Fuping Taihou Flaky Pastry 富平太后饼
Fuping Taihou Flaky Pastry is featured among the local specialties of Shaanxi.
Fuping Taihou Flaky Pastry (富平太后饼) is a layered pastry from Fuping (富平), made with white flour and pork leaf fat, then finished with honey and sesame. Its golden-brown crust is crisp, while the inside separates into soft layers.
How it is made
White flour is mixed with fermented dough, a little alkali and hot water. The pork fat is chopped, pounded into a paste and salted. The maker wraps this paste in a sheet of dough, rolls it into a strip, then folds and works it before dividing it into portions.
Each portion is stood upright, rotated in the hand and pressed down with a thumb. The maker repeats the movement before patting it into a round about seven centimetres across. Fennel, Sichuan pepper and cassia are among more than twenty seasonings used.
After a coating of honey and sesame, the rounds are baked. The traditional arrangement heats them between two iron griddles; the upper one hangs from a chain and lever so its position can be adjusted. Electric ovens are also used.
How it is eaten
Weinan Radio and Television describes the pastry alongside oil tea and small side dishes at breakfast in Fuping. Diners can peel it apart layer by layer, releasing the aroma of the fat.
Where it comes from
Weinan Radio and Television records a Shaanxi provincial intangible cultural heritage listing in 2010. A local legend connects the pastry with Empress Dowager Bo (薄太后).
Sources & reading
Written from the linked sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer on 2026-09-26. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.