Crystal Hawthorn Cake

Crystal Hawthorn Cake

　　Crystal Hawthorn Cake is a traditional specialty cake from Suqian. It won a gold medal at the 1927 Panama International Exposition. At the 1959 National Fruit Processing Evaluation Conference, “Crystal Hawthorn Cake” was rated the best in the country.

　　Crystal Hawthorn Cake has a long history, originating in the Han Dynasty and flourishing in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, with over two thousand years of history. Legend has it that after Xiang Yu, the Overlord of Western Chu, was defeated at Gaixia, his loyal guards, not knowing his whereabouts, went to his hometown Xiàngxiāng (now Suqian) to seek news. Learning that the Han army had taken the city, they settled in a village northwest of the town. Hungry along the way, they gathered and ate some hawthorn fruits and brought the leftovers with them. After eating, they discarded the pits, but the next year, young hawthorn seedlings sprouted — these are what people commonly refer to as hawthorn fruits, also known as “mountain reds.” Later, the village where Xiang Yu’s guards stayed came to be called “Tànchǔ Zhuāng” (Exploring Chu Village). Since then, the villagers of Tànchǔ Zhuāng developed the habit of planting hawthorn. The locals removed the pits from the hawthorn fruits, mashed them into pulp, and made them into cakes as offerings to the Overlord Xiang Yu to express their longing. Hence, the hawthorn cake is also called “Overlord Cake.”