Plum-blossom Cake

Plum-blossom cake is made by pouring batter into blossom-shaped moulds, filling them with red-bean paste, pork or rose, then topping with tiny rice balls, candied peel and pine nuts before baking — golden and flower-shaped.

Said to date from the Ming and to have become a noted Jiangnan cake by the Qing, it carries a folk legend that the Qianlong emperor named it on a southern tour; it has long been popular along the Qinhuai.

Fresh from the mould the crust is crisp, the filling steaming and the little rice balls soft; eaten hot on the move, it is a childhood memory for many in Nanjing.

The hexagonal mould holds dozens of blossom cavities, and the contrast of crisp shell and soft centre, with both sweet and savoury fillings, has kept the cake a long-loved treat for all ages.