Lunar New Year Cake

Name: Lunar New Year Cake
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 60 min
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Cuisine: Chinese Menu
Ingredients: Brown Slab Sugar — 225g; Water — 180ml; Coconut Milk — 180ml; Lye Water — ½ tsp; Vegetable Oil — 1 tbsp; Glutinous Rice Flour — 320g; Ground Ginger — 1 tsp; Salt — 1 pinch; Red Date — 1

Lunar New Year Cake, known as Nian Gao (年糕), is the most iconic dessert of the Spring Festival. It is a dense, sticky, and sweet cake made from glutinous rice flour. More than just a treat, it is a 'lucky food' steeped in ancient symbolism, designed to bring success and growth in the coming year.

Cuisines

Cooking Instructions

Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking: 1 hour

Servings: 8 to 10

Notes:

Brown slab sugar (pian tang) gives the cake an authentic amber hue and depth of flavour, though dark brown sugar or muscovado sugar can be used as a replacement.

Lye water (kansui) is optional but deepens the rich golden colour of the steamed cake.

Ground ginger can be omitted for a classic, traditional version, or increased to taste for extra warmth.

Traditional nian gao is typically left to firm up at room temperature for a day before slicing and pan-frying in a little vegetable oil or beaten egg until crisp on the outside and gooey in the centre.

Make Sugar Syrup
Snap the brown sugar slabs into smaller pieces and place in a small saucepan with 180ml of water. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar completely dissolves. Remove from heat and pour in the coconut milk to cool the syrup down, then stir in the lye water and vegetable oil.

Mix the Batter
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the glutinous rice flour, ground ginger, and salt. Pour in the cooled sugar syrup mixture and stir continuously for several minutes until smooth and combined.

Strain into Pan
Grease a 9-inch round metal cake tin with vegetable oil. Pour the batter through a fine-mesh sieve directly into the prepared cake tin to catch any lumps, pressing out remaining flour bits. Tap the tin on the worktop to release air bubbles.

Steam the Cake
Set a steamer rack inside a wok and add water, leaving a 1.5cm gap between the water line and the top of the rack. Bring to a boil, place the cake tin on the rack, cover tightly, and steam over medium heat for 50 minutes to 1 hour until translucent and firm.

Finish and Cool
Insert a chopstick into the centre to test for doneness; it should come out clean and translucent. Press a red date into the centre hole for decoration, then allow the cake to cool completely before slicing or pan-frying.