Steamed Rising Cake (Fa-Gao 發糕)

Thanks to our good friend, Ann, we are able to share the recipe of this very traditional Chinese New Year pastry. The name 發糕 can be directly translated as Rising Cake, like the rising sun :-), implying a good year ahead all of us. It is very simple to make, yet quite pleasant to eat.

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together (using a balloon shaped egg whisk) in a medium mixing bowl:  1 cup of low-gluten flour (低筋麵粉), 1/4 cup of rice flour (在來米粉, see product package), 1/2-3/4 cup of Dark Brown Sugar, 1 tsp (teaspoon, 5cc) of Baking Powder.  Form a well in the middle of the dry ingredients mix.  Note: The rice flour we use can be found in Chinese Markets, marked as Rice Flour (粘米粉, in a package with red letters).  Please take care Not to get its sister product Glutinous Rice Flour (糯米粉, in a package marked in green letters).  We also tried using 1/4 cup of lotus root flour in lieu of the rice flour.  The result seemed similar.
2. Mix 150 cc of water with 50 cc of milk.  Add this to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix evenly.   Now place the mix in 6 small bowls (~3oz/90cc each), or 4 medium-sized bowls (~4oz/120cc each), up to 90-95% of the bowl's capacity. 
3. Steam the bowls for 20 minutes after full steam is built up in the steamer, and test with a toothpick to make sure the inside is not sticky (add 5-7 minutes for 6 oz/180cc ramekins or custard cups).  Here is a picture of the end product in a bamboo steamer.  Note: Please do not put the bowls into the steamer, until full steam is visible. You can also use a rice cooker to steam them, make sure you don't open the lid in the middle of cooking.  Also, there must be enough headroom for the cake to rise up.  A dome-shaped lid usually works, but the space between top and bottom steam baskets might not be enough.
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