Healthier Sweet Potato Nian Gao (Mochi Cake)
makes ONE 7.25 inch round cakes (Pyrex 7 cup round dish), or TWO 5.6 inch round cakes (Pyrex 4 cup round dish)UNIT CONVERSIONS ARE AVAILABLE FOR THIS RECIPE - toggle between US Customary / Metric measurements by using the buttons on the top of the recipe card.
Ingredients
Mochi Batter
- 1 ½ cup mochiko flour, sweet rice or glutinous rice flour (175 g), read notes*
- ⅓ cup tapioca flour (40 g)
- ¼ cup brown sugar (55 g), or a sugar free substitute, such as granulated monk fruit sweetener
- 1 cup mashed sweet potato (250 g), read notes**
- 1 cup almond milk or milk of choice (228 g)
- 3 Tbsp coconut oil (42 g), use refined for neutral flavor
Add Ins
- ½ cup pecan (49 g) can replace with chopped nuts if desired
- ⅓ cup chopped dates, raisins or other dried fruits (49 g)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 340 F or boil water to prepare the steamer. Also grease a Pyrex 7 cup round container or two 4 cup round containers with some oil (spray oil works fine, too).
- In a clean bowl, mix glutinous rice flour (mochiko flour) with tapioca flour and sugar. Set aside.
- Heat almond milk in a microwave safe bowl or glass measuring cup until hot, about 2 minutes. (This is an optional step to make the mochi chewier. Read notes***)
- Pour the hot almond milk into the flour-sugar mixture and use a whisk to mix well, along with the mashed sweet potatoes.
- Stir the coconut oil into the batter
- Add pecan nuts and dried fruit to the batter
- Pour batter into the greased cake pan / pyrex containers, and bake in oven 340F for 40 minutes for TWO 5.6 inch round cakes (Pyrex 4 cup round glass container), or about 60 minutes for ONE 7.25 inch round cakes (Pyrex 7 cup round glass container), or until the middle is set and the edges are crispy.
- For softer traditional texture, steam batter on medium heat for 45-60 mins for large cakes, 30-40 minutes for smaller cakes, or until the center of the mochi cake is set.
- Let cool completely before serving, or cool the cakes in the freezer for 2-3 hours which helps to get clean slices of cakes.
- Fry the sliced mochi cakes in oil if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
*Glutinous rice flour goes by many names. You'll see Glutinous Rice Flour and Mochiko Flour (my favorite brand) in Asian grocery stores, and Sweet White Rice Flour in most other stores. Please note that regular white rice flour or brown rice flour is NOT the same thing as glutinous rice flour!!!
**I used orange sweet potatoes which have a higher water content compared to Asian sweet potatoes or purple sweet potatoes, so make sure to add more almond milk to adjust for this difference if substituting.
***heating up the liquid ingredient in mochi recipes help the mochi become even more chewy and also makes the final product develop a glossy sheen.
Nutrition
Calories: 166kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 2gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 34mgPotassium: 103mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 1575IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 34mgIron: 0.4mgZinc: 0.4mg***Net Carbs: 23g
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