MOON CAKE LOTUS RECIPES

Steps:

• First, prepare the lotus seeds by soaking them in water for 6-8 hours. When they become soft, break each seed in half with your fingers. If you find sprouts between halves, remove them.
• Place soaked lotus seeds in a cooking pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil; then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 2 hours, until the water becomes milky and the lotus seeds start falling apart.
• Transfer cooked lotus seeds and their liquid to a blender, and pulse until smooth and velvety. Then, transfer this mixture into a non-stick skillet and warm up over medium heat.
• Add the vegetable oil gradually one-third at a time, and stir constantly until absorbed. Then, add salt and caster sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves completely. If you prefer a saltier filling, increase the amount of salt. Keep stirring until the paste thickens and the liquid evaporates. The paste is ready when it reaches a dough-like texture. Transfer it to a plate and leave to cool.
• Meanwhile, prepare the mooncake dough. Put the dietary alkali in a large bowl and mix with 1/2 tsp water until dissolved. Add honey and groundnut oil and whisk until blended. Then, fold in the flour using a spatula until soft and sticky dough is formed.
• Transfer the dough to a large piece of plastic wrap, wrap it up and leave to rest at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
• Crack the salted eggs one by one into a small bowl. Gently fish out the egg yolk with a slotted spoon or a mesh spoon and transfer to a big bowl filled water to remove the remains of egg whites. Strain the yolks, gently dry with a paper towel, and arrange on a plate.
• Now, assemble the mooncakes. For a 50g (1.75 oz) mooncake, the total weight of filling (egg yolk + lotus seed paste) should be 35g (1.2 oz). For instance, for a 15g (0.5 oz) egg yolk, you will need 20g (0.7 oz) of lotus seed paste. First, measure the weight of each yolk on a kitchen scale. Then, add enough lotus seed paste, so the total weight is 35g (1.2 oz).
• Roll each portion of lotus seed paste into a ball, then press it in the palm of your hand to form a flat disc. Place a salted egg yolk in the middle, and gently gather the edges of the lotus seed paste using your thumb and index finger, so the paste envelopes the egg yolk. Roll into a ball and repeat with the remaining egg yolks and lotus seed paste portions.
• Now, divide the dough into 15g (0.5 oz) portions. The amount of dough from this recipe is enough for 20 mooncakes, so be precise. Arrange the portions of dough on a clean plate, take one, and cover the rest with plastic wrap.
• Lightly flour your hands. Roll one portion of dough into a ball, then press with the palm of your hand to get a flat disc. Place the filling ball in the middle and gently stretch the edges of the dough using your thumb and index finger, so the dough wraps the filling completely. Seal the edges on the top, so the seam is invisible and roll into a ball. Repeat with the remaining portions of dough and filling balls and lightly flour each mooncake-to-be.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a baking tray with parchment or a silicone baking sheet.
• While the oven is heating up, shape the mooncakes using a mooncake press. Roll each mooncake into an elongated ball which fits the opening of your mooncake press. Gently place the mooncake into the press, and press down on a baking tray. Leave enough room between mooncakes. Place the baking tray in the oven and bake for 5 minutes.
• In the meantime, make the egg wash by whisking 1 egg yolk with 1 tbsp of egg white. After 5 minutes of baking, lightly brush each mooncake with some egg wash. Return the mooncakes to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes.
• Cool the mooncakes on a wire rack to a room temperature. Then, transfer the mooncakes into a food container and seal well. Let them stand for 1-2 days to become soft and moist, and then serve.

Steps:

• Liquid soap is an alkaline aqueous solution with a complex composition. If you can't buy it, you can mix edible soda noodles and water in a ratio of 1:3 instead (for example, 10 g of soda noodles with 30 g of water can make 40 g of soap). Add liquid water to the invert syrup, stir and mix well. Add peanut oil to the mixed syrup and stir to mix well. Pour in flour and milk powder and knead into a dough. Wrap the kneaded dough with plastic wrap and let it stand for 1 hour. Prepare raw salted egg yolks (note that cooked salted egg yolks are not recommended). If your salted egg yolk is fishy, soak the salted egg yolk in vegetable oil for half an hour to remove the fishy smell. After the dough is set aside, divide it into small portions as needed. Divide the lotus paste filling into corresponding small portions. The ratio of the skin to the filling is 2:8. For example, if you want to make 100 grams of moon cakes, divide the dough into 20 grams, and the lotus paste filling and egg yolk will be 80 grams.
• Divide 1 lotus paste filling into two pieces, and put egg yolk in the middle. The lotus paste filling with egg yolk is rolled into a circle. Take a pie crust dough and flatten it in the palm of your hand. (The crust dough is sticky, so you need to pat some flour on your palm to prevent sticking) Put the lotus paste filling in the middle of the dough. Use both hands to slowly push up the cake crust to wrap the lotus seed paste. Continue to push up until the lotus seed paste is completely covered. Pay attention to the strength, try to make the pie crust evenly thick and not reveal the filling
• After being wrapped, it becomes a round ball. Pat a little flour on the ball to make it easy to demould later. Put the ball dough into the moon cake mold. Press the moon cake mold directly on the baking tray to press out the moon cake pattern (do not apply oil on the baking tray, and do not put anti-sticky things on the baking tray, but tin foil can be used). When it comes to mooncake molds, it's OK. Spray some water on the surface of the mooncakes and bake them in a preheated oven at 200 degrees. Bake for about 5 minutes. After the mooncake pattern is finalized, take it out and brush the surface with egg yolk water (only brush the surface, not the side), then put it in the oven, bake it until the surrounding is a waist drum, and the cake crust is evenly colored. . It takes about 20 minutes to bake in total (the time is for reference, please adjust according to the actual situation of the oven)