pretty little things

The mooncake festival is long gone, but I am still having fun making mooncakes (^^)

This time, instead of using the mooncake moulds, I shaped them into little bunnies. They are wrapped with low sugar white lotus paste which I bought from Kwong Cheong Thye. It is not as oily and certainly not so sweet compared to those that I got from other baking supply shops.

I know, these aren't pretty little things, but they do look adorable in a funny sort of way. Actually, this little piggy reminds me very much of my elder son...my younger boy shares the exact sentiment. When he first saw it, he exclaimed, "Oooh! 哥哥!", lol! My elder child displays this similar blur look most of the time. Don't worry, he won't get upset if he ever reads this, he will simply laugh it off ;)

Even though I didn't apply egg wash over the mooncake I took them out after 10mins of baking and left them to cool for 15mins before baking them again. I wonder this step is still necessary? Anyway, I'm submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #11: Mid-Autumn Treats (Sept 2011) which I am hosting :)

Bunnies and Piggies Mooncakes

Ingredients:
(makes 10)

for dough:
125g plain flour
85g golden syrup (I used Abram Lyle's Golden Syrup with maple flavor)
1/2 teaspoon alkaline water
25g peanut oil (I replaced with canola oil)

for filling:
250g white lotus paste

Method:

Divide the filling into 25g portions and shape into balls. Set aside.
Place golden syrup in a bowl. Add in alkaline water, stir to combine. Add in oil, mix well.
Place plain flour in a mixing bowl, make a well in the centre. Add in the above mixture. Mix with a spatula to form a soft dough. Gently knead the dough till smooth (takes 1~2 mins). Shape it into a smooth round dough. Wrap with cling wrap and leave in fridge to rest for at least 2 hours or over night. This step is known as 醒面.
Dust work surface with some flour. Give the dough a few light kneading to smooth it.
Divide dough into 20g pieces. Shape each dough into a ball. Roll each dough over some flour. Dust hand with flour and flatten each dough into a small disc (about 5cm in diameter). Wrap it around the filling and shape it into a ball. (always dust hand with some flour to avoid the dough from sticking).
For bunny mooncake: take two small pieces of dough to form bunny ears, place on the wrapped dough, make an indent on each ear with a spatula. Make the eyes by poking with the tip of a chopstick (use one that comes with pointed ends) or a satay stick. Stick a small round dough at the back as tail. For piggy mooncake: take small pieces of dough to form ears and nose. Make nostrils by poking with a toothpick. Use black sesame for the eyes. Roll a small piece of dough between fingers to form a strip, form into a "S" shape and stick to the back as tail.
Place mooncake on a baking tray line with parchment paper. Bake at preheated oven at 180degC for 10mins. Remove from oven and leave to cool for 15mins. Return to oven and continue to bake for another 12~15mins until golden brown (since all oven works differently, do check after 10mins, and subsequently every other 2 mins to make sure the mooncakes are not over browned).
Leave mooncake to cool completely and store in air tight containers. Wait for 2 ~ 3 days for the mooncakes to 回油 (for the skin to soften) before serving.

Recipe source: mooncake pastry adapted from Mooncake Sonata by Alan Ooi