Mint Cake

Mint Cake

　　Across China, pastries are a beloved Chinese specialty. When it comes to Shanghai’s pastries, you could count on your fingers and toes and still not run out of options. But among the most popular with locals are TouTiao Cake and Mint Cake, along with treats like ShuangNiang Tuan. Mint Cake is made with glutinous rice flour mixed with a touch of mint powder, and decorated with red and green threads. TouTiao Cake is made by kneading glutinous rice flour with sweetened bean paste (not coating it, but blending the two together) into long strips, which taste even better when fried.

　　Flavor Profile: Mint Cake is sweet and refreshingly cool, making it especially soothing in summer. TouTiao Cake is soft and dense, with a moderate level of sweetness.

　　Mint Cake is one of the distinctive dishes in the Hu cuisine (Shanghai cuisine) category. It primarily uses mint as the main ingredient, and the cooking method is mainly steaming, resulting in a light and fragrant flavor. The characteristics of Mint Cake include its elegant color, cool and refreshing taste, making it an excellent summer dessert.

　　Summer is the peak season for Mint Cake sales. Its appearance is snow-white with specks of green — that’s the mint. Mint Cake is made by mixing glutinous rice flour with a bit of mint powder and decorating it with red and green threads. It’s sweet and cool, and after eating it, your mouth feels as fresh as if you’ve just brushed your teeth.