Lao Kan Sesame Cake

Lao Kan Sesame Cake

　　Sesame cake is a time-honored traditional Sichuan pastry. The pepper-salt sesame cake retains all the classic features of sesame cakes—thin crust, rich filling, and fragrant aroma—but with the addition of Sichuan peppercorn and salt in the ingredients, resulting in a unique flavor that is purely sweet, mildly numbing, and slightly salty, making it a renowned delicacy among Sichuan pastries.

　　　　Ingredients Formula

　　　　Crust: Flour, sesame oil, maltose, baking soda, powdered sugar, sesame seeds, etc

　　　　Filling: White sugar, orange peel candy, sesame oil, maltose, walnuts, peanuts, sesame seeds, etc

　　　　Preparation Method

　　　　1. Crust: The maltose should not be too thick, and its temperature should be around 35°C (it should have a slight “forked” consistency when tested by hand). After mixing the maltose with sesame oil, add the flour and baking soda. Adjust the amount of water added based on the dryness or moistness of the flour—typically about 1 kilogram. After adding water, stir for another 5–6 minutes, fold the mixture slightly by hand, then divide it into crust portions.

　　　　2. Filling: First add various fruit and nut ingredients and white sugar, then add sesame oil, and finally add maltose and sesame seeds. Mix everything gradually until evenly combined. Avoid overmixing to prevent the fruit and nut ingredients from turning into a paste.

　　　　3. Molding: Use specialized molds to shape the cakes, then press sesame seeds onto the surface. The sesame on the top should be evenly distributed without overlapping; only a small amount of sesame should be applied to the bottom, and the middle section of the cake should not have any sesame seeds stuck to it. Bake the cakes immediately after pressing the sesame.

　　　　4. Baking: Use high heat with the oven temperature around 350°C. Place the cakes in the oven with the top side facing down and bake for about 1 minute, then flip them over and bake for another approximately 1 minute. Once the sesame seeds start to crackle audibly, the cakes are ready to be taken out.

　　　　Quality Standards Specifications: Round and block-shaped, full and even, with uniformly pressed sesame and no crystallized sugar lumps on the surface.

　　　　Color: Surface is brownish-yellow, edges are light yellow, bottom is yellow, with no burnt spots.

　　　　Texture: Thin crust, rich filling, with clear layers visible in cross-section and no impurities.

　　　　Flavor: Sweet with a hint of sesame, delicious and fresh, featuring a distinctive taste.