Mooncake 2008

Hi all,
I am back from my month-long break. I had a tremendously enjoyable and memorable holiday.

Been busy baking mooncakes since my return.

Here's some photos of the 2008 mooncake baking.

For those who are interested in the customised wooden mould that I am using, I had the mould customised with my family name from a shop along Shanghai Street in YauMaTei. The mould cost about HK$200+ in 2004.

This is a standard size and a real mini size mooncake. Loved the mini version! See how mini it is beside the standard one. No cutting needed, just pop one into the mouth...how convenient!


Cross-section of the mini white lotus paste mooncake.


A pretty box for the standard size mooncake.


Packing and sealing of the mooncakes.


Moulding of the Chip and Dale mooncakes.


Ingredient: (10 standard mooncakes-150g and 8 mini ones-25g)
300g plain flour (I used White Wings)
90g peanut oil
195g golden syrup (I used 100g Abram Lyles + 95g Taikoo)
1.5 tsp alkaline water

Filling:
1kg lotus seed paste
10 salted egg yolks (optional)
roasted melon seeds (optional)

Egg wash:
1 yolk + 1 tsp water lightly beaten and strain

Method:
1. Mix peanut oil, golden syrup and alkaline water together in a big cup and stir till mixture is well combine.
2. Sieve plain flour into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the flour and pour in the warm syrup. Mix till a dough is formed. Cover the mixing bowl with a wet towel and rest the dough for 15 -20 minutes.
3. Divide dough and filling according to the size of your mould. Shape the dough into a round flat sheet with sides thinner than the centre.
4. Wrap in the filling and mould it into a ball shape. Coat it with flour.
5. Dredge wooden mooncake mould with flour, brush away any excess. Put the mooncake into the mould. Flatten it with your floured palms and make sure that the mooncake fills up the mould nicely.
6. To dislodge the mooncake, bang the mould on a hard surface with equal force in the north, south, east and west direction.
7. Place mooncakes on a lined pan and spray the mooncakes with some water. Bake at 180C - 190C for 18 - 20 minutes. Remove from oven, cool the cakes for 15 - 20 minutes then apply egg wash and bake for another 15 - 20 minutes or till golden brown. As every oven varies, please standby to check on your mooncakes. This temperature and timing is for a 150g standard size mooncakes.
8. Store cooled mooncakes in an airtight container and serve only after 3 days.

Notes:
Salted egg yolks
I soaked the yolks in Chinese wine (紹興酒 or 玫瑰露) for 15 minutes.
I used raw yolks but you can bake it at 160C for 2 - 3 minutes.
If you are adding in egg yolk, wrap the yolk in the lotus seed paste.

Melon Seeds
I love to add melon seeds to my paste as it gives it an extra crunch and it occupies space so you use less paste...healthier...maybe!
I roast the melon seed in the oven at 160C and when they start popping, you can remove them from the oven.
Cool them before kneading into your lotus seed paste.

Scale
My mooncake mould can hold a total of 150g, so I used 48g pastry and 102g filling.
102g filling means lotus seed paste + melon seeds + salted egg yolk = 102g.
Of course you can use less pastry and more filling or vice versa depending on your preference.