Chongyang festival: the flower cake (Chinese steamed cake recipe)

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Chinese steamed cake

重阳花糕

If I were to use Chinese words to describe my state when I was making this cake I would say that  "there is no bottom in my heart". Ha… it means I was in a bit of a panic mood and was feeling unsure about this recipe, since this was my first time ever making it, and also the first time using rice flour.

As I mentioned in my latest post, eating flower cake ( a kind of Chinese rice flour cake) is a very popular thing to do during Chongyang festival.  There are, however, important differences between North and South China, and also among different provinces in China.

The one I have made is definitely a Northern version; my beloved auntie used to make it, but I never learned, so I had to make an ‘emergency’ call to my parents. :))

This kind of Chinese cake is almost completely different to Western cakes, from the ingredients to the method of cooking. It is supposed to be lighter, since there is no cream or butter or even oil, and no vast amounts of sugar either. And another major difference is that this Chinese flower rice cake is steamed, not baked in the oven, so it can be translated as ‘Chinese steamed cake’.

It is fairly easy to make -- just rice flour paste with red bean filling. There are some places in China where this cake would be made without any fillings at all. Jujube dates are used for decoration and hence this cake is also called ‘jujube date flower cake’. (See picture below)

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