Shanghai Mooncake

After reading a few different mooncake recipes, I notice Shanghai Mooncake is the easiest one for me. My first tasted Shanghai Mooncake was few years back from my good friend Jane.

I still remember how tasty her Shanghai Mooncake. I miss her a lot really. Those day she freeze many good stuffs that she bake for me then she will bring all in one time when she took leave to visit me. What a blessing!!

This mooncake is very tasty as the pastry is totally different from the traditional mooncake. The buttery pastry is so fragrant to go with the less sweet lotus paste. I served the cell group and everyone thumbs up. Definately make this again not only for mid autumn festival but all year round.

Recipe adapted from my favorite blogger eileen

150g plain flour

50g icing sugar

25g milk powder
12g custard powder
3/4tsp baking powder
50g shortening
25g vegetable oil
1 medium egg
216Lotus paste
216 Sesame Lotus paste

1. Mix all the dry ingredient together until well combined.
2. Rub in the shortening with fingers tip. Then gradually add in the vegetable oil. And finally mix in the egg.
3. Divide the dough into 12 portions at 29g each. Flatten each dough and wrap in the fillings.
4. Egg wash the pastry and bake in a 180C preheated oven for 20 minutes until golden brown.

Purple Sweet Potato Cheese Bread

Using root vegetables is really a good idea to make our bread softer and fluffier which we don't have to add any chemical agent for homemade bread.

I have been using my comfort root vegetables recipe for years such as potato, sweet potato, pumpkin and purole sweet potato and this time I like to give a try on my favorite food blogger recipe, eileen. I replace the potato to purple sweet potato. 

The bread is very soft and  fluffy. As it will be served as our dinner roll and sandwich bun, I sprinkle  some cheddar on top for extra texture. Will keep this recipe as another choices of root vegetable bread making in our menu. 

Recipe:

300g bread flour

130g purple sweet potato (steamed  and mashed) 

50g caster sugar

1/4 tsp salt

17g  whole egg

8g yeast

80g fresh milk

50g unsalted butter

Add all the ingredients in a bread pan except yeast and fit it into the bread maker. Turn on the bread maker. Choose program 11 and press the START button. Knead for 15 minutes. Restart the bread maker and start from program 11 again and add yeast this time and continue for the kneading process until machines stop.

Turn off the bread maker then take out the bread pan and cover with cling film. Let it proof for 1 hour.

Divide the dough into 9 equal pieces about 70g. Cover with cling wrap and rest for 10 minutes.

Roll each dough into a smooth and round ball shape. Place them on a baking tray attached with baking paper. Cover with cling wrap and proof for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 190C. Egg wash the dough and sprinkle with some cheddar cheese on top. Bake for 20 minutes on the lower rack.

Take out the buns from the oven and transfer the bread on a wire rack and tear off the baking paper to cool.  

Traditional Mooncake

I am not sure what has motivate me on making mooncake this year. As for me, I don't enjoy mooncake very much or may be just had a piece during the actual day of mid autumn festival. When I passed by a baking supply shop recently, I saw many people was grabbing their mooncake ingredients and mould ready to make their very best products for family, I curious! I even heard some lady said making moon cake is actually very easy because nowadays many ready lotus paste, we just need to make the mooncake skin. That I curious too! I hop over my most respect and favorite blogger Happy Home Baking website and took a look and read through her recipe. Then my hand start itchy and try to make some. Here came out my very first attempt of traditional mooncake.

I start with a small mould as I afraid I couldn't handle the dough well. I am quite enjoying in the process of making. Rolling and shaping is fun actually. The texture is nice as I manage to wrap it with thinner skin. With super low sugar lotus paste, my husband and cell group members enjoy very much.

Very glad I could make it and people enjoy it although I didn't. I must say the quality not as good as those restaurant or branded mooncake. Theirs are really fine products whereas my mooncake is definately very homemade. However, it is good to experience the process.

For better recipe description, please visit HHB

Recipe:

Hong Kong flour 水仙粉 100g

Golden syrup 70g
vegetable oil 20g
Alkaline water 2 - 3g
Lotus paste 420g
Melon seeds 40g

Combine the golden syrup, vegetable oil and alkaline water in a bowl. Mix in the Hong Kong flour 水仙粉 with a spatula fold them until become a smooth dough. Cling warp the dough and chill for overnight.

Mix the lotus paste with Melon seeds then divide into 13 portions, about 35g each.

Divide dough into 13 portions, about 12g to 13g  each. Prepare a cling wrap line on a working surface. Place a dough on the left side and fold the cling wrap from right to left cover the dough.  Use a rolling pin to flatten it to a round disc shape about 8 cm diameter. Open the cling wrap from left to right, take out the cling wrap together with the flatten dough and place on the balm of your hand. Tear off the cling wrap and shape into a ball.

Place the ready ball dough into a mooncake mould to press and release on a baking tray with lined baking tray.

Spray some.water on the ready bake mooncake and bake in 180c preheated oven for 10 minutes at middle rack. Take out the tray from the oven and let them rest for 15 minutes at room temperature.

Egg wash the mooncake and place them back to the oven continue to bake for 15 minutes.

Let it cool on a wire rack when done. After completely cool down then store in an airtight container to leave for 3 days before serve.

Ogura Layer Cake

There are some extra ogura cake left on my previous bakes of profusion cake 缤纷香卷. There are quite messy and broken pieces. However, it is a waste if just throw them away. So I decided  gather them together to make a very small cake in about 5 inches wide and height. To give a nice tasty texture, I go for my favorite lemon curd dressing and sandwich them together with fresh cream.

This little cake tasted very light and refreshing. Imagine the cool and light texture of ogura cake with the lemony curd and accompany with some fresh cream which I don't feel to stop any bite after another, just like eating cloud.

The uneven structure of the layered cake looks quite nice too although they were previously messy and in broken pieces. Now they looks lovely and tasty. 

How I put them together:

Whip 200ml fresh cream with 1 tablespoon confectional sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Keep in the fridge and ready to use.
For the Lemon Curd,  please refer to Lemon gateau recipe. Half the portion for this little cake will do.

On a serving plate, connect and join the broken pieces of strips cakes into spiral circle pattern (pink color first). Apply some fresh cream and a layer of lemon curd. 

Second layer, join the brown color cakes and apply some cream and lemon curd then the third layer join together the grreen cakes. Cover the whole cake with fresh cream then keep in the freezer until the cream harden. Pour leftover lemon cud on the cake and spread evenly. Garnishing with some berries and chill in the fridge  and ready to serve. Best serve cold. 

Profusion Roll 缤纷香卷

Thinking of whether or not to post this recipe as it did not turn out nicely. But finally I did it so as a record and reference for my future attempt.

This is my favorite childhood cake that baked by my dear mum. We always feel so impress whenever mum make this cake. Not only it looks pretty and also yummy as it's served cold.

We miss this cake over the years but mum said she already retired from the kitchen and she lost the recipe too. Oh dear, how can I figure out the recipe as my siblings keep begging me to make this as mum did. With my eye close and head bow over days and nights, trying to recall and imaging how mum did it when I was just 5 years old. Could you imagine how difficult to recall everything after 30 years? Oppss.. I've accidentally mention my age. Hehe....
With my limited baking knowledge and experience, I started to plan from the sponge cake with color using ogura cake recipe.

As for the cream, I knock my head and keep turning my tongue to recall which cream should it be sandwiched in the cake. I am glad that I able to recall the texture and start with experiment with swiss meringue butter cream.

My very first attempt on this cake is quite disappointed for me as I didn't assemble it as nice as mum did. The roll should be in very square shape and each colors inside the roll should be neatly arranged. When my mum saw the cake she knew what went wrong and that tips really help me for my next attempt. The cream between the gaps of each color cakes is too much. It should be half of the cream that I spread so that the color cakes looks more appealing not the cream.

Layer and stacking every strips of the colored cakes really not an easy job. The ogura cake is very light and soft to handle and spreading the cream on them has to be gentle too.

The cake doesn't look neat and nice that my hearts drop into deep sea. However, a little award from the texture and taste that won back a little smile on my face. Closing my eye to have every bite of the cake really feel like I'm eating mama' s wonderful cake. Now, I got to practice until it is well presented and serve my siblings and relatives with mama wonderful creation during Xmas.

Colored ogura cake 36 x 27 cm baking tray

(A)
Vegetable oil 45g
Full cream Milk 60ml
Salt 1/4tsp
Egg yolk 100 g
Whole egg 1
Cake flour 65 g
(B)
Egg white 200g
Caster sugar 65g
Tartar powder 1/2 tsp

1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon green tea matcha powder
2 tablespoon raspberry puree

1. Line the base of a pan with baking paper. Divide three rectangular portion into about 12 X 27cm shape with baking paper. 
2. Mix together ingredients (A). Weight the batter and sperate them into 3 bowls with equal portions. 
3. Mix in the cocoa powder to a portion, green tea another portion and raspberry puree for another portion. Combine well and set aside.
4. Beat the egg whites until frothy then add the tartar powder. Gradually add in the caster sugar in 3 batches and keep beating until stiff peak foam. The meringue is slightly curd to one side when the whisk is lifted up and presenting smooth shinny texture.
5. Weight and divide the meringue into 3 portions and fold them into mixture (A) until well combined. 
6. Pour into the prepared pan each color a roll. Put a tray at the lowest rack in the oven then pour enough of hot water. Place the batter on the second lower rack then steam bake at 160C preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
7. After baked, remove the cake from the oven and unmould and tear of the baking paper and then cool on a wire rack.
8. Once they completely cool down, cut the colored ogura cake into 3 portions and each strips is equally 2 cm thickness. Total is 3 green strips, 3 brown strips and 3 pink strips.ain vanilla sponge roll 38cm x 27cm baking tray

Unsalted butter 40g
Egg yolk 100g
Caster sugar 20g
Egg white 160g
Caster Sugar 75g
Plain flour 55g

• Prepare a baking tray lined with baking paper. Melt the butter than set a side to cool.
• Whisk the egg yolks with sugar in a double boiler until thicken and pale in color. In another bowl whisk the egg whites with caster sugar until peak foam.
• Fold the egg yolks into the egg whites then gently fold in the shifted flour.
• Pour some egg mixture into a clean bowl then mix in the melted butter until well combine.  Pour back into the egg mixture and mix gently until everything well combine.
• Pour the batter into prepared baking tray and spread evenly. Bake at 190C for 12 minutes. Remove the cake from the baking tray immediate when it out from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Tear out the side of the baking paper and let it completely cool down and ready to use.

Swiss meringue butter cream

200 g sugar

120 g egg white

340 g unsalted butter, soft but not too soft

Mix egg white and sugar in a double boiler with hand whisk. Stir until the sugar dissolved.

Remove form the double boiler and beat with electric mixer until stiff peak foam.

Change to a K hook blade start beating at medium high speed and gradually add in butter a cube at a time until a smooth and spreadable cream.

To assemble the cake:

Place the vanilla sponge cake on a piece of cling wrap which is bigger than itself. The sponge cake brown side face up.

Spread about 6 cm wide of SMB on the vanilla sponge  at the left side then place a strips of brown ogura cake at the left side on the cream. Thinly spread some cream around the brown cake then place a strip of green cake beside the brown cake. Spread thinly with cream then place a pink cake on the side. Spread some cream around it. 

Follow the same way above make the second layer start from green, pink and brown then the third layer pink, brown and green. 

Spread evenly the side left, right and top of the layered cake then gently fold the vanilla sponge cake over from right to left. Press lightly and use little cream to seal the gap. Cling wrap the roll and keep refrigerate for overnight. 

Trim the side and slice the cake with a sharp knife straight away down. Do not saw the cake. It is best serve cold.