Jinnan Fried Bubble Cake

Jinnan Fried Bubble Cake is a unique food with special flavor produced in the southern region of Shanxi Province, such as Houma City, Linfen City and Ruicheng City. It is called “foam cake” by local people, just because the fried cake has many foams on its surface. The bubble cake is made from simple materials, including white flour, lard, sugar, dried orange peel, spices, etc., but the production process is more complex. It has to go through several processes, such as making dough with boiling water, preparing fillings and frying. Every process has strict procedures. The cake looks like a peony flower bud when it is scooped up from the oil pan, and has many silvery bubbles, which are white and yellowish, and it tastes sweet, crispy and delicious.

There is an old master called Qu Zhiming in Houma City, he can cook the “Royal Bubble Cake of Empress Dowager”, which is crystal clear, crispy and sweet. This kind of food was originally cooked for Empress Dowager Cixi in the late Qing Dynasty. More than ten kinds of precious Chinese herbs, such as ginseng, Codonopsis pilosula and Astragalus membranaceus are used to prepare juice to knead dough, which is filled with sugar, roses, cherries, walnuts, etc. before frying. It is not only sweet and delicious, but also has the effect of nourishing yin, tonifying kidney and prolonging life.