Wife Cake

Name: Wife Cake (Lou Po Beng)
Yield: Makes 8 cakes
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 3 Tbsp vegan butter or shortening, melted; 3 Tbsp vegan butter or shortening, melted; ¾ cup [105 g] all-purpose flour; 4 tsp granulated sugar; 2 Tbsp vegan butter or vegan shortening; 1 tsp ceremonial grade matcha powder, for color (optional); ¼ cup [60 ml] hot water; 2 Tbsp vegan butter or vegan shortening; 3 Tbsp finely ground almonds or almond flour; ⅛ tsp salt; 3 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds, crushed; 3 Tbsp finely ground almonds or almond flour; 1 lb [455 g] fresh wintermelon or wax gourd, peeled, seeded, and grated; 3 Tbsp glutinous rice flour; 6 Tbsp [90 g] granulated sugar; 1 lb [455 g] fresh wintermelon or wax gourd, peeled, seeded, and grated; 5 Tbsp [55 g] vegan shortening; ½ cup [70 g] all-purpose flour; 1 Tbsp black and white sesame seeds; 1 Tbsp Annatto Seed Oil; 2 Tbsp granulated sugar boiled with 1 Tbsp water for 3 minutes; 1 Tbsp black and white sesame seeds; 2 Tbsp granulated sugar boiled with 1 Tbsp water for 3 minutes

Lou Po Beng

Preparation info

Makes
8
cakes

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Vibrant Hong Kong Table

By Christine Wong

Published 2024

About

Also known as sweetheart cakes, these pastries are a specialty of Yuen Long 元朗, a district in the northwestern part of the New Territories. The area is rich in history and has some beautiful landscape. (Did you know that 40 percent of Hong Kong’s land is country parks?)

In 2019, the Yuen Long train station was the site of a horrific attack on commuters and pro-democracy protestors by gang members. Days after the incident, police rejected a formal request for a protest in Yuen Long,

Ingredients

Asia
Hong Kong (China)
Yuen Long
Vegan
Cake

Ingredients

Method