Dan Hong Gao (Egg-Baked Cake)

Dan hong gao is made from a thin batter of flour, egg and sugar poured into a small dedicated copper pan set over a low charcoal stove and baked until the base is lightly browned and the top puffs and bubbles, then folded around sweet or savoury fillings such as cream, jam, dried meat floss, sesame paste, spiced radish shreds or minced pork with sprouts, folded into a half-moon.

The cake traces back to the Qing dynasty, with more than a century of history, and is a popular street snack across Sichuan, above all in Leshan and Chengdu; from the Niuhua area of Leshan, houses such as Lei Siniang began from a handcart in the 1990s, insisting on hand-made fillings, and grew into chains.

Baked and sold to order, eaten hot by hand, the skin lightly crisp and the crumb soft, the fillings sweet or savoury, it is Leshan's most widespread afternoon treat and children's snack.

The soft egg cake freshly baked in a small copper pan, the wealth of sweet and savoury fillings, and the eat-as-you-walk form are the hallmarks of dan hong gao.