A heat pump dryer (HPD) would be an economic, environmentally friendly, hygienic drying machine used to dry some food, such as hawthorn cakes. Based on the production process of the hawthorn cake, a HPD is proposed and its basic principle is introduced. The experimental drying curves of the hawthorn cake using the heat pump drying method and the traditional hot air drying method are compared and analyzed. The drying process of hawthorn cakes is similar to that of the other drying materials. The higher drying temperature causes a faster drying process. But in the initial stage of the heat pump drying process, the water content of the hawthorn cake is not sensitive to the drying temperature, so a lower drying air temperature can be available in order to get a higher coefficient of performance (COP) of the heat pump (HP). The experimental results and the economic analysis indicate that the HPD is feasibly used to dry hawthorn cakes. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.