Xianhua Bing

the fresh flower cake of Kunming: a lard-laminated flaky pastry wrapped around a filling of sugar-cured rose petals, baked until the leaves separate and eaten warm from the oven

Origin: China

From the journey of Rose.

China took the rose in a direction nobody else did. Where the Islamic world distilled it and Europe dried it, the Chinese kitchen preserved the whole fresh petal in sugar, working it by hand and pressing it down under weight until it collapses into méiguī jiàng, a thick, dark, jammy paste of extraordinary concentration. Yunnan is its heartland: the mild highland climate around Kunming and Anning suits the edible rose, and the province now supports a substantial industry devoted to it. The paste fills mooncakes at the mid-autumn festival and sweetens the sticky rice cakes of the south, but its most famous form is the xianhua bing, the fresh flower cake, which is a Yunnanese speciality and one of the great regional souvenirs of China: visitors carry them home from Kunming by the boxful, and the bakeries sell them hot, in flat cardboard trays, with queues outside. The pastry is the Chinese flaky type, a water dough wrapped around a lard-and-flour oil dough and rolled and folded so that it bakes into fine separating leaves, quite unlike a French puff and rather more shortening. Split one open and the filling is almost black-purple, and it smells overwhelmingly, unmistakably, of rose.

Ingredients

Water Dough

150 g plain flour
25 g caster sugar
45 g lard, softened (or unsalted butter)
65 ml warm water

Oil Dough

120 g plain flour
60 g lard, softened

Filling

200 g rose petal paste (méigui jiàng), shop-bought or home-made
40 g glutinous rice flour, toasted in a dry pan until pale gold
25 g caster sugar
20 g lard, melted (for the filling)

To Finish

1 whole egg yolk, beaten with 1 tsp water
1 pinch dried edible rose petals, to decorate

Method

Make the filling: mix the rose paste with the toasted glutinous rice flour, sugar, and melted lard to a stiff, workable mass, and chill for 20 minutes. Divide into 12 balls.
Make the water dough by rubbing the lard into the flour and sugar, then working in the warm water to a soft, smooth dough; knead for 5 minutes until elastic. Separately rub the oil dough lard into its flour to a firm paste. Rest both, covered, for 30 minutes.
Divide each dough into 12. Flatten a piece of water dough, place a piece of oil dough in the centre, and pinch closed. Roll the parcel into a long oval, roll it up like a swiss roll, turn it 90 degrees, roll out and roll up again. Rest 10 minutes.
Press each rolled parcel flat with the cut spirals facing up and down, roll into a disc about 9 cm across, place a ball of filling in the centre, and gather the edges over the top, pinching firmly closed. Turn seam side down and flatten gently to a round about 6 cm across and 2 cm thick.
Set on a lined tray, brush the tops with egg yolk wash, press a few dried petals into the centre of each, and bake at 190°C (170°C fan) for 22 to 25 minutes, until pale gold and clearly layered at the sides. Cool for 10 minutes and eat warm.

Notes

Méigui jiàng is sold in jars by Chinese grocers and online, and is worth buying, since it is made from cultivars selected for the purpose and cured for months. To approximate it at home, layer 100 g of fresh unsprayed scented rose petals with 150 g of caster sugar and a pinch of salt in a jar, work them hard with clean hands until they bruise and darken, press down, seal, and leave in a warm place for at least a fortnight, stirring every few days. Lard gives the authentic short, flaky texture and the traditional flavour; butter works and is a little richer, and vegetable shortening makes an acceptable vegan version alongside a plant-based glaze. The same pastry and filling, pressed into a mould, is the Yunnanese rose mooncake.

The Gastrographer

Name: Xianhua Bing
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 12
Cuisine: China
Ingredients: 150 g plain flour; 25 g caster sugar; 45 g lard, softened (or unsalted butter); 65 ml warm water; 120 g plain flour; 60 g lard, softened; 200 g rose petal paste (méigui jiàng), shop-bought or home-made; 40 g glutinous rice flour, toasted in a dry pan until pale gold; 25 g caster sugar; 20 g lard, melted (for the filling); 1 whole egg yolk, beaten with 1 tsp water; 1 pinch dried edible rose petals, to decorate

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control