Chinese Almond Cakes
There was a discussion in KC regarding the famous Macao brand of Chinese Almond Cakes.
After surfing the net and going through some Chinese cookbooks, I decided to try the recipe from Leisure Cat with some tweaking.
Of course, the end product is not as good as the very famous KK ones from Macao but comparable to the ones that you can get from your local Chinese confectionery shops.
How about some background story of this famous cake. The story was extracted from "Unforgettable Taste of Chinese Cakes" by Chef Lai:
The story of Spinster and Almond Cakes (自梳女與杏仁餅)
The Almond Cakes we have now are usually round in shape but originally, the prototypical Almond Cakes were in almond shapes. That also explains their name as such.
It is believed that Almond Cakes were invented by the Xiao family in the late Qing dynasty. The Xiao family was the descent from a government official in the Xiangshan County of China. No longer rich and famous, the sons and daughters could not afford a birthday gift for their mother. Yet for the sake of vanity, they still invited guests to a birthday party. A concubine asked a spinster servant called Pan Yan-xiang to make some snacks for the guests.
Pan ground mung beans into powder and mould it into cookies. She then sandwiched a thin slice of marinated fatty pork in between the two baked cookies. The cakes had a strong almond taste and a very crispy texture. All the guests appreciated the cakes alot.
As everybody said the cakes tasted great, master Xiao asked his servant to make a whole bunch of Almond Cakes. Some other servants sold the Almond Cakes in front of a cinema to help support the family. Since then, Almond Cakes were an instant classic by the word of mouth. They have been varied and refined for many generations before we get to taste the round Almond Cakes which we eat now.
Ingredients:
30g chopped almonds with skin
125g cooked mung bean flour
30g almond meal
5g fragrant Japanese almond powder
60g shortening
2 - 4 tsp drinking water
Method:
1. Mix all ingredients in a big mixing bowl till crumbly state.
2. Mold with almond cakes mould.
3. Bake at 150C for 30 minutes with oven door slightly ajar.
Notes:
I did not have the traditional Almond Cakes mold so I used my mini plastic mooncake mold.
The fragrant Japanese almond powder really enhanced the aroma of this cake.
Labels: Pastries
posted by Florence @ 11:32 AM
18 Comments:
Thanks for sharing Florence!
The discussion continues:
http://www.kitchencapers.net/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=8326
Thanks for the story & recipe! Will put this recipe on my "to-do" list.
BTW, how do u cook the mung bean flour?
Hi Florence!
Recipe sounds very good. Can you please tell me where in Hong Kong I can get fragrant japanese almond powder? What´s the chinese name for it?
thanks
backyana
gee now where can I get fragrant japanese powder in Singapore? Yours looks great.
I'm curious, what is the tiny red dots in the cookies?
Wow, you made almonds cookies. I just bought a tin from chinatown for chinese new year. Now, only know can made at home too. May I ask you, what is japanese almond powder? is it same with almond meel? Thanks for sharing and Happy Chinese New Year!!!!!!! Gelukkig Nieuw Jaar!!!
Yup, the Macau's almond cakes were really famous and I bought them for my parents on my trip:)
Thanks for sharing the story on the almond cakes!!:D Really interesting!
Hi good afternoon,
I didn't not take shortening, can substitue with others, pls advice
thank you
spire,
You're welcome.
tricia,
For the mung bean flour, you can either bake it in the oven or fry it in the wok.
lipka & precious moment,
I got my japanese almond powder from a stall in APITA.
Ching,
The red dots that you see are the almonds with skins.
qq red apple,
Almond meal is almond meal, but I added a very fragrant almond powder . Maybe you can add those instant almond powder for making Chinese Almond Cream.
Christy,
You're welcome!
Love cookies/biscuits/cakes with stories.
Mrs owyang,
You can use melted butter or even corn oil but please adjust amount accordingly.
Hi florence,
is APITA a shop in Hong Kong? How does this powder called in chinese? My parents are now in Hong Kong and I want them to buy me some japanese powder meal!!
Regards
backyana
backyana,
Yes, the stall that sells this Japanese Almond powder is in the basement(supermarket section) of APITA. The container has a green label that reads Japanese Almond Powder in Chinese and "Health Aims" in English. Each container costs about HK$70.00
Hi,
When frying or baking the mung bean flour, how do u know is done at the right consistency?
THanks,
Sue
Hey,
Thanks for the recipe - I've been looking for this for ages. Am I correct in thinking that there is no sugar in your version? Also, what is the difference in the finished cake if the mung bean flour is not cooked beforehand?
Hi Florence,
Why must you bake the chinese almond cakes with oven door slightly open?
Why must pre-bake mung bean flour?
Fragrant Japanese almond powder is not available,can I leave it out?
thanks
angela
I was unable to view the wife cake page at http://wlteef.blogspot.com/2007/10/wife-cake-lao-por-bing.html
Hi Florence,
To confirm there is no sugar in this receipe? Thank you.
Jag
Hi Florence,
Do you have a copy of the 'Unforgettable taste of Chinese Cakes' book by Mr Lai? If yes, I'm curious as to why you haven't used his almond cookies recipe. I've just borrowed the book from a library, and just wondering if you have tried any of the recipes from it and if they are of any success in your opinion? I'm unsure if I should attempt any of the recipes from the book 'cos I'm afraid the recipes will fail. The good thing is that lard is not used in any of the recipes. Thanks.
Hi Florence,
I made this on yesterday. I love it to bits. Do you think i can reduce the almond nibs as stated in the recipe? Does it make any difference? Less nutty crunch, right?
Sally
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