Chinanews.com, Guangzhou, December 24th, title: Chinese style "turned" into Western-style cakes. Generation Z uses "sugar" to make "beauties"
Chinanews reporter Fang Weibin
The beauty of Dunhuang, with firm skin, is dressed in a red dress, with light green shawls wrapped around her arms, dancing in the lotus bushes, standing on a base full of Dunhuang murals... This is not a clay sculpture, nor is it a trendy figure , but edible fondant cake.
In a baking school in Guangzhou, "Generation Z" fondant master Su Dingkai chatted with a reporter from Chinanews.com about his fondant cake "Dunhuang Flying Immortals", and told the story of the gradual popularity of Western-style pastries in the Chinese market.
"Fondant cake originated in the West, and it is an art cake commonly used by the British royal family at weddings." Su Dingkai introduced that fondant cake is made of fondant as the main material instead of fresh cream, and sugar powder, syrup, and pectin are used to roll out the sugar The skin is matched with the chocolate cake embryo, and various shapes are made by the skillful hands of fondant masters.
Su Dingkai introduced his fondant cake.
Photo by Chen Chuhong
In the Guangzhou market, after visiting a number of cake shops, the reporter found that fondant cakes come in a variety of shapes, including famous brand handbags, flowers, and many Chinese styles.
Su Dingkai said that compared with traditional cakes, fondant cakes can be placed for a long time because of the protective film of sugar skin, which also provides fondant makers with a wealth of creative space.
Su Dingkai learned fondant craftsmanship in Suzhou in 2013, and first learned the styles of Britain, the United States, and Japan.
He said: "In the past few years, it is obvious that fondant cakes have become a national trend in the domestic market, and the new Chinese-style cakes are very popular among the younger generation."
Su Dingkai's fondant cake "Dunhuang Flying Immortals" has three lifelike sugar figures, from hair to fingertips are very delicate.
According to him, in order to make the sugar figurine stand upright, the sugar skin should be rolled thin and the weight should be strictly controlled. Some key support points should be wrapped with hair-like iron wires and hidden in plastic wrap inside the sugar skin to support The whole look.
"To make fondant cakes, if you have art skills, or understand the principles of architecture, it will be better to master some embroidery and carving techniques in intangible cultural heritage." Su Dingkai said, because fondant is highly malleable, it can reproduce many things, so that What impressed him deeply was the ancient town of Dangkou in Wuxi, a water town in the south of the Yangtze River, which his school team recreated at a scale of 1:200 last year.
Su Dingkai incorporated embroidery into the making of fondant cakes.
Photo courtesy of Su Dingkai
"This sweet miniature ancient town, our team used 50 kilograms of fondant and 25 kilograms of pulled sugar, and it took half a month to complete." Su Dingkai introduced that this work includes more than 10 main buildings and several small bridges. Made of edible raw materials, it is an "ancient town" that can be eaten.
Small bridges and flowing water, pavilions, pavilions, bricks and tiles, every flower and grass are all exquisite. When the Chinese style is "turned" into the Western-style cake, a beautiful view of the Jiangnan water town is displayed in front of the diners.
Su Dingkai said that because of the miniaturization in proportion, the fondant masters have to rely on tweezers to assist in shaping the rice grain-sized door locks and tea sets in the ancient town. Although it is an ancient town made of fondant, if it is properly preserved, this work can be stored for more than ten years.
Su Dingkai has been a fondant teacher in Guangzhou for more than 6 years, and has trained thousands of students, but he is still improving his craft. The object of his study is Zhou Yi, a teacher who learned fondant craft in Suzhou.
Zhou Yi is hailed as China's "sugar king" by the industry.
According to media reports, Zhou Yi's Chinese-style fondant cake has won multiple gold awards in the world's largest cake competition, and he turned the cake into a work of art.
"Although it is a Western-style pastry, we can also make top-notch fondant cakes by combining the techniques of Chinese dough modeling and the continuous research and development of new fondant materials." Su Dingkai said that many Chinese consumers now pay attention to health and control sugar intake , their school is also developing new fondant raw materials to adapt to the constant changes in the market.
In Su Dingkai's baking school, the reporter found that more and more "post-95s" and "post-00s" are learning fondant craftsmanship.
While teaching, Su Dingkai also grows with his students. He hopes that in the future, he can apply more traditional Chinese skills to his sweet career.
(use up)