Rising up, cookbook writer Kristina Cho known as these fluffy treats Pau Pau’s cupcakes. Her grandmother, whom she calls Pau Pau, solely makes them for the Lunar New Year, however anticipation of the blossoming steamed muffins lasts all 12 months lengthy. Fa gao is an unadorned and unassuming cake, with a cut up prime that offers it its particular aptitude. Additionally typically known as “prosperity cake,” it’s mentioned that the taller the muffins rise, the extra affluent the brand new 12 months guarantees to be.
Again in Hong Kong, Cho’s grandmother used a particular self-rising flour made particularly for fa gao, however when she immigrated to the USA together with her household, she tailored the recipe to make use of the components she might discover at her native markets in downtown Cleveland. At present, Bisquick remains to be Pau Pau’s secret ingredient for producing the smooth texture of her fa gao.
This recipe is tailored from Kristina Cho’s cookbook, Mooncakes and Milk Bread: Sweet and Savory Recipes Inspired by Chinese Bakeries.
Featured in “Mooncakes & Milk Bread Author Kristina Cho Celebrates Chinese-Style Baking.”
Fa Gao *(Steamed Cupcakes)
From Hong Kong to Cleveland, these sky-high steamed muffins usher in a affluent new 12 months.
Yield: makes 10 cupcakes
Time:
25 minutes
Components
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1¼ cups Bisquick baking combine
- ⅔ cups darkish brown sugar, firmly packed
Directions
- Fill a big, extensive pot with 2 inches of water and produce to a rolling boil over excessive warmth.
- In the meantime, line 10 particular person 3-inch cake molds with paper liners and prepare them in two 10-inch stackable bamboo steamers.
- In a medium bowl, whisk collectively the flour, Bisquick, brown sugar, and 1⅓ cups water till easy. Divide the batter evenly between the molds, filling every about ¾ of the best way full. Stack the bamboo steamers, cowl with a lid, and steam till the tops of the muffins have blossomed open and are considerably agency to the contact, about quarter-hour.
- Carry the lid, fastidiously take away the steamers, and put aside till the cupcakes have cooled barely, about 5 minutes. Serve heat or at room temperature. Retailer leftovers in an hermetic container at room temperature for as much as 4 days.
