Chiling Orange Cake

Chiling Orange Cake

　　It has a tender, sweet, fresh, and refreshing taste, is elastic, and boasts fine quality and delicious aroma. "Orange" symbolizes good fortune and prosperity, making it indispensable for weddings, celebrations, and gifts. When a man visits his fiancée’s family to propose, candied dates and biscuits are given as engagement gifts, while the woman’s family presents orange cake and winter melon candy as tokens of gratitude; during the honeymoon, the bridal chamber is stocked with hot tea and orange cake to serve visiting guests. Hence, orange cake is also known as "bride’s candy."

　　The ingredients include glutinous rice, white sugar, and kumquats. The glutinous rice is rinsed in warm water, then stir-fried until crisp in a wok, ground into powder, and sifted through a white gauze cloth placed over a bamboo sieve. White sugar is cooked in a separate pot until it reaches a “thread-like” consistency. Once the sugar cools slightly, glutinous rice flour is added at a ratio of 0.5 kg sugar to 0.35 kg flour. The mixture is stirred and kneaded by hand, with a small amount of kumquats sprinkled in, then repeatedly kneaded until uniform. The next day, it is cut into small squares with a sharp knife and dusted with starch powder. It is said: “Looks and feels tender yet resilient—no axe could cut more than an inch deep.”