Fat Goh (Fa Gao, Chinese Prosperity Cake)

Tap an ingredient or step to check it off.

1. 1Step 1: In a bowl, whisk together the cake mix, all-purpose flour (or cake flour), glutinous rice flour, ginger, and cardamom. Set the bowl aside.
2. 2Step 2: In another bowl, lightly whisk the egg. Add the water (or milk) and give everything a quick whisk. Next, add the brown sugar and whisk until the sugar dissolves. Finally, add the oil and vanilla and whisk again.
3. 3Step 3: Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in two additions. Using a wooden spoon, mix the wet and dry ingredients together, until you no longer see any streaks of dry flour and you get a relatively smooth batter. It’s okay if there are small lumps in the batter, but break apart any big ones.
4. 4Step 4: In order for your fat goh to blossom nicely once it’s steamed, the batter needs to be relatively thick. To test if your batter is thick enough, use a toothpick or a skewer to draw a line on the batter. If the line floods over very quickly, it means your batter isn’t thick enough, and you should add about 2 tablespoons of flour (the cake mix or all-purpose flour). If the line remains well defined after 15 seconds, the batter is thick enough.
5. 5Step 5: Place a tall steaming rack inside a large wok. Fill the wok with water, until there’s about a 1/2 to 3/4-inch gap between the top of the steaming rack and the water line. Bring the water to boil on high heat.
6. 6Step 6: While the water is boiling, line the muffin pan with paper muffin liners. Fill each muffin cup until it’s about 80% full of batter. I like using a large ice cream scoop for this (you’ll need about 1 level scoop of batter).
7. 7Step 7: Using a toothpick or a bamboo skewer, draw a large plus sign inside the center of the batter for each cake. Again, if your batter is thick enough, the lines that you draw into the batter should remain well defined for at least a few minutes.
8. 8Step 8: Once the water boils, reduce the heat to medium high. Carefully place the muffin pan over the steaming rack, cover the wok with the lid, and steam the fat goh for 20 minutes.
9. 9Step 9: Remove the muffin pan from the wok. Let the fat goh cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
10. 10Step 10: The water in the wok likely will have evaporated slightly. Pour more water into the wok and steam the remaining fat goh.
11. 11Step 11: Serve the fat goh slightly warm or at room temperature.
12. 12Step 12: You can store the fat goh in a tight container at room temperature for 1 to 2 days. If you live in a humid climate, you should probably refrigerate the fat goh after a day. The cakes will keep in a container in the refrigerator for about 4 to 5 days. You can heat up the cakes in the microwave for about 15 to 30 seconds.
13. 13Step 13: The cakes also freeze well. To reheat the fat goh, steam the cakes at medium-high heat for 9 to 10 minutes.