Quick Answer: What Are Suzhou Plum Blossom Cakes?
Mei Hua Gao (梅花糕, méi huā gāo), or plum blossom cakes, are mould-cooked Jiangnan snacks with a flower-shaped top, batter casing and a sweet filling such as bean paste.[1]
- The name describes the flower-like form, rather than a required plum ingredient.
- Flour batter cooks against the hot mould around the filling.
- Toppings and textures vary between makers and places.[1][5]
Suzhou is part of this living food tradition; the cakes are not confined to one city.[2][3]
Flower-Shaped Cakes, Batter and Sweet Fillings
A Suzhou food description begins with flour, a leavening ingredient and water mixed into batter. The heated mould gives the cake its recognisable form.[1]
| Komponen | Peran |
|---|---|
| Flour batter | The casing around the filling |
| Bean paste | A sweet, soft centre |
| Sugar | Sweetness at the surface or within the cake |
| Candied fruit strips or other toppings | Colour and an additional texture |
Bean paste is a familiar choice, but the same local description also lists alternatives such as date paste, jam and nuts. A single filling therefore does not describe every cake.[1]
How the Mould Shapes and Cooks the Cake
The traditional apparatus combines a cooking vessel with deep, flower-shaped cavities. A firsthand account describes the cavities tapering downward, giving the individual cakes a cone-like body beneath their wider tops.[2]
The maker pours batter into the hot cavities, lets it form a casing, adds filling, then covers it with more batter. Toppings go on the surface, and a heated cover completes the cooking. A thin metal pick releases the cooked cakes from the mould.[1][2]
This is a specialist mould-cooking process, rather than a steamed rice-cake method. Watching the batter and filling become a shaped cake is part of its street-food appeal.[2]
Crisp Edges, Soft Centres and Changing Toppings
The casing and bean filling create a contrast: firmer or crisp edges outside, softness within. Added rice balls can bring another chewy layer, while dried fruit changes the surface flavour.[2]
A recent firsthand Suzhou account describes a soft, chewy cake with red bean paste, red dates and small rice-ball elements. This is one observed serving, not a compulsory topping pattern.[5]
Suzhou Street Snacks and a Continuing Craft
Suzhou’s local-history office includes plum blossom cakes among the snacks historically associated with the Xuanmiao Temple area. That places them within a wider city snack culture, alongside the foods explored in this Suzhou food guide.[3]
The craft also has identifiable people behind it. A 2012 heritage report records Jiang Jianhua completing nearly six years of learning from Chen Qiaowen and becoming a sixth-generation successor in the family’s cake-making lineage.[4]
The food remains part of public celebrations: Suzhou’s official report on a February 2026 New Year market at Dongyuan lists plum blossom cakes among the available local foods. This records one event, rather than a fixed annual cake festival.[6]
FAQs About Plum Blossom Cakes
Does the cake need to contain plum fruit?
No. The name refers to its form; flour batter and bean paste can make a plum blossom cake without plum fruit.[1]
Must every cake have little rice balls on top?
No. Rice balls are one topping approach. Candied fruit strips and other additions appear in different versions.[1][5]
Is it a steamed rice cake?
The Suzhou version described here is cooked from flour batter in a heated mould around a filling. It should not be assumed to be an ordinary steamed rice cake.[1]
Sumber
[1] Suzhou Release, via Our Jiangsu. Suzhou Cakes: Plum Blossom Cake
[2] Yu Bin, Xinmin Evening News. Plum Blossom Cake
[3] Suzhou Local Gazetteer Office. Suzhou Snacks
[4] Suzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Office. A New Successor for Plum Blossom and Begonia Cakes
[5] Jack Chang. A Suzhou Plum Blossom Cake Account
[6] Suzhou Municipal Government. New Year Opening of the Plum Blossom Market, 2026