Yuanjiang Hemp-Flavored Cake

Yuanjiang Hemp-Flavored Cake

　　Yuanjiang Hemp-Flavored Cake ranks first among the “Four Famous Cakes of Hunan” (Xiangtan’s Lampwick Cake, Xiangxiang’s Baked Cake, and Ningxiang’s Cardamom Cake), holding a special place in the hearts of local people. In the past, there was a folk rhyme that went: “The water from Houhu, the daughters of Chen Yisheng; the chicken-hair brushes from Jinlin, and the hemp-flavored cake from Yichang.” The water from Houhu is the water used to make the hemp-flavored cake, the daughters of the Chen Yisheng family were said to be all very beautiful, the chicken-hair brush is a type of local writing brush, and the hemp-flavored cake made by the “Yichang” brand was the most famous.

　　According to historical records, hemp-flavored cake originated in 1821, created by people from Yuanjiang. It mainly uses black glutinous rice, sesame, and cane sugar from the Dongting Lake area as raw materials, and is processed through more than ten production steps. The product is thin, crispy, sweet, and melts in the mouth. It has a history of nearly 200 years.

　　Xu Liuyi said that among the long history of inheritance, the most outstanding representative of hemp-flavored cake is the time-honored Chinese brand “Yichang.”

　　In 1911, the Yuanjiang County Business Federation was established. A local businessman, Jin Dishan, raised ten thousand yuan to found “Yichang,” hiring master confectioners to specialize in making hemp-flavored cake. He stipulated the length, width, and thickness of the cake slices, and added a bluish-green eyebrow-shaped mark in the center of each slice as the typical symbol of Yichang-brand hemp-flavored cake. Influenced by the then prevailing ideas of abolishing the imperial system and promoting democracy, “Yichang” carried the meaning of “prosperity for millions of people, flourishing and thriving,” and operated with a storefront in front and workshop at the back.

　　Even before raising funds and officially branding itself, “Yichang” was already a well-known local pastry workshop in Yuanjiang County. After its establishment, Yichang hired renowned local confectioners Qian Minzhai and Wang Yunshou to take the lead in producing hemp-flavored cake, and comprehensively innovated the cake’s recipe, production process, and packaging. The newly created Yichang hemp-flavored cake used the finest “powdered sugar” available at the time, with locally produced high-quality glutinous rice and sesame as the main ingredients. After undergoing several technical processing steps, it replaced the traditional wooden box molding with metal box molding. The slice thickness was reduced from the original 5 millimeters to 3 millimeters, and then further down to 1.6 millimeters. The packaging also added the five characters “Yichang Hemp-Flavored Cake.”

　　Thanks to its well-developed water and land transportation, Yuanjiang has always been an important distribution hub for goods in the Dongting Lake region, attracting merchants from all directions. Even before the founding of New China, it was known as the “Little Nanjing.” The newly created Yichang hemp-flavored cake featured a slightly yellow color, fine powdery texture, loose and sweet taste, crisp and refreshing mouthfeel, and melted smoothly in the mouth. Coupled with its neat shape, exquisite packaging, and eye-catching patterns, it quickly gained fame in the surrounding areas of the Dongting Lake region, saw a significant increase in sales, and its reputation spread across the entire province.