Making Taiwanese wheel cakes is a 100 year-old tradition—a tradition Michael Hsueh aims to modernize, scale and franchise in the U.S.
Last month he opened Money Cake in the Tangram Food Hall in Flushing, Queens, a 24,000-square-foot-space with an assortment of Asian eateries. It’s the first U.S. outpost of the Taiwanese wheel cake concept that has locations in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Malaysia and Montreal.
The concept operates a bit differently from the way traditional money cakes are sold on the streets of Taiwan. “In Taiwan, a vendor may have a stall or tiny storefront and one machine,” Hsueh explained. The cakes are made individually on what looks like a round waffle iron and are typically filled with a little red bean or custard. They sell for about $1 a piece.
But Hsueh’s Money Cake location boasts four machines that can turn out 10 cakes at a time. The cylindrical-shaped cakes are made with waffle-like batter, so they turn crispy on the outside and then are filled. He offers the classic Asian red bean and custard fillings, but also does savory wheel cakes filled with the likes of potatoes and cheese, pesto chicken and pepperoni pizza—the last two New York exclusives. Money Cake fills its pastries more generously and prices run around $4.50-$5.25 per wheel cake rather than $1.
The Money Cake method
While New York City has seen an influx of Taiwan imports and Taiwanese concepts in recent years, wheel cakes are still somewhat of a rarity. For Hsueh, a picture is worth a thousand words, so his team makes the wheel cakes to order right in front of customers.
Money Cake's equipment is based on the Taiwanese original, but can cook and turn out 10 wheel cakes at once. | Photo courtesy of Money Cake.
“We import the batter mix from Taiwan and blend it with oil and water. It’s dairy- and egg-free, for those who are avoiding those ingredients,” he said. An employee fills the round mold with batter and it cooks on one side for about seven minutes. Then it’s flipped over and split to hold the filling. It cooks for another 4 minutes on the second side until crispy.
Some of the fillings are made ahead but guest can watch the cooking action when they order. They don’t seem to mind the wait, said Hsueh. And there are warmers to hold the freshly made wheel cakes for the next customer.
In addition to the varieties mentioned above, Money Cake’s fillings include matcha, taro and a matcha red bean blend. There’s also a “Fire & Ice Series” featuring combos such as Custard with Small Taro Balls, Custard/Chocolate with Ferrero Rocher, Custard/Chocolate with Oreo, Custard with Fresh Strawberry, and Custard with Fresh Mango.
Although the technique seems labor intensive, Hsueh was able to train employees on the prep and execution in a few weeks, he said.
On the beverage side
Shortly after opening, Hsueh introduced a menu of six Taiwanese-inspired teas. These required some advanced training, as they’re a bit more complex and unfamiliar in the U.S.
Six signature teas were added to the menu soon after opening. | Photo courtesy of Money Cake.
There are two brewed teas—an Oolong and a Ceylon—made with fresh tea leaves. They steep at room temperature then are served over ice. “The Oolong is clear and can be sipped as is, but the Ceylon is a little bitter and we add milk,” said Hsueh. These teas also form the base for Asthmensus Oolong Tea, which has flower petals floating in it, and Honey Oolong Tea with rose sugar.
Two milk teas round out the selection. There’s a signature Tiramisu Milk Tea topped with cheese foam and cocoa powder to create a flavor similar to tiramisu, and Original Milk Tea with golden honey boba, sweet potato taro balls and brown sugar boba.
“Before we finalized the teas, we gave out samples as a promotion and asked consumers for feedback and reviews,” said Hsueh.
Flushing has a large Asian population, but Money Cake’s customer mix reflects the melting pot of cultures that characterizes New York City, he said.
Although Money Cake has been operating for less than two months in the U.S., Hsueh indicated that they’re looking to franchise in Houston, Dallas and Orlando in the near future.