How to Make Chinese New Year Cake

This cake is traditionally served during the 15-days of Chinese New Year. Sweet and sticky, Nian Gao is eaten during the New Year because in Southern China, the word Nian means “year” and Gao sounds similar to the word for “high.” If you eat copious amounts of this cake, flavored with rosewater and almonds, both of which symbolize riches, you'll have a fortuitous year. Follow these steps to make one.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• ¾ cup clean, filtered water
• ½ cup white sugar
• 1 ¼ cup sweet, glutinous rice flour (a good brand is Mochiko)
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp. milk
• 1 ½ tsp. rosewater
• ½ tsp. almond extract
• ¼ cup slivered, blanched almonds
• ¼ cup candied blood orange peel
• 8-10 lotus leaves, cleaned and lightly oiled (optional)
• Wire steaming rack
• Wok or 10-inch saute pan
• Above ingredients
• Toothpick
• 8-inch cake pan

Chinese New Year Nian Gao Cake

1. In a small sauce pan, boil the water and stir in the sugar. Boil the sugar mixture until the sugar has dissolved completely.

2. In a large bowl, combine the rice flour, egg, milk, rosewater and almond extract and mix well until it's completely homogenous and free of lumps. The more you stir it, the stickier the dough will become.

3. Fold in the blanched almonds and blood orange peel into the batter.

4. Line an 8-inch cake pan with the lotus leaves, taking care to cover the bottom and sides completely with the leaves. Make sure the underside of the leaves faces up.

5. Transfer the dough into the pan. Wet your hands with water and press down on the dough to force trapped air bubbles out of the dough. Once the dough is pressed, fold over the leaves that are sticking out from the sides. If you have any remaining leaves, cover the top of the cake with more leaves.

6. In a large wok or 12-inch sauté pan, place a wire steaming rack onto the bottom of the wok or pan. Pour just enough water into the pan so the water line is just below the rack.

7. Bring the water to a boil, then turn the heat to medium-low. Place the cake pan onto the rack. Cover the wok or pan with a cover and let the cake steam for approximately 45 minutes. Make sure to check the water occasionally, refilling the water level.

8. Once the cake has steamed and shrunken slightly in size, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, take the cake pan out of the wok and set aside.

9. Let the cake cool at room temperature until it’s cool to the touch. Pull the lotus leaves off the cake and cut the cake into slices.

10. Serve the cake to family and friends.

Tips & Warnings

• You can find dried lotus leaves in Asian markets. Fresh leaves are delicious and flavorful. Use them if you can.
• If you use fresh leaves, soak them for two to three hours. Then bring 3 cups of water to a roiling boil. Drop the leaves into the water and boil them briefly for one minute. Quickly take the leaves out of the water and plunge them into ice water. These techniques are called parboiling and shocking, respectively.
• Soak dried lotus leaves in warm water for at least one hour or until the leaves are pliant.
• Lotus leaves impart a floral flavor to the cake.
• The underside of the leaf is the light green side of the leaf. You only need to worry about using the underside of the leaf when you use fresh leaves. If you use the top side of the leaf next to the cake, the cake will be stained green.
• When you pull the leaves off the cake, some of the cake may stick to the leaves. That's normal. Lightly oil the leaves before use to ensure the least amount of sticking to the leaf.
• If you can’t find lotus leaves, you can lightly oil the bottom and sides of the cake pan and pour the dough into the pan. Steam the cake as usual.
• You can find specific wire steamers for woks and sauce pans in Asian markets or well-stocked kitchen supply stores.
• If you can’t find a wire steamer, use a cooling rack or a vegetable steamer basket to set the cake pan on. You just need the pan to not sit directly in the boiling water.
• You can store the cake for up to a week at room temperature.

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[DawnChesbro]

on 5/13/2008 Unfortunately, I had no control over the photo my editors used for the article. I apologize for the seeming misunderstanding.

[deathpoison]

on 10/6/2007 the picture you've given is not a Chinese New Year cake. It's a mooncake, which we usually eat in Mid Autumn Day(basically around August to October).