Bet you didn’t know you can make a cake with just rice and all-purpose flour! I know – I’m surprised myself, too! Using only rice, yeast, sugar, and all-purpose flour, you can make this traditional homemade Chinese fa gao or fortune cake for Chinese New Year, weddings, ceremonies, and other special events.
What Is Chinese Fa Gao?
Chinese fa gao (发糕) is also known as fortune cake or Chinese prosperity cake. It is a soft and sweet cake made of rice, all-purpose flour, yeast, and sugar. You can recognize this cake with a split top that may look like a bloomed flower.
Fun fact – the split top that blossoms or expands is considered a sign of good fortune to come. That is why Chinese fa gao is commonly eaten on Chinese New Year, weddings, and ceremonial occasions. This cake is cooked by steaming for 35 minutes.
It is usually made into small cupcakes rather than a large whole cake. You will need to make rice paste and mix it with yeast, sugar, and all-purpose flour. Then, you can add extra ingredients like raisins before cooking it in the steamer.
If you love a good dessert, try my other cake recipes such as Spongy Baked Chinese Cupcakes, Traditional Chinese Steamed Rice Cake, and Brown Butter Victoria Sponge Cake. Got extra yeast? Use it to make Sugar Bun, Taro Bun, Black Sesame Steamed Buns, or Chinese Longevity Peach Buns (Steamed Shoutao Bao)
All About The Main Ingredients For Chinese Fa Gao
There are a few things you should know about each ingredient. I recommend reading this section to learn more about the do’s and don’ts for each one. Once you learn more about the ingredients, it will be a lot easier to move forward with the recipe steps.
- Rice paste: You can make rice paste by soaking 400g of rice for two hours and blending it with warm water. Once you have a batter-like rice paste, you can then mix it with the other ingredients. You can use any type of rice, such as long grain, short grain, or brown rice.
- Yeast: This ingredient is essential in making the cakes rise. You can use any type of yeast, such as instant or active dry yeast. In this recipe, I use instant yeast so I can mix it directly with the batter without needing to dissolve it in water first. As mentioned in the rice paste making, you must use warm water and not hot. Warm water is a crucial ingredient in activating the yeast. Using hot water between 120°F and 140°F will kill the yeast. If the yeast is killed, the fermentation process will not activate, which will cause the cakes not to rise and remain flat.
- Sugar: Sugar adds a hint of sweetness to the cakes. It also helps speed up the fermentation process of the yeast since yeast feeds on sugar. Yeast converts the sugar into carbon dioxide and ethanol, the two elements that make the cake rise. You can use white, brown, muscovado, or coconut sugar.
- All-purpose flour.
- Optional ingredients:Extra ingredients to make the cakes better are raisins or goji berries. These can add flavor and sweetness to the cakes. For a creamy and coconut taste, you can swap warm water with coconut milk when making the rice paste.
What To Prepare For Chinese Fa Gao
The special equipment that you will be needing are a steamer and blender. I recommend a power blender that can blend the soaked rice and warm water seamlessly into a smooth batter.
The steaming equipment can easily be replaced by other recommended tools in this guide: How To Steam Without A Steamer In 5 Easy Ways. Here’s everything you need to start making this fortune cake.
Kitchenware
- Blender
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Clean wrap
- Cupcake mold
- Steamer
Ingredients
- 400g of rice
- 150ml of warm water
- 4g of yeast
- 80g of sugar
- 60g of all-purpose flour
- Raisins or goji berries (optional)
Steps To Make Chinese Fa Gao
The recipe steps are quick and simple to do. Most of the steps simply involve waiting such as during the soaking, fermenting, and steaming process. The rest of the manual work involves blending and mixing the ingredients together.
Watch my short tutorial video on Instagram or TikTok to learn more about the steps. When you are done making Chinese fa gao, don’t forget to tag me @kitchenmisadventures and share your finished product. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to make Chinese fa gao.
- Rinse 400g of rice and soak with water for two hours.
- After soaking, drain the water and place the soaked rice in a blender.
- Add 150ml of warm water to the blender and blend the rice two times. Depending on your blender’s model, blend the rice on fruit, smoothie, or high settings. It should be able to make a smooth batter similar to a pancake batter.
- Once you have a smooth batter of blended rice, transfer it to a mixing bowl.
- Mix in yeast, sugar, and all-purpose flour. Be sure to mix well.
- Cover the bowl with a clean wrap and let the mixture double its size. When it doubles, you will also notice bubbles in the mixture.
- After fermenting, stir the mixture once more and transfer it into cupcake molds.I recommend pouring the mixture into the mold’s center and allowing it to flatten. Make sure not to overfill the mold to give it enough room to rise. You can brush the molds with a thin layer of oil to make unmolding easier.
- Add raisins on top of each cup if desired.
- Place the cups in the steamer and start steaming in cold water.
- Once the water boils, steam for 35 minutes. Do not open the steamer while steaming since this will let heat escape and disrupt the rising process. Remember, the steaming time may be longer if you use larger cupcake molds.
- After 35 minutes, turn off the heat and let it rest for an additional 5 minutes without opening the lid.
- Enjoy this soft and sweet treat while fresh and warm. Store your leftovers in a sealed container to retain their moisture and simply steam them again when ready to eat.
Homemade Chinese Fa Gao (Fortune Cake) | Only 4 Ingredients!
Equipment
- Blender
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Clean wrap
- Cupcake mold
- Steamer
Ingredients
- 400 g of rice
- 150 ml of warm water
- 4 g of yeast
- 80 g of sugar
- 60 g of rice flour
- Raisins or goji berries optional
Instructions
- Rinse 400g of rice and soak with water for two hours.
- After soaking, drain the water and place the soaked rice in a blender.
- Add 150ml of warm water to the blender and blend the rice two times. Depending on your blender's model, blend the rice on fruit, smoothie, or high settings. It should be able to make a smooth batter similar to a pancake batter.
- Once you have a smooth batter of blended rice, transfer it to a mixing bowl.
- Mix in yeast, sugar, and all-purpose flour. Be sure to mix well.
- Cover the bowl with a clean wrap and let the mixture double its size. When it doubles, you will also notice bubbles in the mixture.
- After fermenting, stir the mixture once more and transfer it into cupcake molds.I recommend pouring the mixture into the mold's center and allowing it to flatten. Make sure not to overfill the mold to give it enough room to rise. You can brush the molds with a thin layer of oil to make unmolding easier.
- Add raisins on top of each cup if desired.
- Place the cups in the steamer and start steaming in cold water.
- Once the water boils, steam for 35 minutes. Do not open the steamer while steaming since this will let heat escape and disrupt the rising process. Remember, the steaming time may be longer if you use larger cupcake molds.
- After 35 minutes, turn off the heat and let it rest for an additional 5 minutes without opening the lid.
