Chef Xinyi Fenglisu grew up in Taiwan where fenglisu — pineapple cake — was never just a snack. It was a gift item, carefully boxed and brought when visiting family, purchased at specific bakeries with established reputations, and eaten with tea in a way that acknowledged its importance. In Taiwan, the quality of a fenglisu is taken seriously — the ratio of buttery pastry shell to jam filling, whether the jam is made from real pineapple or winter melon, how the edges are finished.

Her work centers on Taiwanese bakery tradition — fenglisu made with a proper butter pastry and pineapple jam cooked down slowly from fresh fruit, suancai with layered pastry, and pineapple mochi for festivals. Xinyi understands that Taiwanese pastry culture draws from Japanese influence, Chinese tradition, and indigenous ingredients in ways that produced a distinct baking identity over decades. The fenglisu is one of Taiwan’s most recognized exports and she treats it with the care that reputation demands.

In Universo da Doçura, Chef Xinyi represents a pastry tradition that is precise, gift-oriented, and deeply tied to Taiwanese ideas of hospitality and quality. Her fenglisu is always made with real pineapple. The shell is always properly buttery. The box matters as much as the cake.