Mooncake

*SQUEE*

As I have said before, I'm adverse to Internet clutter! Ads be damned! I found this recipe on line. I'm sure my recipe book has this recipe, but I really don't want to have to haul all 35 boxes down just to get it. This recipe is done by Rhonda Parkinson via GourmAsia. I had to do some editing. According to one reviewer, the dough came out looking like a profiterole (cream puff pastry). That made me laugh. Okay, moving forward.

copyright of GourmAsia

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes


Ingredients:

Filling:

• 1 pound red azuki beans
• water
• 1-3/4 cups sugar
• Agar-agar powder
• Coconut cream
• Condensed milk, to taste

Dough:

• 2 cups flour
• 10 tablespoons water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• Simple syrup (a sugar syrup), honey or another liquid sweetener
• 75 grams cooking oil
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

Equipment:

• Two mooncake molds -- one large, one small.

**Note: If you can't find mooncake molds at a local supermarket, circular drinking glasses of various sizes can be used. The general rule of thumb on baked mooncakes is a ratio of one part skin dough to three parts filling. For example, if the mooncake mold can hold 4 oz of mooncake, then divide that number by four. Thereby, making the mooncake skin dough 1 oz, and the filling 3 oz. If you would like to add a salted egg yolk to the filling, then you would need to weigh it; then subtract that weight from the 3 oz of filling.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 360°F.

2. Soak red beans in water for 2 hours. Drain and discard the water. In a medium pot, pour 8 cups of water and bring to a boil. Add red beans to simmer over low heat for 1 1/2 hours or until skins open. Strain the beans and discard the skins. Place the strained beans in several layers of cheesecloth and squeeze out any excess water.

3. In a medium bowl, heat agar-agar powder and water in the microwave until it bubbles. Add a cup of coconut cream and condensed milk into the bowl.  Mix thoroughly and pour into the smaller molds. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

**Note: The amount used will be determined by the molds. Use a ratio of one teaspoon of agar-agar per cup of liquid. When adding any additional flavorings and food colors, keep in mind that fresh kiwi, fig, papayas, mango, pineapple or peaches affect the agar-agar's consistency.

4. In a mixing bowl, combine golden syrup, cooking oil, baking soda and alkaline water. Mix well. Slowly add the superfine flour with your hand. Mix the ingredients well. The dough will be sticky like taffy. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and set aside for at least 3 hours or up to 3 days.

5. Knead the dough after the resting period to make it more pliable. As you knead it, the color of the dough whitens; when you stretch it out, it becomes smoother and less likely to break.

**Note: If you’re planning to use salted egg yolks in your filling, you would need to separate the yolks from the egg; steam it for 10 minutes over medium-low heat. Let it cool before using.

6. Enclose the egg yolk in red bean paste filling. Take some of the skin dough and form a disc. Gently but firmly, push the skin dough around the filling. Check often to see if there are any breaks in the dough.

7. Press the ball of dough and filling with the mooncake mold to impart the design. Set the molded cake on to a greased tray.

8. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven to cool for 10 minutes.

9. Lightly brush the top and sides of the cake with an egg yolk wash.