Mini Mooncakes for the Little Ones

Little ones loved the piglet mooncakes I bought for them last week, these are the traditional mooncakes that I used to eat when I was little. They certainly bring back beautiful childhood memory, those days when my neighbor kids and I carried our handmade paper lanterns and paraded the street. Nowadays they have battery powered lanterns making funny music. Ewk.

Anyway. I happened to drive pass a bakery supplies store one morning and I decided to take a peek inside the store.. and I saw there are tons of mooncake ingredients and supplies...

I.just.could.not.resist.the.temptation.

We made these mini mooncakes.

With red bean paste filling.

The ingredients. 

 

I got the duo to assist in making the mini mooncakes. They were so excited to "help up" as usual.

The making was simple, as we used premixed red bean paste for filling. You may substitute with lotus paste or mungbean paste too. Since mooncake festival is coming soon, this is one sweet delicacy that can really wow your guests during the festive season. 

Original recipe is adopted from Christine's Kitchen, you may want to refer to her recipe for traditional mooncakes (it's written in Chinese). She even shared the steps to making your own golden syrup and mooncake fillings so you really ought to visit her site if you are leaving abroad. She is one of the few bloggers who inspired me to bake and cook as she made everything look so easy.

Preparation time: 60 minutes

Banking time: 12 minutes

Serving size: 12 mini mooncakes

Ingredients:

A) For the mooncake skin

• 100gm plain flour

• 60gm golden syrup 

• 28gm pure peanut oil

• 1/2 teaspoon alkaline water

B) For the paste

• 300gm red bean / lotus paste (original recipe used 420gm)

C) For egg wash

• 1 egg yolk

• 2 tablespoon egg white

Steps:

1) Mix

Mix all ingredient A in a mixer / bowl and roll them into a smooth dough using a spatula. Set aside for 40 minutes and covers with a cling form. There's no need for an electric mixer. 

2) Shape

Shape the mooncake mixtures into equal ball of 15gm each, and the lotus / red bean paste to 25gm each (Christine made hers at 35gm). Flatten the mooncake mixture with a rolling pin then then wrap it around the paste. Roll into small balls with your palms. Little ones can handle this step very well.

3) Mold

Using the mooncake mold, press each mooncake firmly but not super strength as you won't want them to crack... My boy sure learnt the hard way as he had to redo a few times before he managed to have smiling Mickey without cracks.

4) Admire

Yeah, just take a moment to admire your hard work.. Ours are kind of uneven, that's the price to pay when letting little ones be involved.

5) Bake

Preheat oven to 180°c, place the mooncakes onto a baking tray (with a layer of baking sheet or sprinkles with some flour to avoid sticking), bake them for 10 minutes; remove from oven, apply the egg wash (ingredient C) with a soft brush, then continue baking for another 2-3 minutes until golden brown. 

6) Wait

The mooncakes are done! However, you should let the mooncakes rest for 2-3 days before eating and you will notice the surface turns to a smooth golden layer.

Or you may be like us, just eat them right away.. LOL. I told you my little ones and I love traditional mooncakes, didn't I? 

Enjoy... Next I may challenge some cute piglet mooncakes. That looks too cute to resist.

All 6 steps in one picture collage for your easy reference. Feel free to share the picture of your mooncakes! ;)