Traditional Lotus Paste Moon Cake

These moon cakes are considered by some to be the original and most luxurious mooncake filling, lotus paste filling is found in all types of mooncakes. There are single yolk, double yolk and vegetarian types in these. Single yolk are the ones which have one salted egg yolk right in the centre representing the bright moon, double yolk are the ones which have two egg yolks side by side and vegetarian are without egg yolk....

SERVES: 10 MOON CAKES
INGREDIENTS

For the Cover
(Hong Kong Plain flour 300gm
Golden syrup (Lyle's Brand) 175 gm
Egg 1
Peanut Oil 7 tbsp
Alkaline Water ½ tsp
Filling
Melon Seeds 100gm
Lotus paste 2 kg
Salted egg yolk 10 (if you want)
Method
1. Sieve the flour, make a well in the centre and add in golden syrup, peanut oil, and alkaline water and mix everything together. (do not knead) Leave this paste for ½ day for resting.

2. If you want to make the dough and keep then make the moon cakes in the evening then add more oil and golden syrup other wise the dough will become dry and the moon cakes will crack.

3. So its best to make the dough in the morning and leave it for resting till afternoon and make the moon cakes in the afternoon.
4. Mix the lotus paste with oil and knead till it is smooth. Add the melon seeds and mix. Make small balls of the lotus paste about 150 gm each.

5. If add the egg yolk then wrap the egg yolk in the lotus paste and the weight of both together should be 150gm each.

6. Divide the dough into small balls of about 50gm each. Dust little flour and lightly knead the flour. Then again dust a little flour and flatten the dough with the help of a rolling pin.

7. Then wrap the lotus paste balls in to it and poke them with the a satay stick to remove the airbubbles if any formed while wrapping the moon cake.
8. Apply little to the hand and make nice round of the moon cake and put it in the mould of desired shape. Tab on the back of the mould and put these moon cakes on a greesed tray.

9. Put this tray in the oven for baking at about 150 degrees celcius. After 8-10 min remove from the oven and brush with a beaten egg and keep back in the oven for baking until golden brown.

10. When done take out from the oven and remove from the tray and put on another plate upside down in front of fan or air cooler to cool.
11. This will help to cool the cakes and also the oil will drip to the top which will give the shiny look to the moon cakes.
12. Keep these mooncakes until completely cool and then keep in a covered box for atleast 2-3 days.
Then serve these moon cakes.

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Shanghai Moon Cakes

Another very very popular variety of moon cakes... Shanghai Moon Cakes......

SERVES: 15 MOON CAKES INGREDIENTS
For cover
Plain Flour 250gm
Custard powder 50gm
Baking powder 1 tsp
Amonia powder ½ tsp
Butter 50gm
Shortening (crisco) 100gm
Icing sugar 80 gm (add less if you want less sweet)
Eggs 2
Filling
Lotus paste 600gms
Melon seeds 50 gm
Method
1. Beat 1 egg and keep aside.
2. Add the butter to it.
3. Sieve custard powder, baking powder, icing sugar and amonia powder together into it.

4. Sieve and add the flour little by little into the mixture and make a soft dough. (Do not put the whole flour at one time.) Leave it to rest for 20-30 min.

5. To make the filling add oil to the lotus paste and make it smooth. Then add the melon seeds. If you wish add the salted egg raw yolk to it.

6. Make small balls of the lotus paste of about 50 gms each.
7. Make small balls of the dough of about 20gms each and wrap the lotus paste ball into it.
8. Brush with beaten egg and put some melon seeds on top of it.

9. Keep in preheated oven for baking at about 200 degrees celcius for 15-20 min.
10. Remove from the oven and keep for cooling.
11. When cool they are ready to eat.

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Golden egg moon cake

Heres the second type of moon cake that we had in our class... Its the Golden egg moon cake..
SERVES: 6 moon cakes
INGREDIENTS
For covering
Plain flour 300gms
Custard powder 50gm
Icing sugar 120gm (adjust acording to sweetness)
Baking powder 1 ½ tsp
Soda bicarbonate 1 tsp
Butter 80 gm
Water 6 tbsp (boiled and cooled)
Eggs 2 (One to add in the flour and 1 for brushing)
Salted egg yolks 6 pcs
Cooking oil 150 gms (peanut oil is good)
Filling
Lotus paste 600gms
Walnut 100 gms
Method
1. Wash the salted egg yolk in wine and steam them for about 10 min. Cool and smash.
2. Seive plain flour, custard powder, icing sugar, baking powder and sodabicabonate together in a big vessel or on the kitchen platform.
3. Add the the salted eggs and rub them in the flour till sandy texture.
4. Add cooking oil about 100gms, water, butter and 1 egg. Mix into a dough, divide a dough into small portions about 20gms in weight.
5. Knead the lotus paste with oil till smooth and mix the walnuts into it.
6. Make small lemon sized balls of about 20gms each and keep aside.
7. Dust a little flour and flatten the dough balls with the help of a rolling pin. Wrap the lotus paste ball in the flour.
8. Give any shape of your choice and brush it up with beaten egg and then bake it at about 120 degrees celcius for 20-30 min. Till golden brown.
Note: Take out the moon cakes after 8-10 min of baking and brush them again with the beaten egg and keep back for baking until golden brown.
Cool and they are ready to eat. These moon cakes can be stored for about 2 weeks in an airtight container.
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