Baked Nian Gao

Nian Gao is also known as Chinese New Year cake. Although Chinese New Year is still quite a ways away, I've been wanting to try this recipe out for a while, and since I had all of the ingredients....here it is! Nian Gao is usually steamed, and optionally pan-fried afterwards. I've never heard of baked nian gao before, but there's a first time for everything, and this recipe looked quick and easy. I've always loved traditional plain Nian Gao, although it is frequently made with azuki (red) beans...which I'm not very fond of. I found this recipe at About.com; Baked Nian Gao.

Ingredients:
16 oz (1 box) Mochiko rice flour, plus a little extra for sprinkling on pan
1 stick (8 tbsp) of butter or 3/4 vegetable oil [I used butter]
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups milk [reviews said the recipe tended to be liquidy, so I used 2 cups]
1 to 1 3/4 cups sugar (depending on how sweet you want it)
1 tbsp baking soda
1 can red azuki beans [which I did not use]

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease 9 x 13 inch baking dish, and sprinkle flour over it.
Step 2: Mix all ingredients with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes [or hand mix with whisk until consistent throughout]
Step 3: Pour mixture into baking dish. **
**If using azuki beans, pour 1/2 flour mixture into dish, layer beans on top, then pour rest of mixture
Step 4: Bake 40-50 minutes, or until chopstick comes out clean.

Recipe cook times:
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 50 minutes
My cooking times:
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 40 minutes

I think it turned out okay, for the first time. I definitely overcooked it (it's slightly burnt), and I had it in for 40 minutes...but I made the grave mistake of not checking on it near the end. It definitely tastes good!!! It's kind of the consistency of cake, but a little stickier like mochi. I love it!!! I used only 1 cup of sugar, so it could be a little sweeter, but it's also fine the way it is. Next time I make this, I'll be sure to check it at 30 minutes; the cook time might be off because I didn't use beans.