There's nothing quite like homemade Bánh Bò / Bánh Bò Nướng (Giáu Cầu) / Vietnamese Pandan Waffle/Cake. While restaurant versions are satisfying, making it at home lets you control the ingredients, adjust the flavors to your preference, and enjoy it fresh whenever the craving hits.
Bánh bò nướng (baked version) and giáu cầu (waffle version) are the same batter, two different textures. The baked version is a tender, springy cake with a signature honeycomb interior — airy pockets of steam trapped in a coconut-milk crumb. The waffle version is crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, with the same pandan-coconut flavor that's nutty, floral, and subtly sweet. Both are delicately sweet — more of a tea-time snack than a dessert — with the pandan adding a unique vanilla-coconut-almond aroma that's unmistakably Southeast Asian.
Ingredients
- 240 g coconut milk
- 50 g defrosted pandan leaves
- 530 g large whole eggs
- 1 bag vanilla powder
- 360 g granulated white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated salt
- 250 g tapioca starch
- 20 g rice flour
- 2 bags single-acting Alsa baking powder
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil (melted; neutral cooking oil is fine too)
- Nonstick cooking spray
Instructions
Make the pandan extract
Thoroughly wash, defrost, and dry the pandan leaves. Add the pandan leaves and coconut milk to a high-speed blender and blend until the leaves are about the size of rice grains (blending too finely imparts a bitter, grassier taste).
Strain the pandan milk
In your first mixing bowl, pour the pandan-coconut milk blend through a fine mesh strainer to extract as much coconut milk as possible, leaving behind the pandan leaf pulp.
Mix the dry ingredients
In the second mixing bowl, combine all the tapioca starch, rice flour, and baking powder. Whisk to thoroughly combine, then sift with a mesh strainer to remove lumps.
Start the batter
In the third mixing bowl, combine eggs, sugar, vanilla powder, and salt. Using an electric hand mixer on LOW speed only, add half the flour and mix for 30 seconds.
Add the coconut milk
Add all the coconut milk and mix for 30 seconds.
Finish the batter
Add the remaining half of the flour and mix for 40-50 seconds to thoroughly combine.
Add the oil
Add the cooking oil and mix for 10 seconds.
Strain the batter
Pour all the batter through a fine mesh strainer to remove lumps, then repeat once more.
Prepare the mold
Spray your cake mold with cooking spray.
Fill the mold
Pour the batter into the mold slowly and evenly. The batter should sit between 1/2 and 2/3 full — if too full it will overflow after rising.
Bake
Bake at 350°F in a preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Reduce cooking time slightly for a smaller mold.
Brown the top (optional)
After baking, broil for 1 minute if needed to brown the top. Leave the cake in the oven for 10 minutes with the door cracked open slightly before removing.
Cool
Place the cake mold on a cooling rack upside down, raised with cans or ramekins. Cool completely to room temperature before removing the cake from the mold (a fan speeds this up).
Release
Run a knife around the edges to dislodge the bánh bò, then gently pry the cake away from the mold with your fingers to fully release it.
Our Tips
Giáu cầu (literally "bridge waffle") is the waffle-iron version of bánh bò nướng, and it's a beloved street snack in Vietnam. The name comes from the honeycomb pattern that the waffle iron creates, which resembles a bridge's lattice structure. You'll find it sold by street vendors who cook the waffles in special cast-iron molds over charcoal, creating a distinctive smoky-sweet flavor that's hard to replicate at home.
The key to the honeycomb texture is yeast — not baking powder. The yeast creates carbon dioxide bubbles that expand in the heat, forming the characteristic air pockets. The batter must rest long enough for the yeast to work, but not so long that it over-ferments and becomes sour. One hour at room temperature is the sweet spot.
Pandan extract is what gives the cake its signature green color and aroma. It's available at Asian grocery stores in small bottles (look for "pandan extract" or "pandan essence"). Fresh pandan leaves can be blended with water and strained, but the extract is more convenient and consistent. If you can't find pandan, the cake won't be green, but it will still taste delicious — the coconut milk and vanilla provide plenty of flavor on their own.