Deliciously Purple Ube Mochi Cake (Baked Nian Gao)
makes ONE 7.5 inch round cake
Ingredients
Mochi Batter
- 1 ½ cup mochiko flour, sweet rice or glutinous rice flour (175g), read notes*
- ⅓ cup tapioca flour (45g)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar of choice (67g), or a sugar free alternative, such as granulated monk fruit sweetener
- 1 cup ube, purple yam or purple sweet potato (228g), cooked and mashed while warm. Was about 2 large yams
- 1 cup almond milk, regular milk or water (228g)
- 3 Tbsp light olive oil or melted coconut oil (42 g)
Instructions
- First, wash and steam the fresh ube (skin on) in a steamer for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick can be easily inserted into the center. Mash using a fork while the ube is still warm.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 8 x 8 inch square cake (I used a Pyrex glass dish) with some oil (spray oil works fine, too).
- In a clean bowl, mix glutinous rice flour (mochiko flour) with tapioca flour and sugar.
- Knead the cooked ube into the dry ingredients best you can, so that the ube is well incorporated with the flour. 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 mixture and use a whisk to mix well.
- Stir the coconut oil into the batter
- Pour batter into the greased cake pan or oven safe pan, and bake in oven 350F for 50-60 minutes , or until the middle is set and the edges are crispy.
- For softer texture, you can also steam the mochi batter on medium heat for 45-60 mins, 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.
- 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: 170kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 2gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 44mgPotassium: 71mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 2097IUVitamin C: 0.4mgCalcium: 40mgIron: 0.3mgZinc: 0.3mg***Net Carbs: 35g
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