Begonia cake, created in the Qing Dynasty, is named because the cake resembles a begonia flower, and gradually became one of the Snacks of Loutang. Once upon a time, at dusk, the shouts of "Begonia cake, begonia cake..." would always echo in the streets and alleys of Loutang.
Begonia cake is baked in a special mold, the outer layer is flour skin, the inside is bean paste filling, sweet and delicious, hot food is especially good. Nowadays, it is difficult to find such a small stall on the street that specializes in begonia cake, and the younger children may not know what begonia cake is.
With this memory,
Xiao Jia found one in Loutang Town and would use the traditional method
The teacher who makes begonia cakes - Aunt Chen.
Aunt Chen is a native of Loutang Town and is 60 years old. In the 1990s, she studied making begonia cakes and sold them on the streets of Loutang, but later gave up the business due to physical reasons. Aunt Chen said that when she went out of the morning and evening stalls, she had to sell more than 300 begonia cakes a day, 5 cents a piece, hard but very content.
"At that time, I was doing it alone, and I had to get up at three or four o'clock in the morning to make preparations, and the bean paste stuffing was also made by myself." Aunt Chen said that the preparation of the filling is quite laborious, and the beans must be cooked first, then crushed and ground, and then fried with an appropriate proportion of lard and sugar to achieve the best taste.
Adjusting the batter is also a technical activity. "The flour cannot be opened when it is dry, it is not formed if it is wet, and the ratio of water to noodles can only be thought out and tried by yourself." Aunt Chen said that at that time, she would not use the current baking powder, and used the old noodles as a primer to ferment, and the dough skin was mellow and chewy.
During the conversation, the aunt took out the "old home pawn" she used to eat, the begonia cake mold. Aunt Chen said that this set of molds was made of pig iron, and it cost 50 yuan at that time to entrust people to customize it in the factory. The mold is divided into two iron plates, one iron plate with seven circles, one center, six edges, much like a begonia flower, and "begonia cake" is also named.
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First brush the cake mold with oil and heat it on the stove.
Once the plate is completely hot, scoop up a spoonful of batter and carefully pour the batter into the mold holes.
Bake for a while, pick up a piece of bean paste with a copper brass to make the filling, and cover the noodles with a batter. Aunt Chen said that usually a piece of lard is also put on it, and the aroma can drift away after roasting.
The other iron plate was also brushed with oil, and the two iron plates were tightly clasped. After baking one side for a few minutes, turn it over. When you open it, the begonia cake shows a beautiful golden yellow color, and the fragrance comes to the nose.
Sprinkle a thick layer of sugar on the iron plate while it is hot. When it is hot, the sugar turns into a syrup. Then pick out the cake in the mold hole.
Syrup for begonia cake is the last step. Syrup can not be too much, of course, can not be lacking, syrup makes the taste of begonia cake richer and denser.
Take a bite while it's hot, first the crunchy caramel fills the mouth, followed by the sweetness of the dough cake, non-stick teeth, and a strange fragrance.
Correspondent: Tang Lingfei
Editors: Wang Anqi, Xu Yu