Pumpkin 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
- 2 cup mochiko flour, sweet rice or glutinous rice flour (232 g), read notes*
- ½ cup tapioca flour (60 g)
- ½ cup dark brown sugar (110 g), coconut sugar or a sugar free substitute, such as granulated monk fruit sweetener
- 1 ½ cup pumpkin puree (360 g), from can
- 1 cup heavy cream (238 g), or full fat coconut milk
- ⅔ cup unsweetened almond milk (166g), unsweetened
Add Ins
- ½ cup raisins , or dried fruit of choice
- ½ cup diced crystallized ginger , or candied ginger
- 1 cup walnuts, or other nuts of choice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 340 F or boil water to prepare the steamer. Also grease a Pyrex 7 cup round container with some oil (spray oil works fine, too).
- Microwave heavy cream and almond milk together in a shallow microwave safe bowl, COVERED to avoid splatter - until hot. About 60-90 seconds. (This is an optional step to make the mochi chewier. Read notes**)
- Mix the hot cream mixture with brown sugar and pumpkin puree
- Add the glutinous rice flour (mochiko flour) and tapioca flour to the wet ingredients and use a whisk to mix until smooth
- Add the raisins, diced crystallized ginger and walnuts to the batter
- Pour batter into the greased cake pan / pyrex containers, and steam batter for 40-50 minutes for TWO 5.6 inch round cakes (Pyrex 4 cup round glass container), or about 60-70 minutes for ONE 7.25 inch round cakes (Pyrex 7 cup round glass container), or until the center of the mochi cake is set.
- Alternatively, you could also bake the rice cakes in the 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.
- 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!!!
**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: 197kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 2gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 9mgPotassium: 114mgFiber: 1gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 2676IUVitamin C: 1mgVitamin D: 0.3µgCalcium: 28mgIron: 1mgZinc: 0.3mg***Net Carbs: 23g
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