup chocolate cake, speckled with hundreds and thousands, reimagines a childhood birthday staple – think of it as a forerunner of today’s viral “dot cakes”.

Meanwhile, his miso peanut cookies update classic Chinese New Year treats, proving that a dash of umami makes traditional sweets sing.

Chocolate cake of my childhood

This recipe is based on a favourite of mine from Fruity Bakery and Cafe, a beloved spot back home in the Malaysian city of Klang. There are three parts: the cake base; the soak; and the frosting, which is more like a fudge sauce that I also love to drizzle over ice-cream. I don’t think we really had good-quality chocolate in Klang, so there’s no chocolate chunks in this recipe, just cocoa powder.

INGREDIENTS

• sprinkles or hundreds and thousands, to serve

Chocolate cake

• oil spray, for greasing
• 160g plain flour
• 175g caster sugar
• 100g Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 3g (⅔ tsp) baking powder
• 4g (1¼ tsp) bicarbonate of soda
• 3g (½ tsp) fine salt
• 200g milk, warmed
• 90g (⅓ cup) unsalted butter, melted
• 50g (2½ tbsp) strong brewed coffee, or two shots of espresso
• 3 eggs

Chocolate soak

• 100g white sugar
• 10g cocoa powder
• 2g (⅓ tsp) fine salt
• 5g (1 tsp) vanilla extract

Choc fudge frosting

• 100g Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 100g pure icing sugar
• 200g warm milk
• 2g (⅓ tsp) fine salt

METHOD

1. Make the chocolate soak: Combine the sugar, cocoa and salt in a large saucepan, pour in 100g of water and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat, add the vanilla and set aside.
2. Make the chocolate cake: Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional). Grease a rectangular 35 × 24 × 5cm cake tin with oil spray.
3. Combine the flour, caster sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarb and salt in a large bowl.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the milk, melted butter, coffee and eggs until combined, then pour this into the dry ingredients and give it a good whisk to combine.
5. Pour the batter into the tin and bake until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and immediately pour the chocolate soak over the cake. Leave the cake in the tin to soak at room temperature for 2-3 hours. When the cake is completely cooled, flip it out onto a serving platter.
7. Make the choc fudge frosting and assemble: Add the frosting ingredients to a bowl and mix to combine, then slather it over the top of the cake and cover in hundreds and thousands. This cake will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days, or in the fridge for a week.

Serves 8-10

Miso peanut cookies

This is an iconic Lunar New Year cookie, with a salty-sweet flavour that people in both Australia and Malaysia tend to enjoy. It’s also a very forgiving recipe, so I recommend everyone give it a go – especially kids and first-time bakers. I recommend using white miso, but if you like the funk of stronger miso, play around with red.

The signature indent in the top of these cookies is typically made with an abacus bead because in Chinese culture, peanuts represent growth and prosperity. But I use the tip of a piping nozzle covered in plastic wrap.

If you can’t find unsalted peanuts, then halve the amount of miso to keep the salt in check. When you’re grinding the peanuts, make sure they’re completely cool or you’ll risk making peanut butter. Don’t panic if it does happen – I’ve done it before and still make these – you’ll just end up with a different texture.

INGREDIENTS

• 100g (⅔ cup) skinless unsalted peanuts
• 45g pure icing sugar, sifted
• 15g raw sugar
• 165g plain flour, plus extra as needed
• 20g white (shiro) miso paste
• 90g peanut or other neutral oil
• 1 egg yolk, beaten with a dash of milk, for eggwash

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 165C fan-forced (185C conventional). Spread the peanuts evenly on a baking tray and roast, checking them frequently (they burn quickly), until golden, about 8–10 minutes. Cool, then grind them in a food processor or with a mortar and pestle, or bash them in a zip-lock bag, until fine.
2. Increase the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional) and line two baking trays with baking paper. Add the icing sugar, raw sugar, flour and miso to a bowl, add the ground peanuts and combine with a wooden spoon or by hand.
3. Gradually pour in the peanut oil (you may not need it all), while mixing, until everything just comes together; the dough should still be a bit crumbly, but hold its shape if rolled. If the dough is too oily, add a pinch of extra flour.
4. Shape the dough into small balls – about 10g each or the size of a large grape – and place them on trays, leaving 3cm between them.
5. Brush each cookie with eggwash, then with the tip of a small piping nozzle covered in plastic wrap, or a boba straw, make a round indent in the centre of each cookie.
6. Bake until golden, about 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave on the baking trays to cool. Miso peanut cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 weeks.

Makes 35-40

This is an edited extract from You’re Welcome! By Raymond Tan with Audrey Payne, photography by Louise Hagger. Published by Murdoch Books, RRP $49.99.