October 22, 2013

Traditional Taiwanese Cakes

taiwanese, taiwan, cakes, traditional, pineapple cake, suncake
Published: 2013-10-22
My 媽媽 came to us from Taiwan, where she stopped for a while before coming to Hong Kong.  With her came a suitcase chock full of delicious Taiwan snacks and cakes of all kinds.  Here we share about the delicious little cakes that she brought: the Pineapple Cake, 鳳梨酥,  and the Suncake, 太陽餅.  These are traditional cakes that Taiwan is famous for.  As my mom lived in Taiwan when she was young gal, she obviously knew where to go to get the real stuff.  And that, as usual, makes a lot of difference!

taiwanese, taiwan, cakes, traditional, pineapple cake, suncake

First of all is the uber famous Pineapple Cake, or 鳳梨酥.  A dense, jellyish pineapple filling encased in a neat rectangle of dense yet crumbly sweet pastry.  You literally can't have visited Taiwan and left without tasting one or buying a box of these lovely souvenirs to take home.

And they are very tasty little snack cakes for the mid afternoon, along with a lovely spot of chinese tea.  The making of these little cakes in Taiwan is very competitive, I believe, as the market for them is big.  Nevertheless I thought it was hilarious when my 媽媽 pointed out to me that these particular Pineapple Cakes were personally endorsed by Ma Ying-Jeou, 馬英九, the Taiwan President.  He, he! 

taiwanese, taiwan, cakes, traditional, pineapple cake, suncake

taiwanese, taiwan, cakes, traditional, pineapple cake, suncake
See the President's signature?
The other little traditional taiwanese cake that my mom brought with her was something I specifically requested for.  My little sister used to live in Taiwan years ago and would occasionally bring us boxes of delicious Suncakes, 太陽餅, that were just out of this world on the yummy factor.  Since my sister left Taiwan, however, I haven't had a chance to eat one.  So this time I remember to ask my 媽媽 to find some for me.  And she did!

taiwanese, taiwan, cakes, traditional, pineapple cake, suncake

These lovely little cakes are so flakily delicious that you'd better be prepared. (In other words get a plate!)  The traditional filling is a maltose and lard filling that is just really, really tasty.  Not sweet but tasty and sweet enough.  Fragrantly tasty.  I remember that there are many other fillings too, all yummy, but we only got the traditional filling this time.  

You have to have these cakes fresh.  They are all expiration date stamped.  You will never believe how tender and flaky these cakes are!  I'll bet that they taste even better if you can have then still hot!  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.  Humm...is it time to plan a short eating research trip to Taiwan?

taiwanese, taiwan, cakes, traditional, pineapple cake, suncake

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