CHILLED (PING PEI) CARROT MOONCAKES

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INGREDIENTS:

Ping Pei Skin:

    160g icing sugar, sifted

    25g shortening

    125g carrot juice (blend 2 small carrots with iced water, strain)

    1/2 tsp salt

    50g evaporated milk

    110g Koh Fun (cooked glutinous flour), sifted twice

    50g cornflour, sifted twice

 

 

Paste:

    1kg mooncake paste, any flavour (Note 1)

    50g melon seeds

 

 

 

METHOD:

  1. To prepare Ping Pei skin: Rub shortening into icing sugar until they resemble coarse breadcrumbs. Stir carrot juice into icing sugar mixture and mix well with a spatula. Add in evaporated milk, salt, Koh Fun and cornflour. Mix to a soft and smooth dough and stand it for 10 minutes.

  2. To prepare mooncake paste: Spread mooncake paste on a piece of plastic sheet. Spread melon seeds on the paste (Pic. 1) and roll the paste up like rolling a swiss roll as shown in Pic. 2. Spread the paste and roll it up again to make sure melon seeds are nicely "embedded" in the paste.

  3. Divide ping pei dough in Step 1 to 8 portions of 50g and 2 portions of 15g (small mooncakes). Lightly flour your hands with cornflour. Knead each portion until it is not sticky (Note 2). Roll into a ball (Pic. 3).

  4. Divide mooncake paste in Step 2 to 8 portions of 120g and 2 portions of 30g (small mooncakes). Knead each portion a little and form each into a ball (Pic. 3).

  5. Lightly flour (using cornflour flour) your hands. Flatten a ping pei dough on your palm to be a 2-inch circle. Press to make the edges thinner than the central part (Pic. 4). Place a ball of paste. Start pushing the paste against the dough as shown in Pic. 5. As you push the paste, the dough will start enlarging (Note 3).

  6. Wrap up the mooncake as shown in Pic. 6-7. Roll into a ball (Pic. 8).

  7. Lightly flour the mooncake. Place mooncake, seam side up, in mould. Flatten moocake to conform to shape of mould (Pic. 9). Bang upper, lower, left and right sides of mould to dislodge the mooncake (Pic. 10-14, Note 4). Place cake in casings or container (Pic. 15). Repeat to shape remaining mooncakes.

  8. Refrigerate ping pei mooncakes for at least 1 hour before serving.

 

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NOTE:

  1. I personally find that mooncake flavours like green tea, red dates and spirulina go well with Ping Pei skin.

  2. Compared to pastry of Cantonese style mooncake, ping pei skin is relatively more difficult to handle. Flour your hand with cournflour and knead until dough is not sticky. Then, your wrapping up process later will be easier.

  3. I would say this is the most important step in wrapping mooncakes. This step ensures that your mooncake will have a uniform thickness. Need some time to master the skill. Be patient and you will definitely get it right!

  4. Make sure you are using equal force to bang the 4 sides of the mould or you may have difficulty lodging out the mooncake.

  5. Mooncake moulds vary in size. Please adjust amount of paste according to your own mould.

 

Reference:

Catherine Lau's notes in mooncake baking class.

"Make your own mooncakes", by Amy Beh

 

Made on 11-08-03

Written on 17-08-03

 

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