Hanoi girl makes 30kg mooncakes from Northern countryside, takes 5 days to finish

(Dan Tri) - The 30kg moon cake, inspired by the Northern countryside of Thuy Duong (in Hanoi), made many people exclaim "so beautiful that they can't bear to eat it".

3D mooncakes "surreal beauty"

On August 19, Thuy Duong (29 years old, living in Hanoi) posted a photo series of moon cakes called Memories on a group with many members. After a short time, the photo series took social networks by storm with more than 30,000 likes, thousands of comments and shares. The 3D moon cakes, inspired by familiar miniatures of the Northern countryside, made viewers "not dare to believe their eyes" or exclaim "so beautiful I can't bear to eat". "Born in a Northern countryside, the tiled roofs, brick yards, mossy walls, areca trees in front of the house... have become memories I will never forget", Duong said about the idea of ​​making moon cakes. Thuy Duong and her colleagues spent 5 days completing moon cakes simulating Northern countryside villages (Photo: Provided by the character). Instead of using traditional baked cake crusts, Duong used white sugar water according to a modern baked cake crust recipe to customize the vivid colors. For the cake filling, she used green beans for easy shaping. All the details from the ancient kitchen, the well, the mossy wall, the green trees... were hand-molded by Duong, although she admitted that "there are still many limitations". She and 3 colleagues worked tirelessly for 5 days to complete the 30kg cake. The most difficult step was that the cake was easily broken and bent after baking, sometimes having to remove hundreds of tiles to redo, which sometimes discouraged the whole team. "But every time I opened and looked at the photos of ancient houses in the North, I immediately regained my spirit. After finishing the cake, I realized that people who make miniature models are very good, I just made one and almost fainted", Duong confided. The moon cake made many viewers exclaim "I couldn't believe my eyes" (Photo: Character provided).

Thuy Duong meticulously hand-molds each brick and tile... (Photo: Character provided).

3D modeling, Dong Ho folk paintings on moon cakes

This is not the first time Thuy Duong has caused a storm on social media with her unique moon cakes. Since 2021, she has had the idea of ​​turning moon cakes into works of art. Duong shared that because of her talent for drawing and her love for baking, each cake she makes, in addition to being delicious, is also important in terms of decoration. She tried drawing on the moon cake to satisfy her passion and also to give a new look to the traditional cake model. Each traditional moon cake weighs 150 grams, is handmade with familiar fillings such as mixed, green beans, green tea, lotus seeds or combined with jams of her choice. The difference is that the cake has drawings on the surface that look like a miniature work of art.

Thuy Duong puts folk paintings on moon cakes (Photo: Manh Quan). When the background is dry, Duong uses food coloring (syrup and gel) and paints according to available patterns, from Dong Ho folk paintings, paintings by famous painter Mai Trung Thu to landscapes, plants, and motifs. She uses brushes and colors from reputable companies on the market or imports with clear origins, mixes them with water and paints on the surface of the cake, ensuring safety for consumers' health . The cake is not affected by the flavor and the drawing is only a thin layer on the surface, customers can choose not to eat the drawing if they do not want to. "A cake must not only be delicious and suitable for the taste of the eater, but also beautiful and have high aesthetic value. The folk painting moon cakes are following that demand," Duong said. With simple paintings with few details, Duong paints for 5-10 minutes, but with elaborate ones, it takes longer, from 40 minutes to an hour. The price of each cake ranges from 250,000 - 350,000 VND depending on the model requested by the customer.

Moon cakes as beautiful as sculptures (Photo: Provided by Nhan). Last year, Duong made 3D baked moon cakes as beautiful as sculptures. The cakes have many attractive shapes such as: chicken, buffalo, small coffee shop... The cakes are commented to be vivid, "beautiful as a wooden sculpture", need to be kept sealed like food, otherwise put in the refrigerator can be used for more than a week. Thuy Duong graduated from the Banking Faculty, Banking Academy in 2017. She started working at a bank with a salary of 11 million VND/month. In October 2019, she quit her job, using 20 million VND to start a "new path". Duong's decision surprised many people, but she herself had prepared in advance. Duong has loved baking since she was a student, so during her time working at the bank, she still maintained her side job, having her own stable customer base. At that time, Duong worked and studied at the same time, constantly improving her knowledge and skills, creating unique and eye-catching cakes. From an "amateur", she gradually became professional and shaped her own style. "I hope my moon cakes can spread the image of Vietnamese folk culture and countryside to international friends," Duong said.

Dantri.com.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/doi-song/co-gai-ha-noi-lam-banh-trung-thu-lang-que-bac-bo-nang-30kg-5-ngay-moi-xong-20240820203827131.htm