Snowskin Mooncakes

By crescent

Every year on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, when the moon is at its maximum brightness for the entire year, the Chinese celebrate the Mid-Autumn festival with dances, feasting and moon gazing. Not to mention mooncakes.

While baked goods are a common feature at most Chinese celebrations, mooncakes are inextricably linked with the Moon festival. One type of traditional mooncake is filled with lotus seed paste. Roughly the size of a human palm, these mooncakes are quite filling, meant to be cut diagonally in quarters and passed around. The salty yolk in the middle, representing the full moon, is an acquired taste.

While in the past mooncakes took up to four weeks to make, automation has speed up the process considerably. Today, mooncakes may be filled with everything from dates, nuts, and fruit to Chinese sausages. More exotic creations include green tea mooncakes, and snowskin mooncakes, a Southeast Asian variation made with cooked glutinous rice flour. There is even a line of ice cream mooncakes.

Ingredients

• Snow Skin Pastry:
• 1 package (500 grams) snow skin premix
• 100 grams shortening
• 230 grams water
• a few drops of flavored food color (I divide into 3 portion, 1 for green tea flavour, 1 for yam flavour, 1 for pandan flavour)
• Mooncake Filling:
• 500 grams ready made white lotus paste (or any other flavour paste)
• some melon seeds
• some salted egg yolks, cooked and halved

Details

Servings 18
Adapted from bakingncooking.wordpress.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Mix the water and the premix together.
2. Add in shortening and food color.
3. Leave aside for about 15 mins - 1 hour.
4. Mix together the ready made paste and the melon seeds. Divide into 45 grams each.
5. Wrap a egg yolk in the center of each paste and roll into a ball.
6. Divide the snow skin pastry into 35 grams each. Wrap the paste ball into the snow skin. Press into mould.
7. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.