Mooncakes with Yolks and Lotus Seed Paste Fillings

中文菜谱： 蛋黄莲蓉月饼

2016 Mid-Autumn Day is September 15.  It is a traditional Chinese festival to celebrate harvest time, family and friendship.  Yes, it is kind of like Thanksgiving Day.  Mooncakes will be served as the traditional dessert on this special day. 

I love to make them from scratch every year not just because it is fun to do so, but also because I am trying to create the taste of home for my own family O(∩_∩)O~

Mooncakes with yolks and lotus seed paste may sound bizarre.  As a matter of fact, they are so tasty that they remain the number one flavor on my mooncake list.  The combination of salted duck egg yolks and sweet creamy lotus seed paste is very pleasantly balanced and wonderfully tasty. 

I posted how to make salted duck eggs before too. 

The whole salted duck egg process takes about a month.  So I made a batch one month ahead of time. 

Do not boil the eggs.  For this recipe, we need raw duck eggs.

Crack them into a small bowl. 

Spoon the yolks onto a baking pan.

Spray them with rice wine.  I use Vodka. 

Bake in an oven preheated to 375/190C for 8 minute

I am planning to use 50 g mooncake mold.  So the whole yolks need to be sliced into halves.  Otherwise, they would be too big in the cakes.

Each of them weighs between 9 to 12 g. 

The ready to use version duck yolks are available in most Chinese grocery store.  You can find them in frozen food section. 

Don’t forget to thaw them under room temperature before using.

Cut them into halves too. 

Now we can move on to lotus seed paste.

For the lotus seed paste：

300 g dried lotus seeds
water for boiling
130 to 150 g oil
280 to 300 g sugar

Boil the lotus seeds in water for about 90 minutes.  Puree them with a hand blender or in a food processor. Transfer to a nonstick pan.  Sautee over medium high heat; stir constantly.  Add sugar and oil in between.  Cook until the paste is thick and has the texture of apple butter. 

Completely cool down to room temperature before using. 

With a digital kitchen scale, divide the paste into 25 g each, 35 g each if no yolks is added later. 

Pat them down a little bit and add a piece of yolk.  My friend’s hand is posing here O(∩_∩)O~

Wrap it up.  Repeat until all yolks are done. 

The mooncake recipe is adapted from : http://web.wenxuecity.com/BBSView.php?SubID=cooking&MsgID=472418

For the dough:

150 g cake flour
75 golden syrup
40 g oil
1/2 teaspoon lye water  (also available in Asian grocery store)
a pinch of salt
egg yolk wash

Preheat the oven to 375F/191C

Mix flour, syrup, oil, lye water and salt together

With a digital kitchen scale, divide it into 15 g pieces. 

Gently press them down with fingers.   Add the fillin 

And then wrap it up. 

I use 50 g mooncake molds

Use the mooncake mold to shape each of them.  Transfer to large cookie pan lined with baking mat

Bake in the oven for 5 minutes.  Take them out and brush with egg yolk wash. 

Send them back to oven to bake for another 15 minutes or until they are nicely golden brown. 

They need to sit in an air-tight box for a couple days before serving.  These extra couple days will help the mooncake to develop their flavors and textures. 

Pack them in pastry boxes and send them as nice little surprise gifts to my friends.

Happy Mid-Autumn Day! O(∩_∩)O~

Pan-fried buns with Pork and Zucchini Filling

中文：猪肉西葫芦烙饼

It is zucchini season!  There are zucchinis everywhere in the farmer’s market.  They are fresh, they are cheap, and the most important thing is that they go well with almost everything. 

Next time you don’t know what to do with your zucchinis, try this pan-fried version.  They are pretty awesome! O(∩_∩)O~

For pork and zucchini filling：

5 large zucchinis
350 to 400g ground pork
3 to 4 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice cooking wine
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger / ginger powder
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 stalk of green onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 cup of chicken stock
1 to 2 tablespoon oil
salt to taste

For the buns：

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 to 3/4 cup of water
oil (for pan frying)

Directions：

 I posted zucchini dumplings before

Zucchini is a high water content vegetable.  Adding zucchini directly to the filling might turn the filling into a mushy mess.  So I use half-dried zucchinis in both dumplings and buns.   The flavor is more intense and texture is better too.

Slice the zucchinis and dry them under the sun or in a food dehydrator until the volume reduce to half or one third. 

Add to a food processor

Finely chopped

 In a large bowl, add ground pork, soy sauce, rice cooking wine, oyster sauce, ground ginger, ground white pepper, green onion, sesame oil, chicken stock, oil and salt.  With a pair of chopsticks, whisk the pork and seasonings until everything is well combined. 

Add chopped zucchini

Mix well again. 

Whiling preparing the filling, I use a bread machine to make the dough.

Add flour, water, salt and oil to the bread machine.  Start dough process.

After the dough is done, leave it to rest in the bread machine for 10 minutes. 

Transfer the dough to a well dusted wooden board

Equally divide into 8 pieces 

With a small rolling pin, roll each piece thin and flat.

Add pork filling

Wrap them up

Cover with oiled plastic wrap and allow them to rest for another 10 minutes.

Use a small rolling pin to gently roll the bun into 1/3 or 1/2 inch thic

Heat a small cast iron pan over medium low heat.

Add oil and then buns.  Cover with lid.  Pan fry the bun until both sides are golden brown.  It takes about 4 to 6 minutes each side. 

Serve immediately. 

You don’t need fork and knife.  Our traditional way is hold it in hand like this. 

Bon Appétit!  O(∩_∩)O~

Mini Cactus Brownie Cakes

中文菜谱： 多肉植物盆栽布朗尼小蛋糕

I made these adorable mini cactus brownie cakes for a party.  Everyone was impressed!  Some people even thought they were real plants! O(∩_∩)O~

I made four different cactus plants.  Maybe next time I can try more other plants.

Ingredients:

For the cactus plants：

1/2 package of fondant
gel food coloring (green, brown, purple, pink and yellow)
fondant adhesive

For the pots：

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/3 to 1/2 cup coco powder
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, cut into small cubes
4 to 5 tablespoons cold water

24 mini brownies
Oreo cookies
chocolate ganache

Directions：

I make cactus plants ahead of time.  Divide the fondant into three parts.  Take two parts and add green food coloring.

Add little by little until you get the color you like.  Don’t add too much at one time.  It is hard to fix it if the color is too dark.

I also add some brown and purple colors to make them look more real.

With small cookie/fondant cutters, cut the fondant into different shapes and then make them into a complete plant.

I add a little more brown coloring to make some of them darker.

I also make some pink, yellow and white flowers.

After the plants are done, I move on to the pots.

Preheat the oven to 400F/ 204C

Add flour, coco powder, butter and salt to a food processor.

Chop them together while adding cold water from the top.

With a large rolling pin, roll the dough into a large thin flat.  Cut into 24 small round pieces. 

Flip a mini cupcake pan over.   Place one dough piece on each cupcake mold.  Smooth them out with a spoon or hand.   

With a fork, poke each of them a couple times on the bottom so that they will not pop up during baking process.

When I take the following pictures, I haven’t poked them yet.  Don’t be mistaken that it can be skipped.

Bake in the oven for 12 to 14 minutes.

Allow them to sit for a couple minutes before unmold them.

Now I have 24 dark “clay” pots.

With the same baking mold, I bake 24 mini brownies.

Transfer the brownies to the pots.   Use a sharp knife to even brownie tops.

Spoon 1 to 2 teaspoons chocolate ganache over each pot

Add Oreo cookies to a food processor, chop Oreo cookies into fine “dirt”

Sprinkle the pot with Oreo “dirt”

Don’t they look like really flower pots?

Top with cactus plants.

Now you have a mini cactus garden in a box!

Ok, time to take them out to fool some friends! O(∩_∩)O~

Pan-fried Chinese Buns with Pork and Shiitake Mushrooms Filling

中文：生煎全麦香菇肉包

Got some really good and fresh shiitake mushrooms during my last grocery trip near Detroit.  I use some to make pan-fried Chinese buns with pork.  And they are fantastic! O(∩_∩)O~

Vinegar and chili sauce is a popular dipping sauce for pan-fried buns.  It is refreshing and enhances the flavors.

Ingredients for the bun dough：

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 to 2 tablespoons gluten flour
1/2 to 1/3 cup of warm water
1 teaspoon yeast
1 to 2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 to 2 teaspoon oil
 

For pork and shiitake mushrooms filling：

2/3 to 1 cup ground pork
6 large fresh shiitake mushrooms
1 to 2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1tablespoon rice cooking wine
4 to 6 tablespoons chicken stock/ water
a pinch of freshly ground ginger
salt to taste

For pan-frying：

2 to 4 tablespoons oil
1/3 to 1/2 cup of water
chopped green onion
white sesame seeds
 

Directions：

The dough takes longer time to make so I start with bun dough.

In the stand mixer mixing bowl, add all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, gluten flour, sugar and salt.  Mix them with hand or a whisk. 

Make a well in the middle of the flour.  Add warm water; sprinkle with yeast and let it sit for 5 minutes. 

Stand mixer kneads the dough at speed 2 until the dough is smooth and elastic.  It takes between 10 to 15 minutes.

Cover the bowl with lid. The dough proofs for 25 to 35 minutes.  It doesn’t have to double in size.  

When waiting for the dough to be ready, I make the pork and shiitake mushrooms filling.

In a medium mixing bowl, add ground pork, soy sauce, ground white pepper, oyster sauce, sugar, rice cooking wine, ground ginger and salt.  Mix them well.  The best tool to do this is a pair of chop sticks.

When whisking with chop sticks, slowly add chicken stock/ water.  Don’t worry about the filling getting too thin.  Ground pork will absorb the liquid. 

Clean the shiitake mushroom with a damp towel or rinse them under running if there is a lot of dirt.  Pat day with kitchen towel and add to food processor.

Chop finely

Add to the pork and mix well again.

Gently knead the dough to get rid of any large air bubbles.  Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit for another 10 minutes.

Evenly divide the dough into small pieces.  I like to make small buns so I divide it into 28 small pieces of dough.

Press down the dough with palm.  With a small rolling pin, roll the dough edge thin.

Add two to three tablespoons of pork filling to the center.

Wrap it up

Repeat the process until all 28 are done.

Cover them with plastic wrap and proof for another 10 to 15 minutes.

Heat a 12 inches cast iron skillet over medium high heat. 

Add oil and then the buns.  Pan fry for about 1 minute.  Add water and cover with lid.

When the water is almost gone, which takes between 6 to 10 minutes, reduce the heat to medium low.  Cook for another 4 to 6 minutes.  It will cook buns bottom to be golden brown, crispy, crunchy and yummy. 

Serve immediately with bottom side up. 

In winter time, I like to serve with the cast iron skillet so that they would stay hot for longer time.

They go really great with sweet rice vinegar and chili sauce!

Matcha Macarons

中文： 抹茶马卡龙

Yes, I am so obsessed with macarons and I always try to perfect my recipe. O (∩_∩) O~

Through experiments, I make some tiny modifications to my previous macaron recipe.  A little bit change makes huge difference in the finished products.  You can see in the picture that the feet and the skirts improve a lot.

The matcha powder I bought just arrived.  So I make a batch of matcha macarons.

Ingredients:

2 large egg whites
110 g powder sugar
45 g granulated sugar
54 g almond flour
8 g matcha powder (super fine green tea powder)
a pinch of cream of tartar

Direction:

Combine powder sugar, matcha powder and almond flour.  Pour the mixture into food processor. 

Run the process for about 10 seconds. 

Shift the flour mixture through a flour shifter or strainer.

Discard any big almond pieces.

Add cream of tartar to the egg whites.  Beat the egg whites with an electric whisk.

Beat at low speed for about 1 minute.  Switch to medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes.  And then beat at high speed for 1 to 2 minutes.  Add sugar in three batches in between.  Stop beating when the stiff peak forms.

It takes about 5 to 6 minutes beating time for the egg whites to form stiff peaks.

Add shifted almond flour mixture.

With a rubber spatula, gently fold the flour mixture into egg whites.

Fold it gently until the batter can fall smoothly like a silky ribbon.

Prepare a 14 inch decorating bag with Wilton NO. 12 tip.  Use a wide mouth drinking glass to help the bag to stand up straight which will make it so much easier to pour the batter.

Fill the pastry bag with almond batter.

Line 2 cookie pans with silicone baking mats.

Squeeze a dollar coin size batter onto the silicone mat, about a quarter inch in height.   Repeat it until all the batter is finished. 

Tap the bottom of the cookie pan when done to smooth the cookie dough tops.

Let the pan sit on countertop until the surface becomes dry to touch.  It might take 30 to 60 minutes depending on the humidity around.

Preheat the oven to 325F.

Bake in the oven for 12 to 14 minutes. 

Allow the cookies to cool down on the silicone mats before removing them. 

Use any filling of your choice: jam, chocolate, cheese, nutella……….  Be creative! 

I love chocolate.  So I use chocolate gouache as the filling here.

Love the macaron feet and skirts

Time to enjoy!