Hengxian Sesame Cakes 横县芝麻饼

Hengxian Sesame Cakes (横县芝麻饼) are baked sesame cakes made in Hengzhou (横州), Guangxi, and sold there as New Year goods. The Nanning tax bureau of the State Taxation Administration describes them as crisp and sweet.

How it is made

At the Zhenghe Food Factory (正合食品厂) in Hengxian, the dough is kneaded, pressed into moulds and baked. They come out of the oven smelling of sesame and of the bake. The factory runs three mechanised production lines, and in the busy weeks before the Spring Festival its production supervisor put output at 30,000 to 40,000 cakes a day.

Where it comes from

In Hengzhou the sesame cake is a must-have gift when people visit relatives and friends at New Year, and cakes made in Baihe Town (百合镇) are singled out as especially well known. The cake carries the saying "芝麻开花，节节高" (sesame flowers climb notch by notch), a wish that fortunes keep rising step by step. The Nanning tax bureau report also says that sesame cakes have been popular in Guangxi since the Tang dynasty.

Questions before you order

Where are the best-known Hengxian Sesame Cakes made?

Cakes from Baihe Town (百合镇) in Hengzhou are singled out as especially well known.