Go Back
+ servings
Baked Nian Gao
5 from 5 votes
PRINT PIN
Servings: 23 muffins

Baked Nian Gao

These baked nian gao are a modern take on my mom’s classic steamed nian gao (年糕, “new year’s cake”). Similar to mochi muffins, these baked nian gao have crispy edges and a chewy center. This recipe makes 23 to 24 muffins. You can easily halve this recipe to make a smaller batch.
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Resting Time45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 pound (454g) glutinous rice flour, (see note 1)
  • 5 teaspoons (9g) ground ginger, use 4 teaspoons if you want a lighter ginger flavor
  • 1 teaspoon (4g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt, or 1/2 teaspoon table or sea salt
  • 2 teaspoons (8g) baking powder
  • 12.8 ounces (363g) brown sugar slabs, can sub with dark brown sugar (see note 2)
  • 1 1/2 cups (355mL) water
  • 1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk
  • 8 tablespoons (113g) cold unsalted butter, sliced
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, (see note 3)
  • cooking spray

Equipment

  • 2 (12-cup) muffin pans
  • brush

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Position an oven rack to the upper and lower third positions.
  • In a bowl, whisk together the glutinous rice flour, ginger, salt, and baking powder. Set the bowl aside.
    Dry Flours
  • Snap the brown sugar slabs into smaller sections and place them into a saucepan. Pour the water into the saucepan. Cover the saucepan with a lid, and bring to boil. Reduce the heat to medium.
  • Use a wooden spoon or spatula to break up the remaining pieces of brown sugar so that they dissolve faster. Cover the saucepan with the lid again and continue simmering until the sugar slabs dissolve completely, about 3 to 5 minutes. (See note 4 if using granulated dark brown sugar)
  • Remove the saucepan from heat. Pour the can of coconut milk into the saucepan. Then, add the butter slices and stir until the butter melts. The cold temperature of the butter will help chill the liquid a little faster. Let the sugary liquid cool for 10 to 15 minutes, until it is slightly warm (about 110ºF to 120ºF).
  • Whisk the eggs in a small bowl and then mix them with the other wet ingredients. .
  • Gradually add the warmed sugary liquid to the dry flours (I added the liquid in 2 additions). Mix the dry and wet ingredients together, until there are no more streaks of flour, about 1 to 2 minutes.
    Mixing Wet and Dry Ingredients
  • Use your spoon or spatula to flatten large lumps of flour by flattening them against the sides of the bowl. Give the batter a quick stir again. There’ll still be lots of smaller lumps of flour in the batter, and that’s completely fine.
  • Grease the muffin pans with cooking spray. Use a brush to ensure that the sides of the wells are covered with oil too.
  • Fill each well of the muffin pans until they’re about 80% full (see note 5). Sprinkle sesame seeds over the batter.
  • Bake the nian gao for 30 to 32 minutes, switching the positions of the muffin pans halfway. The edges of the nian gao should be deeply golden, like the color of ginger snap cookies. If you are using a dark gray muffin pan, the nian gao should be ready in about 30 minutes. If you are using a pan with lighter color metal, they’ll need a few more minutes.
  • Remove the nian gao muffins from the oven and let them cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes. The cakes will deflate as they cool.
    Cooling Baked Nian Gao
  • Transfer the nian gao to a cooling rack and let them cool for another 20 to 30 minutes before eating. The edges crisp up more as the cakes cool.

Storing and Reheating Baked Nian Gao

  • Store baked nian gao in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days; refrigerate them if you want them to keep for a longer time. The cakes soften overnight. In order to get the edges crunchy again, reheat them in the oven and let them cool completely. If you store the cakes at room temperature, I recommend heating them on a baking sheet at 350ºF for 6 or 7 minutes. If you are reheating refrigerated cakes, heat them for 8 to 9 minutes.

Notes

  1. You must use glutinous rice flour and not regular white rice flour to give the cakes its characteristic chewy quality. You can usually find Erawan brand glutinous rice flour in Asian grocery stores or on Amazon. Substitution: You can also use sweet rice flour, such as Mochiko or the version that Bob’s Red Mill produces. Volume measurement for glutinous rice flour: 3 3/4 cups measured with the spoon-and-sweep method.
  2. The volume measurement for regular dark brown sugar is 1 2/3 cups.
  3. Although I use a mixture of white and black sesame seeds for my photos, you can use just one of the two varieties. Make sure to toast the seeds for a few minutes to release their aroma.
  4. If you are using granulated dark brown sugar, bring the sugar and water to boil. Give everything a stir to make sure the sugar has dissolved completely. Then, add the coconut milk and butter and let the mixture cool for 10 to 15 minutes. I tested one batch of this recipe without dissolving granulated brown sugar in hot water, and the nian gao did not come out quite right.
  5. Transferring the batter to the muffin pan can be a very messy process because the batter is quite runny. I like to pour the batter into a large Pryex measuring cup. Then, I pour the batter from the Pyrex into the muffin cups. The pointed spout makes the pouring easier and less messy.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cake | Calories: 214kcal | Carbohydrates: 26.8g | Protein: 2.1g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 6.1g | Cholesterol: 26.8mg | Sodium: 61mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 15.8g
Did you make this recipe?Tag @hellolisalin or leave a star rating and comment on the blog!