Fu Zhuan Tea and Date Sticky Cake
A moist steamed brown-sugar and date cake infused with Fu Zhuan tea—earthy, lightly sweet, and warmly spiced, the golden-flower tea adding grounded depth.
A traditional Chinese-style steamed date cake (zao gao) is the ideal dessert to carry the earthy character of Fu Zhuan. Brewing the tea into the batter infuses the cake with a deep, mellow, golden-flower note that balances the natural sweetness of the dates and brown sugar.
Fu Zhuan's smoothness is what makes it work in baking. The tea adds warmth and grounded complexity without any bitterness, so the cake tastes rich and a little mysterious rather than tannic—the earthiness reads almost like a whisper of molasses.
Dates and brown sugar give the cake its naturally only-lightly-sweet, sticky-soft texture, in keeping with the restrained sweetness of Chinese desserts. Warm spices like cinnamon and a pinch of dried tangerine peel deepen the cozy, autumnal flavor.
Steam the cake until just set and serve it warm, cut into squares, with a pot of the same Fu Zhuan alongside. It is a homey, comforting dessert that closes a meal gently—the kind of slow, grounded sweetness that pairs perfectly with an earthy dark tea.
Ingredients
- 1 cup pitted dates, chopped
- 3/4 cup strong brewed Fu Zhuan tea (1 tbsp broken brick), hot
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup neutral oil
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 small piece dried tangerine peel, finely chopped (optional)
How to make it
- 1Brew the Fu Zhuan strong and hot, pour over the chopped dates, and let them soften for 15 minutes.
- 2Mash the softened dates with their soaking tea into a coarse paste, then whisk in the brown sugar, eggs, and oil.
- 3Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and tangerine peel, then fold into the wet mixture until just combined.
- 4Pour the batter into a lined, heatproof cake dish.
- 5Set the dish in a steamer over simmering water, cover, and steam for about 35–40 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
- 6Let cool slightly, then cut into squares and serve warm.
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