Osmanthus Hawthorn Cake

Last updated 2026-11-13 — Osmanthus Hawthorn Cake is a specialty of Xuzhou, made from hawthorn berries, white sugar, and osmanthus jam. According to the Tongshan County Annals of Xuzhou: "Locals grind hawthorn fruits into pulp, mix them with maltose, and call it hawthorn cake." A poem about hawthorn cake in Volume 3 of Xuzhou Historical Materials reads: "Red as cinnabar, clear as crystal; its color resembles coral, its texture even more lustrous. The fragrance of osmanthus mingles with the tartness of the fruit, its taste evoking saliva and leaving cheeks aglow..."