“Wufangzhai” rice cakes and pastries

“Wufangzhai” rice cakes and pastries

　　The rice cakes and pastries from “Wufangzhai” are truly unique. First, they use premium ingredients in just the right proportions. The glutinous rice flour used to make the cakes comes from high-quality, white, and resilient japonica and glutinous rice produced in Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, and other areas. Ingredients such as pine nuts, melon seeds, and sesame seeds are all carefully selected top-grade varieties, and the osmanthus used is richly fragrant aged osmanthus. Also, their production techniques are especially meticulous. The water-milled rice flour is finely ground, then pressed and drained of moisture — it must be dried thoroughly while keeping the rice flour soft. Different varieties use different ingredient ratios: general rice cakes are made with 70% glutinous rice flour and 30% japonica rice flour; green rice cakes (Qingtuan) use 80% glutinous rice flour and 20% japonica rice flour; and sweet New Year cake (Niángāo) is made purely with glutinous rice flour, giving each type of pastry its distinctive character. Moreover, there is an exceptionally wide variety of these products — over a hundred kinds — ranging from popular options like red bean cake and yellow pine cake, to decorative ones such as Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea and Twin Dragons Playing with a Pearl. According to local Jiangnan customs, they also produce and supply seasonal specialties such as yuanxiao (sweet glutinous rice balls) for the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month, Qingtuan for the Qingming Festival, Chongyang cake for the Double Ninth Festival on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, sweet New Year cake for the Spring Festival, and multicolored pine cake among other festive treats.