Snow Skin Mooncakes

Step 1

Whisk the confectioners’s sugar, wheat starch, rice flour and 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon of the sweet rice flour together in medium microwave-safe bowl until combined. Add the milk and vegetable oil and whisk until smooth. Cover with a microwave-safe plate. Microwave on high, stirring every 30 seconds with a rubber spatula, until a translucent dough forms, about 2 1/2 minutes. Stir once more and set aside, covered, until cool enough to handle, about 20 minutes.

Step 2

Toast the remaining 5 tablespoons sweet rice flour in a small nonstick skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, until the flour starts to smell fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside to cool.

Step 3

Meanwhile, scoop the red bean paste onto a plate, making12 equal mounds (about 1 heaping tablespoon each). Chill in the refrigerator until needed.

Step 4

Lightly flour a surface with the toasted sweet rice flour. Place the dough on the surface and knead until smooth, about 1 minute. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and roll each into a ball. Cover the balls loosely with plastic wrap.

Step 5

Dust the surface again with toasted rice flour and dust your hands with some as well. Working with 1 dough ball at a time, firmly press it down into a 3-inch round about 1/4 inch thick. Use a small rolling pin to roll the edges out (leave the center untouched) until it’s 4 inches in diameter. Place a portion of the bean paste in the center of the dough and pull the dough up around it, enclosing it and pinching the edges to seal.

Step 6

Use a pastry brush to lightly dust a 2 1/4-inch-wide mooncake press mold with some of the toasted rice flour. Lightly tap off any excess. Place the assembled cake in the mold seam-side up. Turn it upright on your work surface. Press the plunger down until you feel resistance, then lift the mooncake mold up and use the plunger to carefully press the mooncake out. Dust off any visible rice flour with a pastry brush. Transfer the cake to a serving platter and repeat with the remaining dough and bean paste.

Step 7

Enjoy the cakes immediately or refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to 3 days.