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Fa Gao, or Chinese prosperity cake, is a light and fluffy steamed sweet cake topped with jujubes. Make this celebratory cake for Chinese New Year to bring in good fortune! {Vegetarian}

Fa Gao (Chinese Prosperity Cake, 发糕)

Fa Gao, or Chinese prosperity cake, is a light and fluffy steamed sweet cake topped with jujubes. Make this celebratory cake for Chinese New Year to bring in good fortune! {Vegetarian}
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Inactive time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Course: Side, Snack
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: homestyle
Servings: 8 servings
Author: Maggie Zhu

Ingredients

  • 50 g (1/3 cup) brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) water
  • 1 tablespoon white sugar (*Footnote 1)
  • 160 g (1 cup) all-purpose flour
  • 4 g (1 teaspoon) instant yeast
  • 1 egg
  • 16 jujubes , pitted, 10 halved, and the remaining 6 chopped

Instructions

  • Add the brown sugar, white sugar, and water into a small bowl. Microwave to heat up for 30 seconds. Stir to dissolve completely. Let the water cool off while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
  • Sift the flour into a medium-sized bowl. Add the yeast and stir to mix well.
  • Once the mixture of sugar water cools to skin temperature, pour it into the flour. Add the egg. Stir everything together to mix well until it forms a smooth batter, but do not over mix. Run the batter through a colander into a big bowl, pressing down any remaining bits that are not mixed evenly. Add the chopped jujubes. Stir again to mix well.
  • Grease a 6” cake pan with a thin layer of oil. Pour in the batter. Shake the pan to smooth out the batter. Arrange the halved jujubes on top. Let rise in a warm spot until the size doubles, 1 hour or so.
  • Prepare a steamer by adding 2” (5 cm) water into the pot. Heat covered over medium-high heat until boiling. Place the cake pan onto the steamer rack, and place the rack over the steamer. Steam for 30 minutes over medium-high heat. Then turn off the heat and let it rest for 5 minutes (do not remove the cover).
  • Once done, transfer the cake pan onto a rack to cool off slightly. Then turn it upside down to remove the cake. Once it’s cooled enough to handle by hand, or to room temperature, slice it into wedges and serve.

Notes

  1. The brown sugar adds color and the white sugar adds more sweetness. If you want a sweeter tasting Fa Gao, use 2 to 3 tablespoons of white sugar.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 158kcal, Carbohydrates: 32.5g, Protein: 4.3g, Fat: 1.6g, Saturated Fat: 0.4g, Cholesterol: 47mg, Sodium: 21mg, Potassium: 123mg, Fiber: 0.7g, Sugar: 7.8g, Calcium: 25mg, Iron: 2mg