PROSPERITY CAKE 发糕

The Fatt Koe or Fa Gao is a Chinese cupcake.  The Chinese would use it as offerings to the deities before eating them during festive occasions like Chinese New Year.  The Fatt Koe is made of  rice flour, yeast and sugar.  It is steamed until the top splits into a  "split top" of four segments.

Actually the Fatt Koe is a popular among the Chinese because of its name and also the way the cake looks.  The Chinese meaning of Fatt Koe is "prosperity cake" but I am pretty sure it was named such as it can also mean "raised or leavened cake", the "fatt" having both meanings. One important feature for the Fatt Koe is that the top of the cake has to split open like a flower, if it does not bloom then it wouldn't be that auspicious. These cakes are usually dyed in bright yang colours like pink, orange and yellow when used to encourage prosperity.
By the way, the Fatt Koe pictured above were sold by a Malay hawker.  Her prosperity cakes have bloomed nicely.  They are sold at 30 sen each.