Roses are not only for making tea

Rose Flower Cake

The flower cake is a crispy cake made from Yunnan's unique edible roses and is a classic Yunnan snack with Yunnan characteristics. Anyone who has ever eaten one of these cakes is captivated by its crispy texture and rich aroma. Authentic flower cakes are made with layers of crispy puff pastry, thin as flour paper and thin as cotton paper, with a fluffy and fragrant filling. The unique floral aroma of roses spreads in the mouth, as if it will bloom on the tongue in the next second.

According to historical records, the flower cake was created by a cake maker in the Qing Dynasty more than 300 years ago, and because of the flower cake's refreshing aroma, sweetness but not greasy, and beauty care, the flower cake has been widely spread, from Kunming in the southwest to Tianjin in the north. In the late Qing Dynasty, it was recorded in the "Record of Yanjing Years and Times" that "those who use rose flowers in April are called rose cakes. Vine flowers for the person, called vine cake. They are the food of the season." The flowering period of edible roses is limited, and this kind of cake only uses the petals of edible roses, which is one of the reasons why flower cakes are quite precious. As the fame of the flower cake grew, it was tributed by officials within the court, making it a leap into the imperial court, and was well liked by the Qianlong Emperor, and received his admiration: "In the future, it is no longer necessary to submit a request for the use of rose cakes for sacred snacks."

Today we will share with you how to make this "flower cake". If you master the technique, it will not be difficult to make. And if you learn how to make this flower cake, you will also learn how to make egg yolk cake and wife cake.

Oil crust.

150g of medium gluten flour, 50g of low gluten flour, 50g of hot water, 50g of cold water, 2g of salt, 20g of powdered sugar, 75g of lard.

Shortening.

180g of low gluten flour, 85g of lard. (Oil skin and shortening can make 20 pieces)

Rose filling.

Rose paste 200g, cooked cake flour 30-50g. (about 10 pieces)

Method.

1. The rose filling purchased online has high humidity and needs to be mixed with cooked cake flour. (Cooked cake flour can be purchased directly, or fried glutinous rice flour can be used)

2. Mix well, divide into 22g portions, roll and refrigerate.

3. Then do the oil skin part, mix the lard and hot water with a hand whisk, do a little emulsification, because the softness of the lard at room temperature depends on the room temperature, the softness is not the same, add in the water will be different, the water is only temporarily mixed with the oil, so the mixture should be used immediately.

4. Pour all the powders in the oil skin into the chef machine bucket, add the mixed lard and cold water into it, this time we use the chef machine to knead the dough, hand kneading is also the same, we want to knead the elasticity, that is, the dough is smooth and firm.

5. good dough, it will hang on the hook of the chef machine, will not fall, we propped up with hands, you can see the gluten, but not yet connected into a piece, and did not form a large film, so I need to rest, so that the film is connected, wrapped with plastic wrap the oil skin sealed rest for 30 minutes to relax.

6. Next, make the shortening. Mix the low gluten flour and softened pork at room temperature with chopsticks to form a flocculent mass, then knead it into a ball with your hands and soften the lard with hand warmth so that it can be mixed with the flour.

7. Divide the dough into small portions of about 16g each, and divide the shortening dough into small portions of about 9g each (cover with plastic wrap throughout to prevent drying out).

8. Press the dough into the middle of the dough, wrap the dough completely around the shortening and roll it into a ball with the mouth down.

9. Wrap it all up, remember the order of wrapping, and roll it from the first one.

10. Flatten the dough and roll it into a cow tongue shape.

11. Then roll up the dough from the bottom upwards, close the mouth and put it down, roll it all up, cover it with plastic wrap and relax for 15 minutes.

12. Turn the roll upwards and press it gently with your fingers.

13. Roll it out again, slightly longer than the first time, roll it up, close down, and relax a little.

14. Take out one roll and press it with chopsticks in the middle, with the mouth closed side up.

15. Pinch the two ends and press them into the middle, flattening them a little bit around and a little bit thicker in the middle.

16. Wrap the frozen rose filling into the dough, wrap it well and put it down with the mouth closed.

17. After all wrapped, put them into a baking tray, place them in a balanced way, and press them gently to flatten. (Preheat oven at 180 degrees)

18. Add a little water to the red coloring, put a few sheets of kitchen paper cut into small sheets.

19. If you have a stamp, you can directly print the flower pattern in the middle of the cake, if not, you can use chopsticks to dot the pattern. (Poke a few holes on the surface with a toothpick to prevent bursting when baking)

20. Put the flower cake into the oven and bake at 180 degrees for about 25 minutes. (Adjust the temperature and time according to the temperament of your oven)

21. After baking, take them out directly, and the rich rose-scented flower cake is ready.

Tips

1. When wrapping the rose filling, the mouth must be tightened, the sugar in the filling will melt under high temperature, if the skin is not pinched tightly, the filling may be exposed when baking.

2. This is the traditional Chinese puff pastry practice, can be replaced with different fillings to make different flavors of Chinese puff pastry snacks.

3. The filling is not too wet can be formed into a dough, too wet baking easy to crack, do not be too dry, the taste is not too good.

4. Before rolling, let rise enough time, the dough is soft, easier to operate, not easy to break crisp.

5. Lard has direct sale of finished products, you can also buy a block of lard home to refine their own, it is recommended to refine their own, the effect is better.