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Steamed Millet Cake — finished dish, ready to serve.

Steamed Millet Cake (Xiaomi Fagao)

小米发糕 · northern cuisine

200 min total20 min cooking5 stepsslightly sweetspongy

Fagao is a traditional Chinese steamed cake leavened with yeast. This version blends soaked millet into a batter with wheat flour, letting it rise before steaming until fluffy and springy.

Tasha Greenleaf's profile photoTasha GreenleafVegan baker converting skeptics one chickpea brownie at a time. Allergic to boring vegetables. Aquafaba evangelist, sorry in advance.

Nutrition & allergens

Contains:Wheat

Some ingredients are not yet allergen-surveyed; this label is not exhaustive.

Per serving (4 servings)

Energy (kcal)
422.2(Main ingredients only; seasoning not counted)
Protein (g)
11.1(Main ingredients only; seasoning not counted)
Fat (g)
2.4(Main ingredients only; seasoning not counted)
Carbs (g)
89.8(Main ingredients only; seasoning not counted)
Sodium (mg)
27.2(Main ingredients only; seasoning not counted)

Estimated from verified ingredient data for the original formula — not lab values, and one dish is not a full meal.

  • xiao mi小米

    8.82 oz

  • yeast酵母

    0.11 oz

  • All-purpose flour ingredient identification photo

    all-purpose flour面粉

    7.05 oz

  • Water ingredient identification photo

    water水

    as needed

  • Granulated sugar ingredient identification photo

    sugar糖

    to taste

  • baking powder ingredient

    baking powder泡打粉

    0.02 cup

  • red dates (jujubes) ingredient

    red dates (jujubes)红枣

    4.0 piece

Techniques you'll use

  • Steaming ↗

    Cook with moist vapor for tender, clean-tasting results.

Steps

  1. 1

    Step 1180 min

    Steamed Millet Cake — step 1 visual checkpoint.

    Rinse the millet clean, then soak it for 2 to 3 hours. Blend the soaked millet in a blender into a milky slurry, then strain it through a fine sieve to remove the solids, reserving the millet slurry.

    ✅ Done when: The slurry is smooth with no visible millet grit after straining.

  2. 2

    Step 2

    Steamed Millet Cake — step 2 visual checkpoint.

    To the millet slurry, add the flour, baking powder, sugar, yeast, and warm water, and stir until you have a thick batter.

    ✅ Done when: The mixture is smooth and falls in a thick ribbon, with no dry streaks of flour remaining.

  3. 3

    Step 320 min

    High heatSteaming ↗
    Steamed Millet Cake — step 3 visual checkpoint.

    Brush the bottom and sides of a bowl with oil (this prevents sticking and makes the cake easy to unmold after cooling). Pour in the batter, filling only two-thirds of the bowl to leave room for rising and expansion during steaming. Cut the dates into strips and arrange them on top, or use raisins or walnuts as you prefer. Let the batter ferment until it has nearly doubled, then set the bowl in a steamer over water and steam for 20 minutes.

    ✅ Done when: The batter has nearly doubled in volume before steaming, and the cake is set and springy after 20 minutes of steaming.

  4. 4

    Step 4

    Steamed Millet Cake — step 4 visual checkpoint.

    Once steamed, remove from the steamer and let cool, then unmold the cake from the bowl.

    ✅ Done when: The bowl is cool enough to handle and the cake releases cleanly from the sides.

  5. 5

    Step 5

    Steamed Millet Cake — step 5 visual checkpoint.

    Cut the unmolded cake into 4 pieces for easy serving.

    ✅ Done when: The cake is cut into 4 even wedges that hold their shape.