Crab Shell Yellow Sesame Cake

Crab Shell Yellow Sesame Cake

　　Most visitors to Nanjing’s Confucius Temple area will definitely try the local Qinhuai snacks—affordable, delicious, and unforgettable once tasted.

　　　　Yonghe Garden Restaurant in the Confucius Temple is a well-established eatery that serves both snacks and banquets.

　　　　Made with premium fermented black beans and diced fresh pork belly, these cakes are slowly roasted in a special oven over charcoal fire. Their appearance resembles the golden shell of a cooked crab, hence the name. They are an ideal tea-time treat or breakfast item among Nanjing’s culinary delights.

　　　　Yonghe Garden’s Crab Shell Yellow Sesame Cakes are also known as “Huangqiao Sesame Cakes.” There are two varieties: sugar-oil and scallion-oil. The cakes are shaped like crabs, with a color resembling that of a cooked crab shell. Stuffed with lard and scallions, they are crispy, fragrant, and have a long-lasting aftertaste. These are made using unique handcrafting techniques: first, high-quality wheat flour is kneaded with water and allowed to ferment. Kneading requires both strength and finesse, while fermentation and alkali levels must be precisely balanced. Mixing in the lard and flour is an art in itself. For the filling, only leaf lard and large scallions are used. After forming the cake dough, it is brushed with maltose syrup and sprinkled evenly with sesame seeds. The sesame must be distributed uniformly, and the cakes must be firmly and neatly placed in the oven—showcasing the skill involved. The quality of these cakes continues to improve, gaining fame similar to Huangqiao Sesame Cakes. Legend has it that during one of his southern tours, Emperor Qianlong visited Huangqiao Town north of the Yangtze River. He noticed a sign outside a small shop that read, “Huangqiao Sesame Cakes, Renowned Across the Land.” He stepped inside and summoned the skilled baker to make some for him, promising a reward if they were delicious. The baker immediately set to work, and as Emperor Qianlong watched, he observed ten meticulous steps: from kneading the dough, adding lard, wrapping the filling, mixing oil, adding scallions, brushing with maltose, coating with sesame seeds, to finally baking them in the oven. When the baker presented the freshly baked cakes to the emperor, Qianlong took a bite and exclaimed, “So fragrant, so delicious!” He then rewarded the baker with twenty taels of silver. From then on, the “Huangqiao Sesame Cake” became widely famous.