2010 Year of Tiger coming soon - New Year Cake

Chinese New Year is looming our way very soon - 14th February!

To prepare my welcoming the Year of the Metal Tiger - i can not resist making a few festive treats - first one on the list it New Year Cake.





New Year Cake is sweet and with a sticky texture because its made out of glutinous rice flour & brown sugar.
Local customs past down from generations,that on the start of new year to eat something sweet is hoping the year ahead is sweet. As this is normally shared within family and friends - to eat this is to wish that the year ahead that family love & friendship will stick together in harmony.

I particularly like New Year Cake - because it reminds my naivety of my childhood, believing my mum stories that if i eat this i will grow taller the year ahead. This is the cake is called 'Nin Koh' - Nin meaning Year and Koh means cake but because it also share the same phonetic sound to 'growth' - so its usual for adults to fob little kids like me to eat it to get taller. And once i get to my mum's height i can do wonderful things that only adult can do - how SILLY am I to wish to be an adult????? haha

Anyway, let me share my little experiment in the kitchen for this sweet sweet cake!

Here are the ingredients:



for sugar i didnt want to use all the brown sugar block - so i halved it with some light brown sugar. (hence an extra bowl in this picture) Plus a bowl of dried red dates. 




Here are the important steps i followed strictly:

1) Melting the sugar on the hob




2) Once sugar melted - mix and fold well with the flour - give it a good blast on the handmixer and whizz it to a syrupy- floury mixture.




3) Get out your funky shaped containers either metal or like me silicone cups/shapes.
Get a sieve and pour the mixture through it to make sure no lumpy bits. Once done at a red date for decoration and pop it in the steamer. 

 


Steaming for 30mins!




Then with some patience - put them in foil cases or cupcake cases - it get a very pleasing result.
I deliberately did small ones - for experiment sake and ease of transport to my family to taste it, as well the importance of theirs and my health - a treat but in small doses ;p

    

Here is the New Year Cake Recipe.  Good Luck & happy baking!