London Cake

London Cake

　　London Cake is a typical local pastry of the Lingnan region, named after its origin in Lunjiao Town, Shunde, Guangdong. It has become popular as a distinctive snack in Guangzhou.

　　According to the *Shunde County Annals*, there was originally only one renowned producer of London Cake in Lunjiao Town, which used unique local spring water for its preparation. The springs in this area were especially prized, capable of clarifying sugar using stone and water. Later, the clear spring became silted up, making it difficult to produce the uniquely flavored London Cake. Since the refreshing taste of London Cake suited the palates of people in the Lingnan region and it had already gained fame, people developed a method using egg whites to clarify and purify the water, allowing ordinary water to replace the spring water. As a result, London Cake has remained enduringly popular and has become well-known throughout the country.

　　Unlike common steamed cakes made with rice and white sugar—such as sponge cake or ma la gao—London Cake is famed for its crystal-clear white color. It is said that high-quality London Cake is smooth and shiny like a mirror, snow-white and translucent; the cake body features small, evenly spaced holes resembling bubbles, arranged uniformly; the texture is soft, smooth, and slightly elastic, without any cracks when folded; the flavor is sweet and refreshing.

　　Ingredients: 750g dried rice slurry, 600g white sugar, an appropriate amount of egg whites, an appropriate amount of cake starter.

　　Preparation Method:

　　Crush the dried rice slurry in a basin. Then, dissolve the white sugar in water and boil it into a syrup. Add the egg whites and stir, then filter out impurities using clean cheesecloth. After bringing it to a boil again, slowly pour it into the crushed dried rice slurry and mix well. Once cooled, add an appropriate amount of cake starter and mix thoroughly. Cover and let it rest for about 10 hours. Line the steamer basket with a damp cloth, pour in the cake batter, and spread it evenly. Boil water in the steamer pot, place the basket inside, and steam for 30 minutes until fully cooked.

　　The rice used to make the dried slurry must be freshly milled. Soak the rice thoroughly, grind it into slurry, bag it, and press out the moisture using weights. The sugar syrup must be filtered thoroughly, and once boiled, it should be slowly added to the dried slurry. The resting time should be long. Before steaming, preheat the pot and use high heat.