Huatt ah!

When it comes to Chinese New Year, the Chinese love anything & everything auspicious. This covers anything from the decorations to food that is served during the festive period.

Huatt Kueh is actually a steamed cake. And it is very important that the top has to crack open, as it symbolises prosperity. "Huatt" means propsperity and this is very crucial when one is steaming this cake for the new year as it will mean the coming year will be a good and prosperous one for the family.

The original recipe was from a forumer. There was coconut milk in the ingredient list, but I did not want to include that as coconut milk turns rancid easily in the hot weather we are experiencing lately. So I replaced it with water and prayed very hard that it will work. I also added a tsp of baking powder.


Here's the recipe:
What you need

• 250gm self-raising flour
• 1tsp baking (double-acting) powder
• 140gm orange sugar
• 40gm dark brown sugar
• 320ml water

What to do

• Boil water in the steamer. Sift flour & baking powder together and set aside.
• Mix the orange and dark brown sugar into the flour.
• Make sure that the water is boiling and steamer set on high.
• Add water into the flour mix and stir till there's not lumps.
• Pour batter into the mold till at least 90% full.
• Steam on high fire for 20mins. Do not lift the cover while steaming.