Source: Southern Network
Almond cakes are not made of almonds, but mung bean flour as the main ingredient, because the cake has a faint almond flavor, so it is called almond cake. The traditional process of making almond cakes originated in Zhongshan Shiqi and gradually spread to Macao and other places.
Historical streams
Tsui Xiang Yuan almond cake was created by Pan Yanxiang, the maid of the Xiao Youbai family in Xingning Li, Zhongshan. Pan Yanxiang (1880-1954), originally from Daliang, Shunde. He lost his father at an early age, his family was poor, and he followed his mother as a maid in the landlord's house, learned the good craft of making cakes with one hand, and later went to Shiqi Xiao Youbai's house as a maid. When Pan Yanxiang makes cakes, after shelling mung beans, drying and stir-frying incense, grinding them into powder, mixing with oil sugar, sandwiching a piece of fatty pork marinated with sugar in the center, pressing it into a cake with cake printing, baking, baking and other processes to bake the cake food, the entrance is sweet and crisp, making people's teeth and cheeks fragrant.
After that, Xiao Youbai raised funds, hired Pan Yanxiang as a master, and opened a workshop in Xiao House No. 8, Xingningli, Shiqi, because Xiao Youbai was also known as Xiao Tsui, plus this cake had an almond flavor, and in 1918 it was officially listed as "Tsui Xiangyuan Almond Cake Family", and the autocratic almond cake was sold, and the production and sales were booming.
In 1935, Tsui Heung Yuen Almond Cake won the "Golden Rooster Award" at the Honolulu International Food Exposition in the United States. In 2006, "Tsui Xiang Yuan" was awarded the title of "China Time-honored Brand" by the Ministry of Commerce. In 2009, the traditional production process of Tsui Heung Yuen almond cake was included in the provincial intangible cultural heritage list.
Craftsmanship
The production process of Tsui Xiang Yuan almond cake has lasted for 100 years, but the basic process has been preserved, and the cake mold still uses traditional wood printing, but it has been technically improved in terms of power and fuel, and the sugar content of the product has been reduced. Today's almond cakes not only maintain the characteristics of mellow and rich flavor and instant melting in the mouth, but also have a more delicate texture, and the production and packaging are more in line with hygiene requirements.
(Author Affilications: Zhihe: Guangdong Provincial People's Government Local History Office; Sun Lin Li Xueying: Zhongkai Agricultural Engineering College)