Golden pumpkin cake

Golden Pumpkin Cake 黄金南瓜糕

One of Cantonese favourite Chinese New Year's cake is lo bak goh (turnip or mooli cake). This year I subbed mooli with pumpkin. The cake has a mild sweetness and lovely pumpkin flavour. It has a nice golden colour. Gold or golden colour is auspicious during CNY to symbolise wealth and prosperity. So why not try this to celebrate with friends and family. I know it's a bit late but CNY is not ended till 17th Feb.

The recipe is almost identical to my previous lo bak goh recipe

Pumpkin Cake 南瓜糕

Ingredients:

3 sticks lap cheong (chinese sausage)
125 - 150g minced pork
2 tbsp dried shrimps or shredded dried scallop , soaked (optional)
handful of dried shitake mushrooms without stalks (about 20g), soaked
2 - 3 walnut size shallots
2 fat cloves garlic
pinch of ground pepper
0.5 - 1 tsp salt or to taste
1 - 2 tbsp light soy sauce to taste
some ground pepper
1 - 1.5 tbsp cooking oil
1 tbsp sesame oil

about 750 - 800g peeled pumpkin (choose pumpkin with firm and sweet flavour), can sub with butternut squash

about 1/2 cup water

280g rice flour
75g tapioca starch or potato starch
500ml water or room temp. homemade diluted chicken stock (or water with added chicken stock granules about 1 heap tsp)

Garnish (optional)
2 tbsp chopped spring onion (scallion)
1 tbsp chopped red chilli
2 tbsp chopped preserved radish (chai bo)

2 - 3 foil cake tins (round or oblong) or takeaway containers

Method:

1. Soak the lap cheong in boiling liquid for few minutes till soften then finely chopped.
2. Finely chopped garlic, shallot, soaked mushrooms and dried shrimps.
3. Grate pumpkin using a cheese grater or grate with food processor coarse grater attachment.
4. Mix rice flour and stock (or water) together.
5. Heat wok, add cooking oil and sesame oil and fry shallot and garlic till golden. Then add lap cheong, minced pork, mushroom and dried shrimps or scallop (if using). Stir fry till fragrant and make sure meat does not clump together then add remaining seasoning ingredients. 
6. Add grated pumpkin stir briefly then add 1/2 cup water. Continue stirring for few minutes till the mixture is thoroughly heated through. 
7. Stir in the flour mixture. Heat off. Continue stirring there should be enough heat to partially cook the mixture to a thick paste. Taste to check if more seasoning is needed 
8. Grease 2 - 3 aluminium foil baking tins (round or oblong). Spoon cake mixture into containers, press firmly to ensure no air pockets in the cake mixture. Smooth the top with dampen fingers lightly touching the surface. 
9. Ready for steaming. Preheat steamer till very hot. Put cake in steamer loosely covered with baking paper, steam at medium heat for about 1 - 1.5 hours depending on thickness of cake. Cake less than 1.5 inches thick will take about 1 hour, cake about 2 - 2.5 inches thick will take about 1.5 hours. Test with a skewer around the centre to see there is no whitish paste to ensure it is thoroughly cooked through. Covering cake with baking paper is to prevent condensation collected on top of cake and making it soggy wet.
10. Once cooked, take the cake out, lightly brush with oil and cover loosely then leave to cool.  Brushing with oil is to prevent surface drying. This cake is too soft to cut when hot. Better put in fridge after cooling. 
11. Turn the cake out. Garnish with chopped spring onion, chilli and preserved turnip. This salted turnip gives a salty taste and a bit of crunch.
12. Cake can be eaten while warm better still cut into slices after cooling (chilling) and fry with a little oil till golden. 

* If without a large enough steamer can cook the cake in the oven using a water bath (large roasting tray filled with some boiling water) covered with foil.

This cake is suitable for freezing. Defrost before cutting and frying.