Chinese New Year Cake – Neen Go
Pan Fried Chinese New Year Cake
Growing up, the Neen Go (Chinese New Year Cake) is pretty much one of the many star items on the dining room table. I was never attracted to the look and the taste of the cake. For such a simple and dull looking cake, as a child, I simply could not fathom why it was such an important item to have before the starting of the lunar new year. There are so many other delicious cakes, like the prosperity cupcakes, but none of them are as important as this neen go.
Neen go, which literally translated in Cantonese, “Year High” or in another words, highly prosperous year, is one of the many items offered the day before New Year’s to the Kitchen God. Yes the Kitchen God and this is the widespread belief. The new year cannot kick off to a fresh new and prosperous start without this cake. And so, a week before the new year, I decided that I would like to make this cake. I did come across with a few snafus, recipe problems not the user’s fault, and then I found the light at the end of the tunnel with the help of my dear co-worker Mei-Ling who offered me a foolproof recipe. The attempt to take on the responsibility of making this VIP cake has befuddled my sweet mother. She could not take me seriously and decided that it is better to use her inexperience hands over mine to make the cake.
Now here is the now infamous recipe from Mei Ling:
Happy Lunar New Year!
The festivities on this day is truly uplifting and enjoyable. Candies, red envelops, decorations, flowers, dragon and lion dances, dishes and pastries that I usually see once a year and the list goes on and on. I find it cute sometimes, but all the preparation and little rules to follow can be a big nuisance. Anyways, let me show you some pictures of symbolic things for the new year’s.
Graphic Chinese New Year Poster
Year of the Tiger graphic poster
Happy Birthday Mom!
Chinese sponge cake w/kiwis and strawberries on top of whipped cream
Chinese sponge cake w/kiwis and strawberries on top of whipped cream
First cake that I made for my mom! If I had the time and energy, I would make two layers and fill it with fruits. But because I have never tried this recipe before, I wanted to play it save and stick with the one layer. This recipe was a combination between my coworkers recipe and a similar recipe that I found online both with metric and English system measurements. The cake is still in the refrigerator because I made it very late, so I hope it is edible!
My coworker’s came from this:
Mei Ling's Chinese Sponge Cake
I think somehow I messed up the recipe. But I will let you guys know. If it is successful, I will provide the recipe for the cake and the whipped cream.
Until next time,
<3 FCG
The Sweet Spot at the Sweet Spot Dessert Bar NYC
Spot Dessert Bar
13 St. Marks Place
East Village, NY
212-677-5670
Spot Dessert Bar
I must have passed by this sign way too many times and had no idea that it is a dessert bar. Located on the bristling street of St. Mark’s Place where many new and upcoming restaurants fight for survival, Spot seems to be hidden away. Apparently, Spot is plenty known within the local community through word of mouth and I will explain later. I personally don’t like it that they’re located in the basement, right beneath Pho restaurant, but on the positive note, the restaurant doesn’t get overcrowded like at a chain restaurant like Applebees or TGI Fridays.
Spot Dessert Bar NYC
Favorite Brand Name Recipes: Chunky Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
In another installment of the cake mix cookies series, today I will be featuring the Chunky Oatmeal Raisin cookies recipe that I got from my Cake Mix Cookie book published by Publications International, Ltd.
Chunky Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Trust me, the cookie actually tastes better than it looks. I didn’t take better pictures because I was exhausted from baking at 11pm at night time.
Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 package (approximately 18oz) yellow cake mix
- 1 1/2 cup of oats
- 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch of grounded cloves (I added this to the original recipe)
- 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 cup (2 sticks) of melted unsalted butter
- 1 cup of raisins
- 1 cup of walnuts pieces, toasted
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Combine cake mix, oats, flour cinnamon and cloves in a large bowl until well blended. Beat brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a medium bowl until well blended. Add egg mixture and melted butter to dry ingredients; stir until combined. Fold in raisins and walnuts.
3. Drop tablespoonfuls (I use a cookie scooper) of dough 2 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets. (Make sure to spray PAM cookie oil onto the sheets) Bake 14-16 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown. Remove to wire rack; cook completely.
Yield 4 dozen cookies.
To get the cookies to look a little flat, just take two fingers and press on top of the dough so it flattens a little. I made 3 dozen cookies with my cookie scoop, but I’m sure I could have made 4. I don’t like small cookies so these cookies worked out well for me. The cookies are soft like a cake, and chewy like how a cookie is supposed to be. The combination between raisins and oats are heaven to me. I only used 1/2 cup of walnuts because I’m not a big fan but I appreciate the texture in the cookie.
Anyways, good luck if you choose to use this recipe. It is so easy to make, but difficult to make it look nice!
Chunky Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Close up of chunky oatmeal raisin cookies
Until next time,
<3, FCG
