Fa gao


Fa gao is a Chinese cupcake-like pastry, most commonly consumed on the Chinese new year, that is made of flour, leavening, sugar or another sweetener, steamed, until the top splits into a characteristic "split top" of four segments . The batter is typically left to rest for fermentation prior to being steam-cooked.
The name of the cake is a pun, as "fa" means both "prosperity" and "raised ", so "fa gao" means both "prosperity cake" and "raised cake". These cakes, when used to encourage prosperity in the new year, are often dyed bright colors.