Dowry Cake

Dowry cake is a classic pastry for engagement and wedding in Chinese culture. Although being called dowry cake, it’s actually a gift given from the groom to the bride’s family as a gratitude. Nowadays, dowry cake has become a name commonly used to indicate traditional Chinese pastry. The variations including moon cakes, wife cakes, pineapple cakes, dowry cakes, etc. Dowry cakes feature crumbly crusts stamped with meticulous patterns of flowers, butterflies and birds. The meanings of the pastry could be the celebration for first birthday, engagement, wedding, holidays and all. As for the fillings, the ingredients could be either sweet or savory, and sometimes both. From pastes and nuts of all kinds to salted egg yolks and meat floss, the combinations