Moon Cake Festival

Moon Cake

This year mooncake day falls on the 8th of September,2014.This year,I indulge myself in making mooncakes.Yes,lots and lots of them.I really put my heart into it.Two years ago,I did not make it quite successfully.The skin of the mooncakes were thick and were nor so beautiful.but today,I've achieved my accomplishment!I can't say I am a pro yet.

When I was young,I do not like mooncakes,but my late father loves mooncakes so much that he always bought it himself every year.Even if it were just a piece(but I think he bought it in a pack of 3)At that time, the mooncakes were all very sweet(I think he must have love the sweetness very much).As I grew older,I began to slowly like mooncakes.

Nowadays,they have lessen the sugar.There were also not many varieties to choose from back then,only I can remembered certain types of paste like lotus,red beans or green beans paste,then chocolate ,yam,durian and then getting more and more varieties like dragon fruit,green tea,custard,just to name a few.I couldn't name it all.I found out that the custard one is the most delicious.Then,also came the snowskin type with no bake.Very colourful!You can make many colours as you like.



 

custard paste mooncake





Snowskin mooncake



There's also the jelly mooncake.Oh!Life is getting colourful and beautiful!

For the mooncake pastry:(small mooncake ,makes 10)

150g self-raising flour
60g golden syrup
60g honey syrup
1tsp alkaline water
20g canola oil(3 tbsp)

Mehod:

Mix well golden syrup,honey,oil and alkaline water.Then put in the self-raising flour and mix with a spatula.Cover with a clean plastic wrap.Leave to rest for half an hour.
Roll the dough into long strip and divide into 10 pieces.(each weighing about 30g)Make into small round balls.

For the filling:

300g lotus paste
50g almond flakes

Mix the lotus paste and almond flakes together into a dough.Roll into long strips and divide to 10 round balls each( weighing about 40g)
Now take a ball of pastry,flatten it and put the filling in.Seal the edges and make to round balls again.
Press it in the press mould to form the shape.Bake it in the oven at 200°C for 5 mins.Take it out and glaze with egg wash.Put it back into the oven and bake it for 10 mins or until it turns golden brown.
(do the sames for the red bean fillings)

CUSTARD MOONCAKES
(I found this recipe from youtube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81xenrWsEL8

Note:I skip the salted egg yolk because I don't like it.

CUSTARD MOONCAKES RECIPE:

Fillings:16-18 pcs

60g sugar
25 g custard powder
25 g milk powder
20 g cake flour 
110 ml coconut milk
40 g unsalted butter

1 egg yolk
1/4 tsp salt
8 salted duck egg yolk

Skin:16-18 pcs

230 g cake flour
130 g unsalted butter
75 g sugar
1/2 egg
25 ml coconut milk
20 g custard powder

Method For The Filling:

1.Put custard powder,milk powder,cake powder,sugar and salt in a bowl.
2.In another bowl,beat egg with coconut milk.Add to the flour mixture.
3.Cut the salted egg yolk into small pieces and put into a bowl together with the unsalted
butter.Steam the salted egg mixture and the custard mixture for 15-20 minutes.Take 
out and mix the yolk mixture into the custard mixture.Cover and leave overnight in
the refrigerator.
4.Knead into a dough and measure 20 g per piece.

Method For The Skin:

1.In a bowl,beat butter and sugar together.Add egg,coconut milk,cake flour and custard
powder togrther.Mix well to form a dough.
2.Refrigerate for 1/2 hour.Measure 25 g per piece.Flatten and put the custard ball and wrap
it up into a ball.Press with a mooncake cutter onto a baking tray lined with greaseproof
paper.
Bake at pre-heated oven 200°C for 10 minutes.

Note:As I want a fuller shape using the same mooncake press as the uploader,I used 25 g skin dough and 30 g custard fillings.Can also reduced to 24 g skin dough and 29 g custard fillings.I find it more nice looking taller than shorter.

SNOW SKIN MOONCAKE:
(I have forgotten where this recepi came from,I think taken from the shop where I buy the mooncakes ingredients.They always gave free recepies)

150g koh fen(cooked glutinous rice flour)
150g icing sugar
50g shortening
few drops of pandan essence/colouring
200ml iced water

1.Sieve koh fen and icing sugar in a large bowl.
2.Mix all ingredients into a dough.Let it rest for 10 mins in the fridge.
3.Scale 35g of dough and wrap with 50g of filling.
4.Shape it using the press mooncakes moulds.
5.Refrigerate to have a nice cool mooncakes.

This year we celebrated it in style,under the moonlite eating mooncakes with tea.Lanterns were hung everywhere around our house.Fortunatley,there were no rain.



This is for my daughter who couldn't drink tea,
but drink chrysanthemum tea instead

This year we ate a lot of mooncakes

1.I make a lot of mooncakes

2.we ate free at the church

3.given free by Hotlink(mobile)at a park

The next day,we went to a park called friendship park where a lot of youngters and elderly people went there to hand lanterns on the tree.Every year,people of all sorts of life flock to the park here to celebtate the mid-auturm festival.The park lit brightly and beautifully.There were lanterns everywhere.Many of the younsters played the flying lantern called "Kung Ming Tern" in chinese.(almost like the shape of a hot air balloon,if that's how you called it)This year was different.I noticed a new restaurant opened at the park.The restaurant was kept emptied for a long time and now someone reopened it making it more merrier!There were also lion dance.
I,on the other hand,went there to sell drinks.





The mould that I used

I hope to make a better mooncakes again next year.