Chinese Dessert Recipes

Authentic Chinese Dessert Recipes Perfect For Any Occasion

Authentic Chinese dessert recipes from the early 1900s are very hard to find, but since the Chinese were certainly among the first to create what we now call confections, it is only fitting that I include several on this website.

When these vintage recipes were first published in 1914, Chinese cooking had become very popular in North America. Chinese restaurants were commonly found in many cities, and most challenged the competition by providing the finest cuisine. However, in that day, Chinese cookbooks were quite rare so there were very few Chinese dessert recipes published for use in the home. The 1914 "Chinese-Japanese Cook Book" was the first of its kind.

At the same time, back in China, cookbooks were actually nonexistent. The following excerpt from the Preface of the "Chinese-Japanese Cook Book" explains:

No cookbooks, so far as the authors know, have ever been published in China. Recipes descend like heirlooms from one generation of cooks to another.

The recipes included in this book (the Chinese ones, that is) have been handed down from Vo Ling, a worthy descendant of a long line of noted Chinese cooks, and himself head cook to Gow Gai, one time highest mandarin of Shanghai. They are all genuine, and were given as an especial expression of respect by a near relative of the famous family of Chinese cooks.

San Char Go Recipe

This Chinese date candy recipe is easy to make and tastes delicious.

A favorite Chinese candy made from red Chinese dates. The fruit is first mashed to a pulp, then mixed with powdered sugar and gelatin, beaten into a paste, rolled in sheets as thin as paper, and spread in the sun to dry. After it has dried crisp, it is cut into squares of six by four inches, wrapped in waxed paper, and packed in bundles. It has a delightfully piquant flavor, tart and sweet.

Almond Cakes Recipe (Cookies)

What would a page of Chinese dessert recipes be without an authentic almond cookie recipe? Now you can enjoy the almond cookies once enjoyed by the highest mandarin of Shanghai.

Two cupfuls of rice flour; one-quarter cupful of almond oil; one-half cupful of chopped almonds; one and one-half cupfuls of powdered sugar; two eggs.

Mix thoroughly two cupfuls of rice flour, one and one-half cupfuls of powdered sugar, and half a cupful of blanched almonds, chopped very fine, with a quarter of a cupful of almond oil. Moisten with two beaten eggs. Use no water, and if too stiff, add more egg. Roll about a quarter of an inch thick, and cut in fanciful shapes. Place half an almond in the center of each cake, and bake them for one hour in a moderate oven. These cakes are certain to keep for a long time if they are placed in a tin box.

Gum Lu or Golden Cakes Recipe

One and one-half cupfuls of rice flour; one cupful of honey; one-quarter cupful of mixed nuts, chopped; three teaspoonfuls of clarified goose fat; yolks of two eggs; pinch of salt.

Take one and one-half cupfuls of rice flour and a pinch of salt and into this work three teaspoonfuls of clarified goose fat. Then chop very fine about a quarter of a cup of minced nuts. Beat the yolks of two eggs, and mix all together. Now pour in one cup of raw, dark honey. If too moist, add more flour. Stir thoroughly for fifteen or twenty minutes, and pour into small cake pans, well oiled, and bake slowly for two hours.

Lai Yut or Beautiful Moon Tart Recipe

Two cupfuls of rice flour; one tablespoonful of clarified goose fat; two eggs.

These tarts are sort of a dumpling. Work a heaping tablespoonful of clarified goose fat into two cups of rice flour. Add ice-cold water slowly to make a stiff paste. Roll out, brush with the whipped whites of eggs, and fold over several times, each time brushing with egg; then roll about quarter of an inch thick and cut into rounds about the size of a small saucer. Put in the filling, and place another round of paste on top. Press together at the edge, forming a rounded edge, and brush all again with white of egg.

Bake for fifty minutes in a moderate oven, then remove the outer flake, which will leave the tart snow white. Decorate with a yellow moon in the center, cut from candied orange peel or painted with fruit coloring.

Filling: Two cups of lychee nuts, stoned and mashed to a pulp, one and one-half cupfuls of sugar, quarter of a cupful of crystallized limes, and a teaspoonful of mixed spices. Mix all well together, and use to fill tart.

Another Filling: Quarter of a pound of beef fat, cut in small pieces, one cupful of chopped dates, one cupful of preserved pineapple, quarter of a cupful of blanched chopped almonds, one and one-half cupfuls of sugar, and one teaspoonful of mixed spices. Mix thoroughly.