Chinese red bean pastry roll (豆沙餅)

This beautiful Chinese red bean pastry roll is my mom’s recipe and is very popular in her circle of friends. She likes to make this for get-togethers. Nobody can resist the sweetened red bean paste filling!

Chinese red bean pastry roll

For some odd reason, I have been craving red bean (azuki) paste. In my lifetime, I’ve had countless Asian desserts with this sweet bean mixture and just wanted something quick and easy to fulfill my tastebuds. My mom makes a great red bean pastry roll (豆沙餅) and I went to look for the recipe online. My Google searches came up empty, so I decided to just do what I should have done originally – ask Mom.

This Chinese pastry uses cream cheese in its base, which may sound odd to most of you reading this. Believe me, it’s weird but it works. The texture of the pastry interior is slightly chewy yet provides a nice balance to the red bean paste.  The outside will bake up nice and crispy, and it’s not uncommon for a few flakes or chunks of pastry fall off (see picture for evidence!). Eat a slice for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  Or maybe all three!

This dessert may inspire me to document and try all of Mom’s recipes so they don’t get lost, and so I can pass it (and many other of her treasured recipes) along to my daughter one day.

Enjoy–and thanks, Mom!

Chinese red bean pastry roll (豆沙餅)

My mom's red bean pastry roll is a hit with all her friends. Slice it up for a sweet sneak or even for breakfast!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Breakfast
Cuisine: Asian, Chinese
Keyword: Appetizer, Asian
Servings: 10
Author: Eva Bakes

Ingredients

  • 4 oz cream cheese softened
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2/3 can can sweetened red bean paste you can find this at your Asian grocery store; some higher end grocery stores may also sell it in their International aisle.
  • 8 oz unsalted butter softened
  • 1 egg yolk optional
  • sesame seeds optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Mix cream cheese, butter and flour (can do this by hand but I used my stand mixer with the paddle attachment). Roll it out to a rectangle on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick - don't make this too thin or the crust will tear. Spread the red bean paste on top and leave at least a 1-inch border all around.
  • Starting on the short ends, roll the rectangle, jelly-roll style, and then pinch and roll up the ends to avoid any red bean paste spillage. Place seam side down on a large baking sheet.
  • Brush the top of the pastry with the egg yolk and sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired. Bake for 40 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
  • Cut into slices and serve.

Notes

Source: An Eva Bakes family recipe

4 Comments

  1. SuburbiaMom
    March 15, 2012 / 4:59 pm

    Thank you! I'm gonna try it out soon!

  2. branny
    March 15, 2012 / 9:10 pm

    Ohhhh!! Like!

  3. JC
    June 25, 2021 / 11:32 pm

    A family favorite Chinese restaurant makes something similar to this that my family enjoys, so I’m really glad I found your recipe! The addition of cream cheese is intriguing. About how much red bean paste do you use? I’m making homemade red bean paste, so I don’t have the can as a measurement, and I’m planning to try this recipe tomorrow. Will keep you posted on how it turns out!

    • evabakes
      Author
      June 26, 2021 / 7:28 am

      I love red bean paste so I use as much as I can without the roll exploding. Sometimes I put too much! If you have extra, you can always eat it with a spoon like I do. 😄

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating