TRADITIONAL MOONCAKE

The 15th day of the Eigth month

In the Chinese calendar

Is 

 the Lantern Festival
or 
widely known as
Mid-Autumn Festival

In the olden days

when we were young

We liked to parade with colourful lanterns 

Which came In different shapes and combination of Colour
all of them had the shape of

birds, flowers, rabbits etc

The best part was

we could choose animal or shape what we like

because mummy always brought us to the shop to buy 

As time went by

battery operated lanterns had been introduced

It was more convenient

not like those days when the candle light

could easily been blown off with the slightest wind

We preferred candle lit ones

because we could buy new ones every year
while battery operated ones were made to last!

Mid-Autumn Festival

Is 

a time for family reunion

The family would gather after dinner
to

enjoy the different types of mooncakes 

and seeping their favorite Chinese tea

Children would have their own programe
Together with their cousins
they lighted their lanterns
and

paraded up and down the road
singing and playing

Making Mooncake can be a tedious job

Nevertheless,

 I am anxious to make

especially 

during this Festive Season

where the whole town is talking about it.

I learnt to make Mooncake quite sometime ago

in a local Community Centre

The method could be old

but 

I have used the modern appliances

to speed up the job!

TRADITIONAL MOONCAKE

Ingredients for Skin:(12 pices)

215g Plain Flour 

60g peanut or corn oil 

140g syrup 
3/4 tsp alkali water 

Filling:

A) 12 salted egg yolk

B) 12 portion of 100g each of Lotus seed paste or red bean paste

     12 tsp of melon seed, roasted

C) egg wash: 1 egg yolk+1 tsp water, strain before using

Method:

1) mix ingredients for skin & leave aside for 3 hours or more

2) clean salted egg yolk with some chinese wine to remove the smell

3) drain and steam egg yolk for 20min until cooked, let cool

4) add 1 tsp melon seeds to a portion of the lotus seed paste & press in

5) wrap an egg yolk inside, make into a ball & put aside

6) after 3 hours, divide skin into 35g each (12 balls)

7) press a ball on your palm & put one filling ball in the centre

8) wrap round the filling by slowly pushing the pastry up & pressing in the filling

9) when completely covered, sieve some flour on the wooden mould 

10) sieve flour on the ball on your hand too, especially the sides

11) press the ball into the mould firmly

12) knock on the side of mould twice, front once & the mooncake will be out

13) leave on a piece of grease proof paper, on the baking tray

14) when all done, bake in preheated oven 180'C for 5-8min

15) remove & quickly spray water on the cakes, let cool for 10min

16) egg wash cakes & bake for another 20min until brown

17) leave to cool on wire rack

Note:

1) The skin will not break easily if you rest the dough at least 3 hours or more

2) mooncake needs to be cooled down immediately after 1st bake

3) how the mooncake look depends on your egg wash. Do not brush too much

4) mooncake taste best when eaten after 1 to 2 days