Bahn Phu The: Husband and Wife Cakes

These shiny little pillows are served at Vietnamese weddings. Traditionally, a man offered these to the woman he wanted to marry. The stickiness of the cakes symbolizes the strong bonds of marriage.


They have a gelatin-like texture on the outside and some have a creamy filling on the inside. Tapioca flour, pandan, mung bean paste, sugar, and coconut milk provide the mild flavoring of these treats.


"Things Asian" has an explanation of the cultural significance of these cakes. The blog "Playing with My Food"describes how to make them.

Tapioca Flour: Soft on the Stomach and Soft on the Tastebuds

I wanted to cook with cassava, and I thought a great way to do that would be with flour made from the root. Another name for cassava flour is tapioca flour. It is made mostly from bitter cassava, the kind with the most poison. However, the processing removes the poisons and what is left is wonderfully easy to digest. Therefore, foods made with tapioca flour are quite useful for people with digestive system disorders and allergies to gluten. The taste is quite mild with slightly sweet tones. 

Tapioca flour is mixed with other types of flour in most recipes I have seen. I chose the recipe from the back of the package of Bob's Red Mill Tapioca Flour, and modified it slightly.

Tapioca/Rice Flour Quick Bread

4 eggs, separated

1 tablespoon orange juice concentrate

1 teaspoon vegetable oil (I used almond oil.)

1/2 cup tapioca flour

1/2 cup rice flour

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoons baking soda

I preheated the oven to 375. I separated the eggs and whipped the egg whites until stiff. I slowly whipped egg the egg yolks (one at a time) into the egg whites. I then whipped the orange juice concentrate into the mixture. I next added the oil and mixed. After that I added the dry ingredients and mixed well. I poured the mixture into a lightly greased 9 x 5 x 2 1/4" bread pan and baked it for 25 minutes. 

The bread reminds me of corn bread in consistency, but its taste is milder. It makes a perfect base for jellies and jams because of its subtle taste.