Snow Skin Mooncakes with Red Bean Paste Filling (冰皮月餅-紅豆餡)

To celebrate Mid Autumn Festival (中秋節), let’s make some delicious Snow Skin Mooncakes with red bean paste filling! Mid Autumn Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday that is all about gathering and togetherness. My family and friends would always get together for a big BBQ and of course eat mooncakes.

The classic mooncake has a biscuit shell that is baked, but these are a more modern version that I think is a bit easier to make at home. Snow Skin Mooncakes have an almost mochi like texture, it’s soft and chewy with a delicate sweetness. It can be filled with almost anything but today we are going with a classic red bean paste filling. It’s not too sweet and has an earthy flavour that goes well with a lot of pastries so you will find that it’s super popular in asian desserts!

Yield: 15 Mooncakes

INGREDIENTS:

RED BEAN PASTE/ANKO-

• 180g Adzuki Beans
• Water
• 150g Caster/Granulated Sugar
• Pinch of Salt

SNOWSKIN WRAPPER-

• 50g Glutinous Rice Flour
• 50g Rice Flour
• 25g Wheat Flour
• 30g Caster Sugar
• 185ml Milk
• 25g Condensed Milk
• 20ml Neutral Oil (Veg, Sunflower, Rapeseed… any oil with no flavour)
• Cornstarch (for dusting)

STEPS:

RED BEAN PASTE/ANKO-

1. Thoroughly wash adzuki beans and add it to a pot. Add plenty of water so that it is fully submerged
2. Transfer the pot to the stove and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to a gentle simmer and cover the pot with a lid. Leave this to slowly cook for 1-2 hours or until the beans become soft. Occasionally give the pot a stir to prevent sticking and add more water as it evaporates to keep the beans submerged
3. Once the beans are soft enough to be pressed between your fingers and break apart, strain out the beans and reserve the boiling liquid
4. Add the beans into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. If needed, add the reserved boiling liquid 1 tablespoon at a time to help the beans blend more smoothly
5. Transfer the smooth bean paste into a pot and mix in sugar and a pinch of salt
6. Place it over low-medium heat. Using a spatula, constantly stir the mixture to allow the liquid to evaporate and prevent burning. Slowly cook the sweet bean paste until it thickens. Be careful of the hot mixture as it will splatter if it is not stirred
7. Once the paste is thick enough to hold its shape, transfer it to a heat-safe container and place it in the fridge to allow it to chill overnight
8. Once chilled, scoop the paste into 15 25g balls. Using your hands, shape them into balls. Place them onto a plate and leave it in the fridge while we make the wrapper

SNOWSKIN WRAPPER-

1. In a large bowl, combine the glutinous rice flour, rice flour, wheat flour, sugar, milk, and condensed milk. Whisk until smooth
2. Pour it into a shallow bowl and place it into a steamer and steam for 25min
3. Transfer the hot dough into a large bowl and add oil
4. Wearing plastic gloves, knead the oil into the hot dough. Stretch the dough as best as you can to allow the heat to quickly dissipate
5. Once it reaches room temperature, add your choice of colouring to the wrapper. I divided mine into 3 portions: 1 plain, 1 blue, 1 pink.
6. Divide the dough into 15 equal pieces, each should be 21g per ball.

ASSEMBLE-

1. Prep your work station: Have both of the wrapper dough balls and filling balls ready on the table. Add 3-4 tablespoons of cornstarch in a shallow bowl. Gently dust the mooncake moulds with cornstarch and any other surface that might/is sticking to the dough
2. Take a wrapper dough ball and press it flat with your palms. Pinch the edges so it’s thinner than the centre
3. Place a red bean paste filling into the centre. Gently stretch the wrapper around the filling and pinch the edges together to seal tightly
4. Lightly dust it with cornstarch and place it into the mooncake mould. Press firmly and gently release. The mooncakes should pop out easily
5. Using a brush, dust off any excess cornstarch. Place them on a plate to chill in the fridge for 30min and enjoy!

IMPORTANT

EAT IT IMMEDIATELY

• Snow skin mooncakes are delicious on the day they are made. Due to the material the wrappers are made of, they can easily dry out. So if you can, make it and eat it on the day.

MAKING IT TIE DYE

• Take small pieces of each coloured dough and press them together. Stretch them once or twice to gently mix the colours. Don’t over mix or else the colours will become muddled. Shape it into a ball and proceed with the steps as usual