At the table
Break into small pieces to catch the flaky crumbs. If freshly baked, let the filling cool before eating; enjoy with tea if you like.
Contains wheat and, in the version described, lard. Some versions include egg, honey or ham; check the label or ask the baker.
The pastry described uses a lard-based shell. The rose filling, sweetener and optional additions vary by bakery; a flower filling does not make the pastry vegetarian or vegan.
GET TO KNOW THE DISH
What goes into it?
Explore some key ingredients below. Preparations may use additional seasonings and ingredients.
Brown or white sugar can sweeten the filling; honey and an egg wash are optional. Some recipes also include ham.
Typical ingredients
In some versions
Recipes vary by restaurant.
How does it taste?
Sweet with a fragrant rose filling.
- Chili heat
- Texture
- Flaky layered shell and moist flower filling.
- How it’s made
- Fold an oil-and-water dough around a flour-and-lard paste, roll and fold it, enclose the sweet rose filling, and bake. Cooked glutinous rice flour adjusts the filling's moisture.
Brown or white sugar can sweeten the filling; honey and an egg wash are optional. Some recipes also include ham.
A CONNECTION TO PLACE
Origin & regional roots
Associated with Yunnan.
Ask if they have it first
请问你们有鲜花饼吗？
Do you have this item?
A LITTLE SOMETHING TO READ
Story & history
Edible roses inside a Yunnan pastry
This account describes a tradition or story, rather than an established historical fact.
The flowers in xianhua bing are edible rose petals, used for their fragrance rather than as decoration. Bakers enclose a sweet rose filling in a flaky shell. Some use preserved rose filling, while others work with freshly picked petals, giving different levels of sweetness and floral aroma. In Yunnan, these pastries are enjoyed with tea and carried home as gifts: a way to taste the region’s flower-based baking.