Malt Collapse Cake

Malt Collapse Cake

　　Malt Collapse Cake is a traditional Suzhou-style tea snack from Tongli Ancient Town in Suzhou. It’s a rustic delicacy that every skilled rural housewife knows how to make. In the morning, locals in Tongli enjoy it as breakfast. When working in the fields and feeling hungry, it serves as a great snack to stave off hunger. And when it’s time to gather for a cup of “Grandma’s Tea,” this seasonal and delicious Malt Collapse Cake is naturally an essential part of the spread.

　　The unique flavor of Malt Collapse Cake mainly depends on two key ingredients used in its making: magnolia leaf herb and malt. Magnolia leaf herb, scientifically known as Gnaphalium affine and commonly called Qingming herb, is an annual or biennial plant from the Asteraceae family. It has stems and leaves densely covered with white downy fuzz, blooms from April to June, and fruits from August to September. This herb is often used in traditional Chinese medicine for its ability to dispel wind, reduce heat, resolve phlegm, and relieve coughs. Malt, on the other hand, is rich in amylase, which converts starch into maltose and dextrin, and offers benefits such as stimulating appetite, strengthening the spleen, and aiding digestion. Though not particularly attractive in appearance, the preparation process of Malt Collapse Cake is quite elaborate. First, barley is soaked in water to sprout, then dried and ground into powder for later use. Magnolia leaf herb is picked along the field ridges in the village, cleaned, and dried. A proper amount of malt powder is mixed into the rice flour—this is the crucial step. Too little malt powder will prevent the cake from “collapsing” properly, resulting in a hard texture, while too much will cause it to collapse excessively and lose its shape. Next, cooked and mashed magnolia leaf herb is added, along with an appropriate amount of water, to form the dough, which is then filled and shaped into cakes. The fillings come in two varieties: red bean paste and soybean paste, along with diced pork lard preserved with sugar and chopped walnuts. The outer layer of the cake is sprinkled with sesame seeds and then steamed over high heat. Once steamed and cooled, the cakes are pan-fried on a flat-bottomed skillet until the sesame-covered side turns slightly golden. A brush is then used to coat the surface with a sugar syrup made from malt. Finally, the fragrant, dark green, glossy, delicate, sweet, and glutinous Malt Collapse Cake is ready to be served.