Revealing the Secret to Authentic Cha Cakes at Home

With their delicious and unique flavor, cha cakes have made many diners nostalgic. Today, Bao Minh will reveal a quite simple way to make cha cakes that are still very authentic in the article below!

 

Cha cakes – Sophistication in preparation

Cha cake has a very characteristic flavor, quite different from other types of cakes. That is the slightly pungent aroma of lime leaves, blended with the nutty, fatty taste of lard. All resonate harmoniously in the golden, crispy wheat flour crust.

It is called a cha cake because those small, golden cakes evoke the image of delicious grilled minced meat balls on a charcoal stove. The ingredients used to make cha cakes are quite similar to those for mooncakes, but simpler and with fewer components. It only consists of pork fat, wheat flour, glutinous rice flour, lime leaves, refined salt, and granulated sugar, and you can start making cha cakes.

 

 

Like most other traditional cakes, the cha cake crust is also made from wheat flour. The flour is kneaded thoroughly and then rolled into a long, thin rectangle. Spread the sugar-fat filling mixed with lime leaves evenly onto the dough crust along one edge, then roll it up and seal the dough edge tightly. After that, cut it into bite-sized pieces. 

Before baking the cakes, to give the pieces a golden, shiny, and fragrant crust, artisans usually brush a thin layer of beaten egg yolk on the surface. Because the cakes are small in size, baking cha cakes does not take much time. But the difficulty in baking cha cakes is having to watch the temperature to make it suitable. It is necessary to bake the cakes just enough to achieve the desired crispiness and a beautiful cockroach-brown color.

Cha cakes are best enjoyed when paired with tea. Sipping a cup of hot tea will be the perfect combination with the nutty, fragrant, and fatty taste of cha cakes.

 

Prepare ingredients

Cha cake crust ingredients group

• 400g all-purpose flour
• 280ml sugar water
• 50ml cooking oil
• 30ml filtered water
• 20g finely chopped lime leaves
• 20g peanut butter
• 10g salt

Cha cake filling ingredients group

• 300g sugar-fat
• 200g Chinese sausage
• 10g candied winter melon
• 20 lime leaves 
• 60g glutinous rice flour
• 10ml white wine
• 40ml sugar water

Crust glaze mixture

• 2 egg yolks
• 1 egg white

 

How to make cha cakes.

Step 1: Mix the flour for the crust

Sift the flour through a sieve to make the flour loose and smoother.

Create a small hole in the center, add sugar water, filtered water, cooking oil, peanut butter, baking soda, and finely chopped lime leaves, then mix well.

After that, use food wrap to cover the dough block tightly, and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

Step 2: Mix the filling ingredients

Put the Chinese sausage, sugar-fat, candied winter melon, and shredded lime leaves into a large bowl.

Then continue to add a little glutinous rice flour, sugar water, and white wine into the mixture.

Mix the mixture thoroughly so the ingredients blend and soak into each other.

 

 

Step 3: Wrap the cakes

There are quite a few ways to wrap lime leaf cha cakes but the fastest way is to wrap the cake into a long roll and then cut into bite-sized pieces before baking. Specifically:

• Sprinkle a layer of flour on a flat surface.
• Take an amount of crust dough, spread it evenly on the flat surface to form a rectangle about 15cm long and 3.5cm wide.
• Skillfully place the prepared filling mixture in the center.
• Roll up the filling inside the crust.

 

 

Step 4: Bake the cakes

After creating complete dough logs, use a knife to cut them into small, bite-sized pieces, then put them into the oven. 

Bake the cakes for about 10 minutes at 150 degrees Celsius. When the cakes are slightly charred on the surface, take them out and brush the egg yolk mixture on top. Continue baking for another 10 minutes. 

When the cakes turn golden and fragrant, you can enjoy them.

 

 

How to successfully make cha cakes

You should pay attention to a few things below to successfully make cha cake lime leaf (cha cakes) on your very first try!

• When making the crust mixture, do not knead the dough. Because kneading the dough can make the crust tough instead of crispy.
• There are many different ways to wrap cha cakes, but wrapping them into long logs and then cutting them into small pieces is the most convenient and simple way.
• When wrapping the cakes, be gentle and press the joints carefully so the filling is wrapped tightly and does not fall out.
• Before baking the cakes, you should remember to preheat the oven for 5 – 7 minutes so the cakes can cook more evenly.

Above, Bao Minh has revealed simple ways to make cha cakes at home. Let's try to start making them to treat the whole family to enjoy.

 

Bao Minh cha cakes – Sophistication in cuisine

Currently, Hanoi has quite a few famous cha cake production facilities, but Bao Minh cha cakes cannot be ignored. If you are hesitant about which address to choose to buy traditional and reliable Hanoi cha cakes, try coming to Bao Minh brand. Surely the products here will not disappoint you.

 

 

Besides cha cakes, when you come to Bao Minh's product showroom at address number 12 Hang Than, Ba Dinh, Hanoi. You can also refer to many other traditional confectionery products such as: Green rice cakes (bánh cốm), husband-and-wife cakes (bánh phu thê), mung bean cakes (bánh pía), peanut candy...