Suzhou Hemp Cake

Suzhou Hemp Cake

　　Also known as Hu Bing, Hu Ma, or Bo Lu. Produced in Suzhou, Jiangsu. It uses ingredients such as honey-infused rose petals, sugar-cured lard cubes, maltose, sesame seeds, black dates, pine nuts, powdered sugar, vegetable oil, and eggs, which undergo strict semi-processing. The rose petals are cleaned, pickled in plum brine (a byproduct of green plum curing), filtered to remove the brine, then sweetened and preserved as honey-infused rose petals; the sugar-cured lard cubes are made from high-quality WU pig lard, known for its thin skin, fine texture, and tender meat, which is deboned, skinned, cut into small cubic pieces, and sweetened with maltose; maltose is produced using late-season japonica rice grown in southern Jiangsu, mixed with barley malt mash. Under the right temperature, the enzymes in the malt mash—namely amylase and diastase—hydrolyze the rice starch into syrup, which is then concentrated into a paste; thin-skinned, pure white sesame seeds are selected, soaked, hulled, and roasted into sesame kernels; black dates must come from Shandong—large, small-seeded, tender-skinned, oily, and shiny; pine nuts should be sourced from the Northeast, large and plump. The cake is made through 32 processes, including ingredient preparation, weighing, semi-product production, dough mixing, filling preparation, wrapping and shaping, coating with sesame, and baking. The sesame seeds are plump, the date paste is rich and mellow, the pine nuts are tender and fragrant, and the rose aroma is intoxicating. It balances color and fragrance, as well as form and flavor. It contains protein, carbohydrates, fats, as well as trace elements like calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, magnesium, and various vitamins, offering rich nutrition beneficial to health. It is said to help nourish internal organs, benefit the lungs and qi, provide gentle nourishment, relieve deficiency and cold, and strengthen the spleen and stomach. Free from synthetic chemical colors and fragrances, it is safe to eat. The cake has a golden color, with plump, shiny sesame seeds. It boasts the aroma of sesame, the richness of black dates, the freshness of pine nuts, and the fragrance of sugar-cured lard cubes. The cake is round and neat, with a smooth surface, showing cracking patterns along the edges. Its taste is full-bodied, sweet yet balanced, with filling reaching to the edge, and clear layers.