Creating a dessert is like making an art piece for desert chef Luo Dan [Photo provided to China Daily]

A chef from Chengdu has turned a dozen dishes from Cao Xueqin's epic novel The Dream of the Red Chamber into a selection of daring new desserts. Li Yingxue reports.

In chapter 35 of The Dream of the Red Chamber, when protagonist Jia Baoyu is asked what he would like to eat after being beaten by his father, he asks for lotus leaf soup.

It's one of the many dishes described in Cao Xueqin's epic novel, but it's unlikely anyone has ever tried to re-create these delicacies from scratch, let alone reinterpret them.

Not until now, that is. Luo Dan, a dessert chef from Chengdu, Sichuan province, has set herself to the task of re-creating 12 dishes from the famous novel and turning them into a range of daring modern desserts through an online course she developed called A Bite of The Dream of the Red Chamber.

"Each dessert has been designed according to the novel, and all the recipes will be easy for anyone to follow and require no complex skills," says Luo.

For Jia's lotus soup, Luo uses honeydew melon, lotus leaf, sago and rice, and employs a simple molecular gastronomy trick to make it work perfectly.

The rice porridge is cooked with lotus leaves before being rolled into balls, laid out on a bed of honeydew melon puree, and topped with marsh pennywort - an aquatic herb that resembles tiny lotus leaves. The porridge balls explode in the mouth to leave a fresh taste of summer.

Luo believes that beautiful things have souls.

"Good food not only awakens our taste buds, it also reminds us of fond memories," the 36-year-old says.

"People in ancient times regarded food more as an art form. So when I designed the soup dessert, I asked myself 'How can I be creative and make this special?'."

In chapter 54 of the book, Jia's grandmother orders almond tea after a family dinner. While Chinese desserts are usually made out of white almonds, Luo has created a new version which uses tortoise-herb jelly as a base. To this she adds almond cream and two spoons of black rice, before topping it off with crispy black sesame sugar.

"All the ingredients are good for the lungs, which fits with the character of Chinese-style desserts that are designed not only look pretty, but to also follow the natural rules," says Luo, adding she is determined to elevate Chinese desserts into an item of cultural heritage.

"Many countries have their signature dessert, such as Japan's wagashi, Germany's black forest cake, and France's macaroon," says Luo. "But what about China? I hope that one day my desserts will answer that question, and show the beauty of desserts seen through Chinese eyes."

Luo says Chinese desserts follow the seasons and also change with the times. "There is more about Chinese desserts to dig up, and I want to make them more delicate."

A Bite of The Dream of the Red Chamber may be Luo's latest venture, but she is no stranger to success, having already wowed the world with her desserts at the 2014 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Hangzhou.