> > > Why the heck would anyone make any sort of cake with a bean paste?! That just sounds wrong. Cakes are sweet, fluffy, moist, and spongelike. Bean paste just sounds... ucky. The concept is lost on me; it doesn't seem remotely dessertesque.
> > >
> > > Tra "Garçon!... I'll just have the flan, thanks." nio
>
> Ah, Tranio, but that's because you're thinking of North American dried beans. The Chinese bean-paste is made from red mung beans which, like Ayako notes, is eaten sweet. Mung are the same size as barley except they're smooth and chocolate-brown. They are tasty and sort of remind me of cocoa beans in flavour, but without the bitterness. I can't think of any good use for mung-bean paste except mainly for desserts.
>
> What's that? You actually forgot chocolate is made from BEANS? :-)
>


Well, I guess if they can be equated to a non-bitter cocoa bean, they must have some redeeming dessert value. When I heard ...oops ... I mean *read* the term "bean paste", I immediately thought of a big smear of refried beans. Which wouldn't make for a very good cake (IMHO).

Chocolate made from beans? Why... um... how could I forget that?... I was... uh... thinking of it all along... HEY! ... [points] What's that??!! ...[runs away]