LOCAL FOOD GUIDE

Peanut Cake 花生糕

Huasheng Gao

Peanut Cake is featured among the local specialties of Henan.

AI illustration: Small rectangular and irregular pieces of sesame or peanut brittle and puffed-rice candy on a simple plate.
AI illustration · AI 示意图(仅供参考,非实拍)AI-generated visual reference; not a restaurant photograph. AI 示意图,仅供参考,非实拍。

Peanut Cake (花生糕) is a Kaifeng (开封) sweet whose making craft is on Henan's provincial intangible-heritage list, and the century-old Baiji (百年白记) brand is run by the craft's fourth-generation inheritor.

The Baiji shop on Sihou Street

Baiji has a new shop on Sihou Street (寺后街) where visitors can try the peanut-cake making craft themselves and take photos in a corner themed on "lifting the roof tiles" (“上房揭瓦”). Guangming Daily (光明日报) described a visitor from Rizhao (日照) in Shandong doing both in spring 2026 and buying half-sugar peanut cake for his family.

Opposite Baiji stand the shopfronts of other time-honoured Kaifeng brands (老字号) such as Diyilou (第一楼), Xingshengde (兴盛德) and Jinyangyu (晋阳豫).

Old craft, new versions

Bai Jianchao (白建超), who runs Baiji, told the paper that only by blending and innovating can the brand become more competitive. The shop has redesigned its packaging in the "national trend" style (国潮风) with cartoon characters, and has developed half-sugar, low-fat and snack ranges. The half-sugar peanut cake is sold under the name Baixiaosu (“白小酥”).

AI illustration: Several small rectangular peanut brittle pieces on a white plate.
AI illustration · AI 示意图(菜式参考,非实拍) · 花生糖与花生酥糖 — A general serving example; recipes and presentation vary.
Sources & reading

Written from the linked sources and fact-checked against them on 2026-09-24. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.