FA GAO
Fa Gao, or fortune cake, is a popular Chinese dessert typically eaten during the Lunar New Year to bring luck and money in the coming months. The chewy and lightly sweetened steamed cakes were traditionally leavened with yeast, which helps create the signature cracked flower-like design on top. However, nowadays bakeries often substitute double-acting baking powder; it yields the same effect in far less time. The key to the recipe is to make sure the water is at a rolling boil and generating lots of steam when you cook the cakes. That high heat works with the leavening agent to form the cracks.
Provided by Food Network Kitchen
Categories dessert
Time 1h
Yield 10 cakes
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- Fill a 12-inch skillet or wok with about 2 inches of water, then place a 10-inch bamboo or metal steamer basket in the skillet. Make sure the water doesn't touch the bottom insert. If it does, remove some of the water. Leave the steamer setup on the stove. Spray ten 3-inch fluted egg tart molds with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- Whisk the brown sugar, oil and 3/4 cup hot water in a large mixing bowl until the sugar dissolves, about 1 minute. Set aside the sugar syrup until completely cool, about 10 minutes.
- When the sugar syrup is ready, sift the all-purpose flour and rice flour into the syrup in 3 additions, whisking between each addition until there are no dry spots. Stir together the baking powder and 1 tablespoon cold water in a small bowl until there are no dry clumps of baking powder. Whisk the baking powder slurry into the batter in 3 additions until there are no streaks of slurry. Fill the prepared egg tart molds to the top (about 1/4 cup of batter per mold).
- Bring the water in the skillet to a rolling boiling water over high heat. Set 5 of the molds in the steamer basket, cover and steam until the cakes rise and the tops crack open and resemble a flower, about 15 minutes. (Don't open the lid while the cakes cook; doing so interferes with the rising.) Transfer the molds to a cooling rack. Replenish the water in the skillet as needed and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Set the remaining 5 molds in the steamer basket and repeat the steaming process.
- Serve the cakes warm or at room temperature, unmolding them only when you are ready to eat them. They can be kept, covered in their molds, in the refrigerator for up to a week and reheated by steaming over simmering water for about 10 minutes.
TRADITIONAL CHINESE STEAMED CAKE (FA GAO)
This is a recipe I came up with after searching through many different versions. It's light and fluffy, yet still traditional, representing prosperity during the New Year.
Provided by ILLUMINATIAN
Categories Bread Yeast Bread Recipes
Time 2h45m
Yield 8
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Sprinkle the yeast over 1/2 cup of warm water in a small bowl. The water should be no more than 100 degrees F (40 degrees C). Let stand for 5 minutes until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam.
- Beat egg, melted butter, vanilla extract, and milk together in a large bowl, until smooth. Sift cake flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt together in a small bowl, then stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture, mixing until just combined. Stir in the yeast mixture until smooth. Cover with a light cloth and let rise in a warm place (80 to 95 degrees F (27 to 35 degrees C) until doubled in volume, 1 to 2 hours. Pour mixture into a 9 inch round pan lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with raisins.
- Place a steamer insert into a saucepan, and fill with water to just below the bottom of the steamer. Cover, and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Add the cake, recover, and steam until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 264.4 calories, Carbohydrate 41.3 g, Cholesterol 44.8 mg, Fat 9 g, Fiber 1.2 g, Protein 4.7 g, SaturatedFat 5.3 g, Sodium 217.6 mg, Sugar 12.4 g
PAU PAU'S STEAMED CUPCAKES (FA GAO)
In cookbook author Kristina Cho's family, you can't celebrate Lunar New Year without fa gao. The unfrosted Chinese cupcakes cook in a steamer basket, and how high they rise is just as important as their taste. "As the tradition goes, the taller your cupcakes bloom and blossom, the more good luck and prosperity you're going to have," she says. Like many of the family recipes in her book Mooncakes and Milk Bread, this one took many tries to get right because Kristina re-created it from her grandmother's vague directions. "She would be happy to give me the recipe, but she just does everything by feel - she uses a coffee mug as a measuring cup," Kristina says. But it turns out there is a secret to these fluffy prosperity cakes: pancake mix!
Provided by Food Network
Categories dessert
Time 35m
Yield 10 fa gao
Number Of Ingredients 4
Steps:
- Prepare your steamer setup: Fill a heavy-bottomed pot (the same diameter as your steamers) with 3 to 4 inches water. Bring the water to a rapid boil. Line 10 individual 3-inch cupcake molds with paper liners and arrange in 2 bamboo steamers.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the pancake mix, flour, brown sugar and water until smooth. (The batter should be thick but runny.)
- Divide the batter evenly between the molds, filling each about three-quarters full. Stack the bamboo steamers and cover with the lid. Steam for 15 minutes. Lift the lid, remove the steamers and allow the cupcakes to cool for 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
FORTUNE CAKE (FA GAO) RECIPE BY TASTY
These fortune cakes, also referred to as "prosperity cakes" or "lucky cakes," are extremely popular during Lunar New Year. The name "fa gao" sounds like "wealth," thus symbolizing good fortune for the new year. They have a light brown sugar flavor and an addictively fluffy, yet chewy, texture. It's hard to eat just one!
Provided by Jasmine Pak
Time 45m
Yield 8 cakes
Number Of Ingredients 9
Steps:
- Fill a large pot one third of the way with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Place a 2-tier steamer basket on top. Grease 8 3-inch fluted egg tart molds with nonstick spray.
- Add the brown sugar, butter, and water to a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let the mixture cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the self-rising and rice flours and baking powder. Whisk to combine.
- Slowly fold the sugar syrup into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until evenly combined and no dry spots remain.
- Fill each prepared egg tart mold to the top with batter, about ¼ cup each.
- Working in batches if needed, place the molds in the steamer basket and cover. Cook for about 20 minutes, until the cakes rise and crack open. Do not open the lid while cooking or the cakes will not rise. Carefully transfer the cakes to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature. Remove the cakes from the molds before serving.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts : Calories 374 calories, Carbohydrate 62 grams, Fat 7 grams, Fiber 1 gram, Protein 15 grams, Sugar 33 grams
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