Snow Skin Mooncake(冰皮月饼)

 

Ingredients:

Snow Skin Dough:

• 50g Sweet Rice Flour
• 30g Rice Flour
• 30g Wheat Starch
• 30g Sugar
• 20g Condensed Milk
• 30g Oil
• 230g Milk

Custard Fillings:

• 3 Large Eggs
• 90g Milk
• 60g Heavy Whipping Cream
• 30g Cake Flour
• 30g Wheat Starch
• 30g Milk Powder
• 70g Sugar
• 50g Sweet Cream Butter

Others:

• 2 Tbsp Sweet Rice Flour - Will be used for anti-sticking agent during mooncake wrapping process
• Desired food coloring such as pink, purple - To dye the dough
• 1/4 tsp Cocoa powder - If you are making chocolate/brown color

Preparation:

Fillings:

1. Crack eggs in a bowl.  

2. Add sugar to the egg and beat them well.

3. Then add milk and the heavy whipping cream and continue to beat them together to combine.

4. Sift the cake flour, starch flour and milk powder to the mixture.  Whisk them altogether until they are well combined.

5.  Transfer the mixture to the 5qt Sauce pan using the sieve. This will make the smoother custard.  

6.  Add the butter to the sauce pan.

7. On a small heat, cook the mixture.  After about 2 minutes, some clump will form and continue stirring constantly.  After about 5 minutes, the mixture will be more thickened.  About 8 minutes, the mixture should be set.  

It is very important to make sure that the consistency of mixture is still a bit wet.  It should be a bit wetter than the actual filling.  Because it will be refrigerated later and this step will make the mixture set more and drier.  Therefore, if the mixture consistency is just about right for the filling, it will become drier during the refrigeration process.

8. Transfer the filling to the bowl and let cool.  Cover it with the plastic wrap by touching the entire surface of the filling.  This is to prevent the skin forming to the filling.

9. When it's cool down, refrigerate about at least 2 hours.  Alternatively, it could be put in the freezer for about 30-45 minutes and then refrigerate about another 30 minutes for the faster result.

Dough:

1. In a bowl, add sweet rice flour, rice flour, wheat starch, sugar and condensed milk.  Add the oil, Then, pour the milk to the mixture at last and whisk them altogether to combine.  Mix them really well to break all the bubbles during the mixing process.

2. On a high heat, bring the steamer to boil.  Once boiled, turn the fire to the small heat.  Steam the mixture for about 25 minutes.  Cover the bowl with the lid to prevent the water from going into the bowl.  

3. After 25-30 minutes, turn the heat off.  The skin dough should be set.  Remove it from the steamer and let cool.  The oil will gather at the top of the dough in the bowl.  Don't worry. We'll mix them into the dough later.

4. After about 5 minutes of cooling, cut the mixture into cubes in the bowl.  It doesn't matter how big the cubes are.  The purpose is to cut them into pieces and remove them from the bowl.  The dough will be very sticky to the bowl at the bottom.  Transfer all dough pieces onto the cutting board or a kneading surface.  Knead it for about 4-5 minutes until the oil is well incorporated into the dough.  You will no longer see or feel oil once it is well incorporated.  At the same time, the dough will be very smooth and soft.  It is when you know that it is done.

Others

1. In a small frying pan, add the sweet rice flour and cook them on the low to medium low heat by stirring constantly for about 2-3 minutes.  Once the flour turns into slight yellow color, it is done.  You will also notice that the sweet rice flour is odorless now.

Putting Everything Together:
1. Remove the custard filling from the refrigerator.  Make them into 18 balls and each should weigh about 25g

2. Divide the snow skin dough into 5 pieces, each weigh about 80g.  Each of the piece will have a different color.  I end up using 2 pieces for the pink color, 1 piece for white, its original color, 1 piece for light purple color and one piece for chocolate color.  

3. Using a tooth pick, dip it to the color bottle.  Transfer the color to the dough.  Mix it well.  Adjust the color if needed.  Once you get the desired color, stop kneading.  Repeat this process for each of the piece with the different color.  For chocolate color, I use Cocoa powder (about 1/4 tsp).

4. Make 18 dough pieces altogether and form each of them into a ball.  Each should weigh about 22-23g.  Just for the fun, I made the ombre color for two small dough pieces from two different colors since each of them is not less than 22-23g weight.

5. For each dough ball, dip them into the stir-fry sweet rice flour to prevent them from sticking.  Flatten it in your palm.  If you prefer, you can flatter it with the kneading pin on the cutting board.  If you opt for the latter, make sure you don't use a lot of force during the flattening process since it is very easy to stick to the board.  

6. Place a custard ball in the middle of the flatten dough circle.  Flip it upside down.  The dough is covering the custard ball.  Using your fingers slowly seal the ball.  Once sealed, use both of your palms to make the ball evenly round.  Anytime you feel the dough sticks to your hand, sprinkle or dip it into the sweet rice flour to prevent stickiness. Repeat step#5 and #6 until all 18 pieces are done.

7. Prepare the mooncake mold by fixing/attaching the desired pattern.

8. Sprinkle the cooked sweet rice flour into the mold.

9. Gently put each dough ball into the mold.  If the ball size is bigger than the mold, make it smaller by rolling in your palms.  The ball will turn into elongated shape but it's okay.  Once pressed by the mooncake mold, it'll be perfect.  Gently press it with the mooncake mold for twice or thrice.  Do not use a lot of pressure since the dough is delicate and could easily tear the skin.  There you have your mooncake now.  Repeat it for all remaining dough pieces.  

10.  For the best result, refrigerate the mooncakes for at least 2 hours and then serve.