Homemade Red Bean Mooncake

I'm not a mooncake lover but love to learn how it make it for fun.I requested my aunt to teach me how to make mooncake when I was vacationing in Malaysia during Chinese New Year 2008.She show me her trick of making this sweet cake ,provided me with all her mold.Yes,she gave me a mooncake wooden mold and few doll biscuit wooden mold as gift.This is my first attempt making my own mooncake!!Let's get some information for those who have no idea what it's mooncake and why it's called mooncake.The Moon festival (also called the Mooncake or Mid-Autumn festival) 中秋节 falls on September 14th in the year 2008.In Malaysia and Singapore, it is also sometimes referred to as the Lantern Festival or "Mooncake Festival."This is the ideal time, when the moon is at its fullest and brightest, to celebrate the abundance of the summer's harvest. The traditional food of this festival is the mooncake, of which there are many different varieties. Ingredients:

*Sugar Oil*

1200 kg sugar

900 gm water

1 lime cut 3 pieces

*Dough*

600 gm flour

480 gm sugar oil

150 gm oil

1 tbsp alkaline water(kan sui in Cantonese)(air abu in Malay)

Note:

I bought some ready make lotus paste and red bean paste from Malaysia.My aunt gave me her recipe but I'm too lazy to make the paste since I can find ready make paste at the store.Anyway,I also found store sell ready make lotus paste in Chinatown,NYC.So there is no reason for me to make my own lotus paste!!.Yes,it's take alot of time as I know....phewwww!!

Mini mooncake,cute right ???.Too bad,the design on the cake is not clearly imprint.

_________________________________

Method:

1:Cook sugar oil in advance.Cook until the sugar oil turn caramelize or golden brown.To test the sugar oil texture and readiness,use a drop of cool water mix with sugar oil.If the sugar oil separate the water when mix with cool water,then it's ready.Store up to a year in a tight air container when it's cool down.

2:Mix the dough ingredients together and let it proof for one and half hour before moulding

3:Preheat oven at 250F/130C.Prepare un-greased baking sheet.

4:Divide each filling 40 oz and each dough/skin for 60gm.

5:Wrap each filling with the dough,nicely cover the filling.Press the wrapped mooncake into the mold hard to get the imprint.Knock the mooncake out from the mold if you're using wooden mold .Make sure you knock the mooncake mold on a wooden or tile table or counter edge.

6:Bake the mooncake for 20 minutes.Prepare egg yolk for brushing.Removed the mooncake from oven after 20 minutes baking for brushing.Re-bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.Yield 10-12 regular size mooncake Note:

Accordingly to my aunt,DO NOT EAT mooncake immediately or the day after .Let the mooncake sit for 2 days before serve,it's taste better!.That right I try both day,and she was right!!I make some big mistake as you can see on the mooncake!.I dust my mooncake mold with flour,that why you can't see the mold design clearly.The second mistake it's the measurement conversion..I have hard time convert everything to cup or US measurement,so my dough was a bit too wet and the dough for individual wrapping is too much or too thick.It's supposed to be a thin layer just enough to cover the filling,now the skin is overwhelming.You can see my mooncake was out of shape.The 3rd mistake was the temperature!! I thought 130 C is 325 F!!Big mistake!! That the reason my mooncake look burn or well done!!..Well,as I said this is my first time making mooncake!! I learn hard from this mistake.I still have other lotus flavor..maybe next batch mooncake my skill will be better,hopefully...More mooncake to come.Stay tune!!

You can see my aunt lotus mooncake here!! .Big different right?.lol!!Pardon my inexperience skill:))