What is Chinese Pumpkin Cake?
Chinese pumpkin cake（南瓜饼） is a popular Chinese dessert that is easy to make and delicious. This orange color pancake-like pumpkin cake is made of glutinous rice flour, pumpkin, and powdered sugar, and then coated with roasted sesame seeds. It tastes great when served hot or cold, making it a good dessert for any time of the year. The cake is moist, soft, sweet, fragrant, and rich in taste. You can add red bean paste for filling if you want, I did not. It's great to have as a snack or dessert.
A Simple Three Ingredients Recipe
To make this traditional Chinese dessert, you will only need three simple ingredients: glutinous rice flour, pumpkin, and powdered sugar. It is also naturally vegan and gluten-free!
Pumpkin: This is a nutritious vegetable that can be used to make a variety of dishes. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup, etc. I am being lazy this year and used canned pumpkin to make this dish. If you have extra time and don’t mind cleaning up the mess, feel free to make your own fresh pumpkin puree! It’s super easy to make: choose a medium size pumpkin, cut it in half, and put it in the oven for about 1 hour at 350 degree Fahrenheit (176 Celsius). Once the roasted pumpkin is done, simply scoop the flesh and add to a food blender, that's it!
Glutinous rice flour: It is also known as sticky rice or sweet rice and is gluten-free. Almost all rice varieties are gluten-free. When cooked, glutinous rice flour becomes moist, firm, and sticky, also known as sweet rice flour or sweet rice powder. People normally use it to make mochi. Apparently, this dish has a mochi-like texture and taste. You can find glutinous rice flour in any Asian grocery store.
Powdered sugar: It is basically powdered white sugar made from granulated white sugar. Granulated sugar is coarse and sandy, while powdered sugar is fine like flour. I found that powdered sugar melts much faster and more smoothly than granulated sugar. Powdered sugar blends into the pumpkin and glutinous rice flour easily.
How to Make Chinese Pumpkin Cake
Combine the ingredients: First, place the pumpkin puree into a bowl, and mix glutinous rice flour and powdered sugar until well combined. Set aside. Knead the dough together by hand for a few minutes until it’s smooth. The mixture should be light orange in color. The texture should be like playdough consistency or thinner. Line up a big piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Divide the dough into many small pieces and then form them into balls. The size of the small balls depends on how big you want your pumpkin cake to be. Then press them down to a flat pancake shape based on your desired thickness. (About half an inch)
Sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds: Sprinkle roasted sesame seeds on top of each pancake and use a spoon to press down a little bit, so the sesame seeds can go into the dough. Put as many sesame seeds as you want! I added sesame seeds to one side only.
Fry: Add about 2 tablespoons of oil to a flat pan for frying each batch. Once the oil is hot, place the pumpkin cake on the pan on low heat. Use the spatula to gently press down on the pancakes a little, just to make sure the pancakes are evenly cooked to a golden-brown color. The total cooking time is about 1-2 minutes per side, check often so they don’t get burned. Use paper towels to soak up the excess oil. Serve warm and enjoy.
Air Fry Instead of Pan Fry
Cover the basket with foil and place the pumpkin cakes in a single layer for even cooking. Keep in mind to leave some space between the pumpkin cakes in the basket, so they don’t stick together. Heat them at 350°F (176°C) for 5-10 minutes, or until the cakes are warm and soft. Frozen pumpkin cakes might need a bit longer.
Storage And Reheat
The pumpkin cakes should last up to 3 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. You can also store leftover Chinese pumpkin cakes in the freezer for up to 2 months. I highly recommend reheating them before eating. It's easy to reheat them in an air fryer, an oven, or a nonstick pan. I put them in the microwave for 1 minute. (30 seconds per side). You can do it for 30 seconds if you just want them to soften up.
Conclusion
Chinese pumpkin cake has a unique taste and texture. Plus, it's super easy to make! It is pumpkin season now, have you tried yours yet? What do you think? Leave your comment below. 🙂
Chinese Pumpkin Cake
Ingredients
- 1 can pumpkin puree 15 oz
- 1 lb. glutinous rice flour
- cooking oil for frying
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons roast sesame seeds
Instructions
- First, place the pumpkin puree into a bowl, and mix glutinous rice flour and powdered sugar until well combined. Set aside.
- Knead the dough together by hand for a few minutes until it’s smooth. The mixture should be light orange in color. The texture should be like playdough consistency or thinner.
- Line up a big piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Divide the dough into many small pieces and then form them into balls. The size of the small balls depends on how big you want your pumpkin cake to be. Then press them down to a flat pancake shape based on your desired thickness. (About half an inch)
- Sprinkle roasted sesame seeds on top of each pancake and use a spoon to press down a little bit, so the sesame seeds can go into the dough. Put as many sesame seeds as you want! I added sesame seeds to one side only.
- Add about 2 tablespoons of oil to a flat pan for frying each batch. Once the oil is hot, place the pumpkin cake on the pan on low heat. Use the spatula to gently press down on the pancakes a little, just to make sure the pancakes are evenly cooked to a golden-brown color. The total cooking time is about 1-2 minutes per side, check often so they don’t get burned.
- Use paper towels to soak up the excess oil.
- Serve warm and enjoy.
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