Recipe: Mooncake Fillings (6)

i went to my in-law's over the weekend. and i noticed that on the stickers of the mooncakes said "white lotus seed with doouble yolks" and "lotus seeds with single yolk". out of curiosity i opened them. i didn't see much difference in colour though. i really can't tell you what's the ingredients that make the two different...

anyway, i don't make mooncakes anymore as we are given too many each year and not many family members fancy these sweet treats (which includes me). but even back then, i didn't venture out to durain and other exotic flavours. (i HATE durains for your information. LOL. guess it's because i am not a malaysian.) but i do have that recipe here in the post.

but here are a couple of filling recipes i have in my collection. can't say if they are any good coz i haven't tried.

Durain filling

300g durian flesh - blend into puree
500g lotus seeds (seong lin) - boil in 1,200ml water until soft and blend into a paste
4 tbsp castor sugar
500g castor sugar* 2 tbsp maltose
To make the filling:
Put 4 tbsp sugar in a heavy-based wok, and cook till you get golden brown caramel. Add lotus seed paste gradually and cook till smooth. Add 500g sugar and stir till mixture thickens.

Add oil gradually and mix well. Add durian and maltose. Stir until mixture is smooth and does not stick to the centre of the wok. Remove and cool, preferably overnight, before dividing the filling into 110g balls.

Footnote: If you like a filling with a nutty bite, add 50g toasted olive nuts after the filling has cooled completely.

Mixed Nuts Mooncake (Ng ngan mooncake)

125g walnuts - toasted and chopped coarsely
100g almonds (h'ang yan)- cleaned and toasted
75g olive kernels (lum yan)- toasted
100g melon seeds (kwa chee)- toasted
75g candied mandarin (keat paeng)- chopped
100g crystallised candied melon (tung kwa) - chopped
100g toasted sesame seeds
5 daun limau purut - finely sliced
150g icing sugar
2 tbsp brandy
1/4 tbsp dark soy sauce
90ml cold boiled water
50g corn oil
75g cooked glutinous rice flour (ko fun)

COMBINE all the ingredients except ko fun in a mixing bowl. Add the ko fun last and mix well. Make into equal portions of 110g balls to be used as filling.

Footnote:
Mixed nuts mooncake should have a thicker pastry skin weighing about 50g because the nuts can damage skin that is too thin.

Red Date Mooncake (Hoong choe mooncake)

250g red dates - remove seeds and steam till soft
300g red beans (chek siew tau)
200g sugar
50g corn oil

BLEND the steamed and soft red dates with 400ml water into a puree and sieve out the impurities. Add the mixture to the red beans and pressure cook till the red beans are soft. Blend again then use a muslin cloth to squeeze out any excess water, leaving only the dry paste.

Heat up the sugar and half the oil, stirring constantly. Add the red beans and dates paste and stir well. Add in the rest of the oil and stir until the paste does not stick to the wok. Dish up into a lightly oiled basin or bowl. Leave to cool.

Coconut Mooncake (Yeh yoong mooncake)

600g freshly grated coconut (white part only)
100g cooked glutinous rice flour (ko fun)
(A)
150g crystallised candied melon (tung kwa)- chopped
50g melon seeds (kwa chee)- toasted
75g olive kernels (lum yan)- toasted
100g sesame seeds - toasted
50g milk powder
(B)
4 tbsp corn oil
4 tbsp water
150g sugar
1/2 tsp salt

STEAM grated coconut for 30 mins until soft then leave to cool. Mix (B) together in a mixing bowl. Stir in coconut and mix well. Add in (A) and stir well to mix. Lastly add in ko fun to combine the ingredients.

Divide mixture into equal portions of 110g each. Add a salted egg yolk in the centre of each portion. Wrap up with pastry dough. Seal up the edges. Place into a lightly dusted mooncake mould. Press slightly with the flat of your palm. Knock out the mooncake.

Bake mooncake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for 10 mins. Remove mooncake from the oven and leave aside for 2 mins. Brush with egg glaze and bake again for 8 mins or until golden brown.

Custard Mooncake

Snow skin (ping pei):
600g icing sugar
300g kao fun flour (commercial cooked
glutinous rice flour, sold in supermarkets)
70g shortening
250g water
Method:
Mix well water and shortening. Add icing sugar and flour and knead into a dough.

Custard filling

30 eggs
1kg sugar
700g butter
A
250g flour
250g corn flour
250g milk powder
250g custard powder
400g condensed milk
1kg coconut milk (you can buy it at the wet
market)
40 salted duck egg yolks (cooked)

Mix well sugar with butter. Add whole eggs one by one until the ingredients are well mixed.

Add ingredients A and mix well.

Pour in condensed milk and coconut milk. Boil the mixture slowly for 45 minutes or until it binds properly.

Blend egg yolks until the paste is smooth.

Roll 70g of snow skin till thin. Fold in 112g of custard filling and place it in the mooncake mould. Knock out the mooncake.

Note: Snow skin (ping pei) mooncakes are not baked but can be savoured instantly or served chilled.