Red Bean Glutinous Rice Cake 紅豆糯米糕

If you like mochi or 年糕 (Chinese sticky rice cake), the chances are you will enjoy this sweet red bean cake. This often-requested recipe is from a friend who has made it for many church gatherings. It is a dessert everyone loves (a lot!) and never gets tired of eating. It is the most popular recipe yet surprisingly easy-to-make. No special skill or technique required here - just mix some simple ingredients together, pour into a baking dish and put it in the oven.

Like mochi, this cake is made of glutinous rice flour, giving it a soft chewy texture. To enhance the flavor and texture, brown sugar, eggs, milk and oil are also added here. The combination of ingredients as well as baking gives this cake a very nice aroma.

The sweetened red bean used here can either be bought from store or home-made. If you are buying from store, buy the 'whole red beans' (not mashed) kind. If you are making your own, follow my previous recipe and cook till red beans are very soft with a little liquid. You can either keep the red beans whole or mash them lightly for this recipe.

Hope you enjoy this wonderful and simple dessert, as much as my family and friends do!

RECIPE FOR RED BEAN GLUTINOUS RICE CAKE
Makes a 9 x 9 inch cake

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Ingredients

450g (16oz) glutinous rice flour

1 cup brown sugar (can be replaced with white sugar)

1 tsp baking powder

3 eggs

2 cups milk

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 can (450g/16oz) sweetened red bean - store-bought or homemade

Steps:

1) Preheat oven at 350 deg F.

2) Mix flour, sugar and baking powder in a large bowl.

3) In another bowl, beat together 3 eggs, milk and oil.

4) Add egg mixture to flour mixture and whisk till smooth. Use low speed on mixer or whisk by hand.

5) Pour into greased glass or heavy baking container (I use 9x9 inch baking dish - use relatively large shallow dish to ensure even cooking).

6) Distribute red beans evenly over cake, mix slightly to spread out red beans but do not over-mix.  

7) Bake in preheated oven at 350 deg F for 45-50 min.

(Optional: after baking, you can broil on low for 2 minutes if you prefer a more crusty top)

8) Allow it to cool down, then wrap with plastic wrap. Rest for at least an hour before eating. This cake will keep soft for 2-3 days without refrigeration. Once refrigerated, you can microwave briefly to soften it.