Pengshan Flower Cakes

Pengshan Flower Cakes

　　The old Chenghuang Temple’s Shameng Gate in Pengshan (located at the site of the current county military affairs office) is a large wooden structure with a single-eave hip-and-gable roof, standing along North Street. To the south of the gate, a man surnamed Zhou set up a street-side stall specializing in flower cakes. The ingredients used are extremely refined: the outer layer is made from high-quality wheat flour into round cakes about 6 cm in diameter, with snow-white surfaces and a red dot imprint in the center that resembles a flower. The filling is a mixture of rock sugar, white sugar, sesame seeds, peanuts, walnut kernels, jujube paste, and pork lard, all finely pounded together, then shaped with premium lard-based pastry dough. The taste is tender, flaky, fragrant, sweet, and melts in the mouth without being greasy—qualities that have won the hearts of those with a sweet tooth.