Red Bean Cake

Last updated 2026-11-08 — Red Bean Cake is a famous traditional snack from old Beijing. Tracing back to its origins, it dates back to the era of emperors, making it a classic imperial delicacy, as renowned as pea yellow cake. In fact, Red Bean Cake originally belonged to the folk snacks of old Beijing and was widely popular in streets and alleys. It is said that vendors would typically carry a round wooden barrel covered with white cloth, filled with mashed white kidney beans, which could be made into small pies with fillings or shaped like apples. They could also wrap the bean paste around fillings—most commonly red bean paste or hawthorn jelly—knead them into balls, press each one into a mooncake mold, and then knock them out. These bite-sized treats were exquisitely delicate and quite pleasing to the eye. The cake is snow-white in color, soft in texture, sweet and refreshing in taste, tender yet not greasy. Later, it is said that Empress Dowager Cixi heard the street vendors’ cries and had the dessert brought into the palace. After trying it, she couldn’t get enough of it. She then had the vendor stay in the palace, and Red Bean Cake became her imperial sweet treat. Like pea yellow cake and glutinous rice balls, Red Bean Cake was typically enjoyed during the Qingming Festival.