Taishun Grandmother's Cake

Taishun Grandmother's Cake

　　　　Product Name: Taishun Grandmother's Cake

　　　　Product Origin: Wenzhou

　　　　Product Features: Crispy and fragrant on the first bite, pure in taste, rich but not greasy

　　　　Product Introduction: The making process begins by soaking autumn rice (a type of single-season local rice) in water until the grains soften. Then, a stone mill is used to grind the rice into a paste. A flat pan is heated over a wood fire, and the surface is coated with a layer of premium lard. Once the oil is hot, the cake skin is spread on it. When the skin is cooked, it is lifted — two layers make one sheet. Good cake skin should be evenly thin, non-porous, whitish, and flexible. This step is called “spreading the skin.” The second step is preparing the filling, which can be adjusted according to preference — vegetarian or meaty, more or less. Meat fillings must include eggs, and vegetarian ones must have winter bamboo shoots. For meat, pork belly (cut into fine pieces) is ideal. Then comes the baking process on the flat pan. This step requires the most skill — even the slightest difference can affect the final outcome. Using gas as fuel, for example, will produce a different flavor compared to using firewood. At this stage, the baking timing, color, aroma, and texture all depend entirely on the baker’s experience, and everything is completed within just over ten minutes. The process goes as follows: first, a base skin is placed on the pan, flipped back and forth to sear and achieve a golden-brown color. These double-layer skins become crispy after heating with oil and fire. Next, a layer of filling is added and flipped along with the skin. This process of alternating filling and skin is repeated for eight to ten layers. At this point, the pure fragrance of rice and the unique aroma of lard begin to emerge. By then, the filling is fully cooked. While still hot, three horizontal knife marks are made on the cake, which is then folded and sliced vertically into small pieces before serving. Its characteristics are a striking golden-brown appearance, crispy and fragrant texture, pure taste, and being rich yet not greasy.

　　Product History: Anyone who has visited Taishun is sure to be deeply impressed by the mountain-town specialty snack — Grandmother’s Cake. And when it comes to the makers of this snack in the mountain town, one cannot fail to mention the couple Xu Shiyue. To date, the couple has been running their Grandmother’s Cake shop on Huancheng Road in Chengguan for 15 years.

　　　　Making Grandmother’s Cake involves attention to several key factors, such as heat control, filling, and the thickness of the cake skin. Any lapse in any one of these steps can prevent the true flavor of the cake from shining through. To preserve the authentic taste, Xu Shiyue and his wife use either charcoal or firewood to bake the cakes. He says that although cooking with firewood is not as convenient as using gas, the flavor is better. Therefore, as long as customers enjoy it, they don’t mind the extra effort.

　　　　Today, after more than ten years of continuous refinement, Xu Shiyue and his wife have become increasingly skilled at making the cakes. Under their guidance, their daughter, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, and even three apprentices have mastered the technique and have opened their own Grandmother’s Cake shops elsewhere in Chengguan. Speaking of the mountain town’s Grandmother’s Cake, Xu Shiyue and his wife say confidently to reporters that this is a signature snack of Taishun, and they are committed to making it even better and passing on the tradition.

　　During the Ming Dynasty, an elderly widow in Luoyang, the county seat of Taishun, made her living by baking cakes near Taiping Bridge. This gave rise to the name, and the snack has been passed down to this day.