Mini Baked Mooncakes

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I am only lucky once with mini baked mooncakes and remember last year the skin was quite hard even after a few days. After a test bake this year, I’m definitely more ready to do a bigger batch of 31 pieces x 58g each.

I feel the traditional baked mooncakes looked best with the traditional patterns, somehow those cute rabbits, flowers doesnt pop up well. Somehow I realise I only have small mooncake moulds like 55g and doesnt have bigger ones. So it’s going to be shopping time again!

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My recommended proportion of skin and filling is always 30% of skin to 70% filling.

Ingredients:
Hong Kong Flour 116g
Golden Syrup 66g
Peanut Oil 30g
Alkaline Water 1/2 tsp

Egg Wash:
1 Egg Yolk
1/4 tsp Oil
1/4 tsp Milk

Method:
1. Combine golden syrup, oil and alkaline water together well using a small whisk.
2. Add in sifted Hong Kong Flour (I’m using Prima brand).
3. Combine to form a dough and transfer to cling wrap and wrap well.
4. You will find the dough is sticky and very soft now which is perfectly fine cos it will stiffen up once the flour absorbs the liquid ingredient.
5. Leave the dough aside for 4 hrs.
6. Start to wrap your mooncakes as per usual.
7. Lightly spray on the mooncakes (not direct, a 90° angle so the droplets doesnt hit the mooncakes surface directly).
8. Bake at 160° for 10 mins.
9. Leave to cool for 15 mins.
10. Apply egg wash lightly with a brush.
11. Bake for another 160° for 10 mins.

公仔饼

We’re into the 2nd year of the pandemic and things just arent looking better, in Singapore we It’s the mooncake season again! And every year I will bring out my excel file with all the previous year information e.g. proportion, recipes, schedule and do all the calculation like how much I need to buy, how many mooncakes I intend to make. I even have a schedule so that I dont get stress over what I need to make. Thinking process ahead and you can immediately jump into action.

Started this year baking with 公仔饼! Didnt have much luck previously but this year I’m lucky! The pastry is perfect that it’s already soft the next day. Gotten a new mould and love how the shape looks like. New baking tools never fail to motivate me!

I tried 2 batches – Cake Flour and Hong Kong Flour and Hong Kong Flour is the to-go choice!

Ingredients:
42g Golden Syrup
20g Peanut Oil
1/4 tsp Alkaline Water
72g Hong Kong Flour (I am using Prima brand)

Egg Wash
2 tbsp beaten egg
Few drops of oil
Few drops of milk

1) Mix golden syrup, peanut oil and alkaline water well
2) Add in sifted flour
3) Use a scraper to form a soft dough
4) Cover surface with clingwrap and leave aside for 3 hrs
5) Mould dough into various shape or into moulds
6) Bake at 160 degrees for 10 mins
7) Bring out to cool for 10 mins
8) Lightly brush with egg wash
9) Bake again at 160 degrees for 12 mins or until golden brown

I cant really remember where I got the recipe from so I cant give credit to the owner.

Baked Mooncakes

I have not done baked mooncakes for years. Aint too happy with the color, this year with more time to plan literally plan which day to bake which type, what paste to use, the amount of paste to use and who is it for. I used 2 types of paste this time, Salt & Sweet Lotus Paste and Honey Osmanthus Lotus Paste. The Salt & Sweet Lotus remind me largely of Tau Sah Piah while the Honey Osmanthus gives a light refreshing scent.

I like that the skin which is not too sweet hence the color isnt too dark (sugar syrup).

I was hesitating whether to attempt again but well, some recent departure (not related) led me to think when it is the next time. Humans are so prone to procrastination, thinking that there will always be opportunity but sometimes things are so unexpected that leave you no time for “next time”.

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Recipe and Method from Kwang Cheong Thye
300g Hong Kong Flour
200g Mooncake Syrup
80g Peanut Oil
1/2 tsp Lye Water

Method:
1. In a plastic bag, measure mooncake Syrup, Oil and Lye Water. Twist tight the plastic bag and give it a good shake.
2. Measure in Hong Kong Flour and twist tight the plastic bag and give is another a good shake.
3. With one hand holding the twisted opening, use ur palm to combine the dough in the plastic bag till the dough leaves the plastic bag clean.
4. Leave the dough in room temperature aside for at least 2 hrs.
5. Measure the skin and dough to your mooncake mould size.
6. Bake at 200 degrees for 5 mins and bring out to rest for 5 mins before applying egg wash.
7. Egg Wash – 1 egg yolk + 1 tsp mooncake syrup and 1 tbsp water
8. After brushing egg wash, bake at 180 degrees for another 10-12 mins.
9. Skin will mature after 3 days of leaving in a container

Snowskin Mooncakes

Yr 2020 has changed a lot of people’s lives, it has put a big test to us, drastically changed the way we live or to re-live, the way businesses are run.

It is an unfortunate pandemic, I’ve to say in a way I’m grateful, giving me the opportunity to spend limited time with my family, we’ve all learn to be more tolerant towards one another, the 2 months circuit breaker has all of us learning to live with one another 24 hours, planning shopping list so as to reduce going out and planning meals. I’ve cooked a lot more, attempted new dishes, baked again.

Daily routine from spending 2.5hrs on travel to now resting more, cooking more, feeding the family better and a more relaxed and calm oneself. No more “essential” communication, to now focus well, working more effectively, more thoughts on how to improve work quality.

Finally I have the time to start planning my mooncakes early this year, I have a whopping 7kg of different lotus paste this year so excel sheet drawn up, recipes re-look, counting the no of mooncakes I need is so much fun! Shopping for new paste, new moulds, new packaging and a brand new set of MyFlavors gel coloring is just so exciting! I started by baking Shanghai mooncakes, and now I have snowskin and baked too!

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Basque Burnt Cheesecake

The in-dessert now! Basque Burnt Cheesecake and it’s so easy to make, you just need to have 2 key ingredients – cream cheese and whipping cream.

Best served after an overnight chill in the fridge, it’s either you like or you dont like the burnt taste. Well, a good dessert for the occasional treat.

I checked a few recipes and most of them use either 200g or 220g  cream cheese so I modified slightly to use up all the 250g cream cheese I have.

250g cream cheese
3 eggs
20g Cake Flour
95g caster sugar
140g whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1. Remember to bring out the cream cheese to soften it.
2. Using a handheld mixer, soften the cream cheese with caster sugar.
3. Add the beaten egg and mix well after each addition.
4. Add in whipping cream followed by cake flour and vanilla bean paste
5. Bake at 220 degrees for 30 mins and grill the top for 3-4 mins for the burnt effect.