Hue sweet food are commonly known for their mild sweetness, well-kneaded dough and colorful packings. Some are carefully molded as a piece of art. They prove the delicacy and skillfulness of Hue cuisine.
The most popular types are "banh in" (seal cake) made from glutinous rice, arrow-root and mung bean; lotus seed and the flour of "dau quyen" (kidney-shaped white bean); "banh bai", also called "banh phong" (a kind of dumpling filled with fat and candied winter melon). They are carefully wrapped in colorful papers and are often found on offering ceremonies and altars.
"Banh phu the" also known as "banh su se" (husband and wife cake) is an unreplaceable part on engagement and wedding ceremony. It is made from cassava flour, filled with mung bean, coconut strips, placed on a layer of banana leaves and wrapped in coconut leaves. "Banh phu the" is commonly served with ramie glutinous rice dumpling which is filled with mung bean, simmered kumquat peel, ground coconut and wrapped in banana leaves.
"Banh khoai tia" (purple potato cake) and "Banh phu the" share the same look and cooking method. What makes the former different is that it is made from flour, purple potato, and covered with boiled peanut.
"Banh gac" is made in the same way as black glutinous rice dumpling. As its name suggests, flour is mixed with the flesh of ripe gac fruit. Therefore, it has the color and flavor of gac fruit.
Commonly prepared on lunar new year and Doan Ngo festival (the 5th day of the fifth lunar month), the yellowish-brown dumpling called "banh tro" is made from glutinous rice soaked in bamboo leaf's ash water.
"Banh kho" and "banh no" are also two dishes used in offering ceremony. Toasted glutinous rice is mixed with peanut, dried banana and sugar. The mixture is molded then cut into square slices.
To make "Banh mang" (bamboo cake), glutinous rice is soaked in water, ground and dried. Later, the glutinous flour is mixed with bamboo or coconut strips and sugar. The mixture is then flattened on a tray before being cut into small pieces. Each piece is covered with toasted sesame, wrapped in colorful paper.
"Banh thuan" is made from rice or arrowroot flour, egg yolk and sugar. This kind of cake is baked over charcoal stove.
Five-color cake is made from cassava powder, coconut milk, sugar and water. Its five colors are made up by flour (white), mung bean (yellow), pandan leaves (green), coffee (brown) and carrot (reddish pink).