Qianlong Tribute Pastry 乾隆贡酥

Where it comes from

The Suyu district government dates the name to 1757, the twenty-second year of the Qianlong reign, when the Qianlong emperor made his second tour of the south. The Ye family cake was already known in the Tang dynasty, when, by the district's account, the family's bakers could turn out more than sixty kinds of pastries and snacks, such as "one-finger cake" (一指饼) and "water-mill mirror" (水磨镜), and one of its heirs was chosen for the Tang imperial kitchen.

Wars and changes of dynasty later sent the family back among ordinary people, and many of its oven techniques were lost. Only Qianlong Tribute Pastry has come down to the present.

Flavour and texture

The district lists four marks of the cake: fragrance, crispness, flakiness and a fine, exquisite look. The fragrance joins three smells, of the cake, of oil and of sesame. For the sesame, the Ye family uses only top-grade hulled sesame kernels, since the hull is said to be bitter and astringent and the true aroma lies in the kernel.

The crust is crisp enough to break at a touch of the lips, so the cakes have to be handled gently. The flakiness runs through the whole cake, inside as well as the crust. Fresh from the oven, the cakes are white and golden, set with glistening sesame kernels.

How long it keeps

Left out in summer, Qianlong Tribute Pastry stays fragrant and crisp for three to five days; packed in a plastic bag, the crust keeps its crispness for two to three months or more.

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