Làng Dòng Cake – A Fragrant Gift from the Ancestral Land

Not only known as a land of erudition with a tradition of filial piety, Dòng Village (Xuân Lũng commune, Lâm Thao district) is renowned throughout the midland region of the ancestral land for its traditional craft of making cakes, which has existed for hundreds of years. This craft is still preserved and developed by the local people. The various types of cakes from Dòng Village are not only delicious but also ensure the quality of food safety. They are loved by a large number of consumers both in and outside the province.

The products of Dòng Village are diverse and rich, such as square sticky rice cakes, cylindrical sticky rice cakes, steamed rice cakes, pyramid-shaped cakes, and thorny cakes. Each type of cake has its own secret and flavor, but all carry the characteristics of the ancestral land.

Dong Village Cake

Photo: Dòng Village thorny cake (Collected photo)

Square sticky rice cakes are wrapped in yellowish sticky rice, delicious and fragrant; cylindrical sticky rice cakes are elaborately made from sticky rice with a mixture of fragrant leaves, deep red color, firm and chewy, dipped in sugarcane juice, giving tourists a cool and sweet sensation; thorny cakes are soft and fragrant, with the scent of thorny leaves, the richness of dried lotus seeds, roasted peanuts, and coconut shreds; steamed rice cakes are crispy, with a rich and familiar taste of soy sauce, enhanced by the nutty aroma of roasted peanuts; pyramid-shaped cakes are smooth, soft, and fragrant; and giày cakes are smooth, soft, and sweet.

To produce these delicious cakes, the people of Dòng Village always pay attention to choosing good rice. Together with green beans, fragrant leaves, sugarcane juice, and roasted peanuts, under the skillful hands of the hardworking women of Dòng Village, they meticulously create these flavorful cakes.

Dong Village Cakes

Photo: Square sticky rice cakes, cylindrical sticky rice cakes from Dòng Village (Collected photo)

The craft of making cakes in Dòng Village is not only a means of livelihood, providing the main source of income for many families, but also plays an important role in preserving the traditional cultural values of the locality. The cakes like square sticky rice cakes, cylindrical sticky rice cakes, thorny cakes, etc., are crafted by the diligent mothers who wake up early and work late, picking each grain of rice, wiping each leaf, passing down the secret of cake-making from generation to generation, hoping to preserve the traditional craft. Despite the hardships, the families in Dòng Village are determined to keep the craft because it is intertwined with their lives, containing the soul and unique cultural characteristics of their homeland.

In the past, Dòng Village cakes were only made by individual households and were mainly sold in the local market. Now, thanks to large-scale production and the establishment of a shared brand, the market for consuming Dòng Village cakes has expanded. They are now available in supermarkets and many neighboring provinces, providing stable jobs and income for the local labor force.

International tourists visiting the Ancestral Land, take a trip to Dòng Village and enjoy the local specialties, especially the cakes. The land of Phú Thọ is picturesque, its people are hospitable, and the cakes of Dòng Village are a sweet and fragrant gift, embodying the simple spirit of the Ancestral Land, presented to international tourists on every visit.