Snowy mooncake (冰皮月饼)

Step 1

In a mixing bowl, thoroughly whisk one whole egg plus three egg yolks then combine with the melted butter and 160 grams of milk. Stir to mix.

Step 2

In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients: cake flour, sugar, and 25 grams of milk powder.

Step 3

Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. Stir until no lumps. Pour the mixture through a sieve into a saucepot. Heat it on low heat and stir for 6-10 minutes or the mixture thickens into the scrambled egg texture. Transfer it into a container and cover it with a plastic film. Let it chill for at least 3 hours. You can also make the filling one day ahead and leave it in the fridge overnight.

Step 4

While waiting, you can make the wrapper. In a glass or ceramic bowl, thoroughly combine all the wrapper ingredients until there are no lumps in the mixture.

Step 5

The traditional way is to steam this on high heat for 30 minutes. I found that it is much faster to use a microwave. Cover the bowl with a ceramic plate. Doesn’t need to be sealed completely. We just want to prevent the steam from escaping too fast.

Step 6

Microwave it 3 times (1.5 minutes, 1 minute, and 30 seconds) and mix the mixture in between each time. Depending on the power of your microwave, you may need to adjust the third microwaving time slightly until you don’t see any runny liquid. Let it cool to a point that it doesn't burn your hand.

Step 7

Knead the dough in between your hands for 5 minutes or until smooth and nonstick. Recommend to wear gloves to prevent stickiness. Portion it into 12 pieces and roll into smooth balls. Each of them should be 20 grams. Cover with plastic wrap so they don’t dry out.

Step 8

Take the custard filling out of the fridge and portion it into 12 pieces and roll into balls. Each of them should be 30 grams. Cover them so they don’t dry out.

Step 9

Take a piece of the wrapper dough and put it in between 2 parchment papers. Roll it with a rolling pin until it becomes 4 inches in diameter.

Step 10

To assemble the mooncakes, place the custard filling in the middle of the wrapper and carefully wrap it. Apply that to all 12 of the mooncakes.

Step 11

Toast 2 tbsp of glutinous rice flour in a non-stick pan over medium-low heat for a couple of minutes or until the glutinous rice flour becomes a little bit off-white.

Step 12

The wrapper is 20 grams, the filling is 30 grams so we will be using the 50 grams mold today. Dust the mooncake ball with a little bit of cooked glutinous rice flour. Shape it into a cylinder then carefully place it into the mold.  Use some force and push it down onto a parchment paper until the pattern is dented. Then release the mooncake.

Step 13

Note: If you don’t have mooncake molds, you can just eat them without molding them. Since we are celebrating the mid-autumn festival, it is always nice to add a sense of ceremony to this dessert.