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Galley Log + Recipies

Baked Mochi Cake for the Lunar New Year

I grew up an expat kid in Hong Kong and I look back on celebrating the Chinese New Year as some of my favorite childhood memories. I was in complete awe of the lion dances and loved all of the delicious cookies and cakes that only came around this special time of the year. As tradition goes, kids are presented with these little red envelopes (红包 hóng bāo) that contain money inside! It’s a gesture that symbolizes the passing of good fortune from the older generations to their children and grandchildren. Our extended family lived in the United States, but luckily for me, I had many neighbors and friends of my parents that filled the role of doting aunts, uncles, and grandparents. I remember going to visiting them around the holiday, and upon opening the door I was instructed to bow and politely say ”恭喜发财，红包拿来 (Gong hei fat choy, hóng bāo ná lái)!”, which means “wishing you wealth and prosperity, hand over the red envelope.” So cheeky! I was young enough not to really care about the real money, but when I received a hóng bāo with chocolate coins inside I was ecstatic!

As an adult living in the States, I am still very fond of this holiday and the traditions I had the privilege to experience as a kid. I discovered this recipe last year around Chinese New Year while I was perusing the internet for classic New Year treats to celebrate. In the style of 2020 Pandemic celebrations, our little new year party would just be my husband, our cat, and me. On our boat. Far from other people. I came across a fantastic food blogger named Marvellina and her website What To Cook Today, which showcases many traditional Asian dishes. She has MANY wonderful Chinese New Year recipes, FYI. I remember eating Nian Gao as a kid, and I longed for that chewy, yummy texture. This is a baked version of Nian Gao, and I adjusted a couple ingredients from the original recipe here to make it a wee bit healthier. My main substitute was coconut sugar in place of standard cane sugar. This reduces the glycemic load (the tendency of a food to spike blood sugar) makes it taste less sweet, and gives the cake more of a maple flavor.

My dad and me. Hong Kong circa 1993


Baked Mochi Cake (or Cupcakes!)

DRY INGREDIENTS 

  • 1-1/2 cups sweet rice flour (Bob’s Redmill is my favorite)

  • 1-1/4 cups coconut sugar (you can use cane sugar if coconut sugar is hard to find, I like the taste better with coconut and it’s also a tad bit healthier)

  • 1/8 tsp. fine sea salt


WET INGREDIENTS 

  • 1-1/2 cups full fat coconut milk (from a can)

  • 2 Tbsp. butter or ghee

  • 2 eggs


OPTIONAL TOPPINGS

  • Black sesame seeds

  • Shredded coconut

  • Slivered almonds

  • Hemp seeds


BAKING DISH OPTIONS

  • 8 inch round cake pan OR

  • Cupcake tray (metal or silicon)


DIRECTIONS

  • Preheat oven to 350 F. Melt butter/ghee on a small pan, let it cool down a bit. Whisk 2 eggs gently, add in coconut milk and melted butter/ghee and lightly mix.

  • Mix all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add in wet ingredients and mix until smooth, working out any lumps.

  • Use a small amount of ghee to grease the bottom and the side of the baking pan or cupcake tin. I use a silicon cupcake tray that requires no greasing and produces a really clean cupcake.

  • Pour the batter into the pan and bake in the preheated oven, 3rd rack from the top for 30 minutes

  • After 30 minutes, the cake should have risen up a little bit. Sprinkle desired toppings and place back in the oven. Bake again for another 30 minutes. The side of the cake will be lightly golden brown and the middle of the cake will no longer be jiggly. If you insert a toothpick in the middle of the cake, it should come out clean.

  • If you are using cupcake tins, bake for 30 minutes total and check with a toothpick. Mine usually finish around 30 minutes for a small sized cupcake.

  • Let the cake cool down for at least 1 hour before attempting to cut. This is the most difficult step. If cupcakes, wait at least 20 minuets before devouring or you WILL burn your mouth on molten hot mochi.

  • Leftover of the cake can be kept in the refrigerator for up to one week


Adapted from Baked Nian Gao - What to Cook Today

Quincey Cummings