Ehefrau Kuchen 老婆餅

Wife’s cake is a traditional snack in Guangdong. It has a thin crust and thick filling. The filling is moist and soft and tastes sweet but not greasy. The superb texture of traditional wife’s cake comes from the layered layers of pastry that are as thin as cotton paper. To make this layering requires a little more patience. Separate the water and oil dough from the pastry and wrap it in the water and oil crust. Put it in the shortbread, press and fold it up again, repeating this many times, using the immiscibility of water and oil to create a crisp and distinct layering! As for the sweet filling, the traditional wife cake is packed with winter melon paste. The main ingredient in this improved formula is sesame, and the finished product is also very crisp and special.

There are two theories about the origin of the wife’s cake. Legend has it that there was a loving and poor couple. Because the old father was seriously ill and the family had no money to heal, the daughter-in-law had to sell herself to the landlord’s house and earn money to treat the illness. Although the wife went out to work, the husband was not discouraged, and developed a delicious cake. At the end, it made money from selling cakes and redeemed his wife, and lived a happy life again. After this delicacy spread, people called this cake a wife cake. According to another legend, in ancient times, a poor couple, his wife turned winter melon into velvet and made fillings into round pie, and then took it to the market with her husband to sell it, which was very popular. Husband named this kind of cake to wife’s cake.

老婆餅是廣東潮州地區一種漢族傳統名點，皮薄餡厚，餡心滋潤軟滑、味道甜而不膩。傳統老婆餅層次酥鬆的絕妙口感，來自於裡頭層層疊疊、薄如棉紙的油酥皮；想要作出這份層次需要多一點耐心，要將水油麵團與油酥分開處理，在水油皮里包入油酥，按壓再折起，如此重複多次，利用水與油互不相溶的特性，作出酥鬆分明的層次感！至於香甜的內餡，傳統的潮州「老婆餅」包入的是冬瓜蓉，所以也稱為「冬茸餅」，這個改良配方里的主要材料是芝麻，成品也很酥香特別。

老婆餅的由來有兩個說法, 傳說一從前有一對恩愛貧窮的夫婦, 由於老父病重, 家中無錢醫治, 媳婦只好賣身進入地主家, 掙錢給家翁治病. 雖然妻子出外打工, 丈夫沒有氣餒, 並研製出一道很好味的餅, 最後以賣餅賺錢並贖回了妻子, 重新過上了幸福的生活, 這道美食流傳開來後，人們稱作此餅為老婆餅。另一傳說古時一對窮苦夫婦，老婆將冬瓜整成茸做餡整成圓形嘅餅，老公拿去市場賣，結果大受歡迎。老公就稱這道餅為老婆餅。