Learn to make Dali rose flower cake with Aruna (pause)

About Aruna:

"Aruna is from Inner Mongolia. She travels by motorcycle, runs roadside cafes, bakes, and runs restaurants. She is a free-spirited, kind, passionate, innocent, and independent woman. When you see her at work, her energy, focus, and enthusiasm are contagious. Guests often call her 'Aruna the All-Powerful One.' She drives a white camper van. Specializes in: flower cake baking, camping, river tracing, light hiking in Cangshan, rural travel in Eryuan, and Huoshan. She independently runs her own cafe: Ayaa Coffee and B&B. She speaks Mongolian and English."

Flower Cake Making Video:

When I first met Aruna, she was working at Pirate Castle. At that time, our two stores shared a space on Yeyu Road. She was cheerful and gentle, always smiling, and got along well with everyone. Later, she moved to Chiang Mai, Thailand to work.

When Honghong was traveling alone in Thailand, her bicycle had an accident and her bank card was lost. Aruna took care of her, took her out for dinner, and lent her money. They were not very close at the time, but it was obvious that Aruna was a warm and kind person.

Later, Aruna returned to Dali and converted a camper into a coffee truck, which she parked on a secluded roadside to sell coffee. During the two years of the pandemic, she opened a baking studio, making bread, preparing brunch, and teaching baking.

Recently, she rebuilt a baking studio next to the fields in the village. She did everything from design to decoration. This studio is mainly used to teach students baking. In early 2023, she joined our Cangshan Hiking Home and was responsible for the production experience of rose flower cakes. When she is free, she will also lead the team to hike and travel.

During the months of cooperation, we occasionally chatted, but not often and not in depth. From these conversations, whether it was work in Thailand, bakery, coffee truck, life, or relationships, it seemed that the difficulties and setbacks she faced were resolved as she grew as a person.

Making rose flower cakes with Aruna allows you to experience the production process of Dali's specialties and learn about the life of this young Dali woman in the village, with fields at the doorstep.

Jason

About Rose Flower Cake Baking Experience

Author: Aruna

"I remember the first time I came to Dali, I passed by a flower cake shop on Renmin Road and was greeted by the aroma. The cakes had just come out of the oven, and I bought three flavors. I ate one and returned to the inn to eat the other two. The fragrance was not as strong and they were not as crispy."

Later, I lived in Dali and started baking. I often missed the taste of freshly baked flower cakes, so I came up with the idea of ​​making flower cakes this time.

Rose flower cake is a unique pastry in Yunnan. The raw material is edible Yunnan red roses. The whole process from kneading to baking takes about 2 hours. Adults like to pinch the dough into petals, while children like to pinch it into animal shapes. From the shapes they pinched, it can be seen that the children have observed many animals, including piglets, hedgehogs, fish, etc.

Sometimes, adults get impatient and want children to make traditional petal-shaped cakes, but I think the cakes made by children should reflect their own ideas and creativity. After all, the ingredients are the same, and making a unique cake of their own is also part of the fun of children.

The process of making flower cakes is not complicated. The key is to participate in the whole process. All the materials are handled by you, and when the cake is freshly baked, I believe the participants will feel the delicious, crispy taste and aroma. "

Experience content:

1. Make flower cake filling: prepare fresh rose petals as filling.
2. Making flower cakes: from rolling out the dough to filling, shaping the petals and baking.
3. Make Rose Jam: Make rose jam from fresh petals. You can take it home and make rose jam tea.

Target audience: Adults or children aged 4 and above.

Duration: 2 hours

Experience environment:
2 km from the ancient town, in an old house by the field, this baking studio was designed and decorated by Aruna himself. The surrounding environment is quiet, parking is convenient, and there is a private leisure space. It is located in Xiaocen Village, 3 km from the ancient town.

Tea, coffee and fruit snacks will be provided.

Now she’s doing more hiking and camping, check it out here:

Guide Introduction-Aruna