Baked Coconut & Mung Beans Cake (Bánh đậu Xanh Nướng)

Mung beans are a very common type of bean used in the Vietnamese cuisine in general and in particular for making all kinds of desserts. When talking about mung beans, I am reminiscent of baked mung beans cake that my mother often made to worship at the Buddhist altar during Tet (New Year) in Vietnam. The taste of ​​coconut fat and flashy mung beans are the two kinds of special flavors of this cake. There are also many ways to make this very special cake among other Vietnam's culinary specialties. However, today, which marks the first day of my mother’s visit, I am re-creating the type of mung beans cake that my mother used to bake. Tonight, we'll have a nice picnic dinner at the park downtown and enjoy the concert being performed with the musical contributions by local artists.  So, this coconut and mung beans cake is very convenient for outdoor picnics to replace other desserts. This cake’s quality is not just very good, but it is also being presented for very simple processing.

Ingredients:
Ingredients for cooked mung beans:
1 cup dry mung beans
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups water
Ingredients for the cake:
All the cooked mung beans*
1 cup coconut milk or cream
1 ½ cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs

Directions:
*For cooking the mung beans:
Wash and drain the mung beans very well.  Place the mung beans in a pot. Add salt and water. Bring to boil and skim off the foam that arises to the surface. Cook beans until they absorb almost all the water (about 10 minutes). Cover pot and turn heat to simmer for another 10 minutes.

For making the cake:
Use 1/2 tablespoon of butter to grease a 9 inch diameter cake pan and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350°.
In a mixing bowl, combine all the cake ingredients and use a handheld mixer to beat the batter until smooth.

 If you do not have a handheld mixer, you can use a food processor or blender. Pour the batter onto the prepared cake pan.

Dot the batter with some butter.

Bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before cutting.