Chocolate mooncake
Mooncake is a traditional Chinese cake eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival ((). Traditional versions are filled with lotus seed paste, red bean paste and / or salted egg yolks. Since it is a little harder to get these ingredients in our region, a slightly different version of the filling follows.
Preparation steps
- Dough preparation
- Mix golden syrup, oil and alkaline water. Add the flour and knead the dough. It will be softer and a bit sticky. Put in the fridge to rest, at least an hour.
- Preparation of stuffing
- Put the dates in boiling water and cook for 15 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed and evaporated. Add the butter and put in a multipractice / blender / stick mixer and process until a smooth thick mass is obtained. Toast the almonds in a pan or oven until lightly browned. Put the almonds in the date mixture and continue to mix until the almonds are chopped. Add the remaining ingredients and process briefly. Cool the stuffing in the refrigerator to compress, simmering for an hour.
- Assembling
- Divide the dough into balls weighing 18-20g. Roll out each ball a little. Place a teaspoon of the filling in the middle of the ball. Pressing lightly, close the filling with the dough on all sides and shape into a ball Place the ball in the mooncakes mold and press to obtain the characteristic shape and pattern of the cookies. Place the mooncakes on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. To prevent the filling from melting too much, freeze the cookies before starting to bake
- Bake at 180C for 10 minutes. Then remove and coat with egg yolk mixture (1 egg yolk and 3 tablespoons milk). When coating, be careful not to overdo the amount of egg yolk as it will fill in the patterns on the cookie and they will be much less visible after baking. Return to the oven and bake for another 5-10 minutes until the cookies get colored.
- Cool and store in a tightly closed box. Cookies should be left to stand for at least one day before consumption. If you can wait
- Notes
- Some slightly exotic ingredients and molds are used in this recipe. Alkaline water is an ingredient from Asian cuisine, and I bought it when visiting Malaysia. Instructions on how to replace alkaline water with baking soda can be found on the Internet. Mooncake molds have a characteristic shape and pattern. They can be easily and cheaply obtained through ebay.
