Baked Red Bean Nian Gao (Mochi Cake)
There’s a decadence to red bean nian gao that might lead you to assume there’s labor behind the richness. Instead, this butter mochi cake couldn’t be simpler. This recipe is as easy as it is riffable, and the snack invites different nuts and seeds as additions or substitutions for toppings. Mochiko (sweet rice flour) results in a lovely, paradoxical cake crumb that’s both chewy and springy. Jessica Wang, who runs Gu Grocery, a Chinese Taiwanese online store, in Los Angeles, has collaborated with her mother, Peggy Wang, teaching cooking classes and baking pastries at pop-ups where they sell lemon-honey nian gao and other variations of her mother’s baked nian gao (red bean butter mochi cake). For added caramelization and even more textural contrast, Ms. Wang recommends briefly broiling the top or lightly searing any leftover pieces in a cast-iron skillet. Eleanore Park
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