Mid-Autumn Festival (2) - Snowskin Mooncakes

As promised, I'm back with another post for Mid Autumn Festival preparation , and this post will be about 'Snowskin Mooncake" also known as "Ping Pi Mooncake" (in Mandarin that is, hehe). Lately, I found that a lot of people has developed the liking for this snowskin mooncake instead of the traditional baked ones, well, I don't really know the reason why, maybe because some says that the Baked mooncakes normally uses the 'lard' in the making, and that is not quite a healthy option :)

Then, snowskin mooncake uses no oil at all and it doesn't have to be baked too! Well, maybe that's the reason, but anyway, I personally likes Snowskin Mooncakes too. It's serve chill and not so sweet, and the snowskin effect kinda makes it a little lighter compared to the baked ones.......blah, blah, blah.....hehe, ignore me, LOL

I have enquired a few friends about this snowskin mooncake recipe as I'm a bit confused with the flour that it uses. Some mentioned about 'cooked Glutinous Rice Flour', whereas others mentioned 'Kao Fen'. However, I asked my MiL and she said that Kao Fen is actually Glutinous Rice Flour........but what I'm confused is how come when the recipe mentioned Kao Fen, it didn't asked to be 'cooked" ?? Does that meant Kao Fen is already a 'Cooked Glutinous Rice Flour' ?? I'm actually still not certain on this, but Alexandra told me that there is this shop here that sells 'Kao Fen' from Hong Kong, and to avoid those confusion, just use that and worry no more if it has to be cooked or not....*tongue*
I tested on the 1st recipe that a friend gave me and she suggested that I just bake/ fry the Glutinous Rice Flour in the oven/wok for about 10 minutes before using. Unfortunately, I did just that and the skin did not turned out the way a 'Ping Pi' should be :(

Well, maybe it was my miscalculation when mixing in the water to the flour+shortening that caused the error....*sigh*

Well, as determine as I am (you should know me by now), I'm not gonna just settle for that , so I decided to use Alexandra's recipe and bought myself a packet of that Hong Kong Kao Fen, and Alexandra willingly offered me to go to her house for a baking session, hehe  *wink* With her guidance and step by step instruction and tips, I managed to produce the perfect 'Ping Pi' mooncakes that I have always used to eat during Mid-Autumn Festival!!! Thank you so much Alexandra, muaks! She also offered me her 'Traditional Mooncake" recipe too , will post that in the next round ya ;)
For now, if you really want to make 'Ping Pi Mooncakes', it has never been easier, trust me!! I have never thought that I could made two types of mooncakes in one night (started at 6pm and finished at 12pm, burning midnight oil for this ....but hey, I got myself enough mooncakes to gift-away, isn't that worth all the effort?)

Here is the 'Simple & Fool-proof' Recipe courtesy of Alexandra (check out her blog too, she has yummy recipes you might like too).

SNOWSKIN 'PING PI' MOONCAKE RECIPE

Makes about 4 - 5 (160gm) mooncake

Ingredients 
100gm Kao Fen 
95gm Icing Sugar
30gm Shortening
130ml 'cold' water (might not need to use all) 
1 tsp flavoring paste
Food colouring 

Fillings : Your choice - Lotus Paste, Durian Paste, Red Bean Paste etc.


Method

1. Sift Kao Fen and icing sugar into a bowl. 
2. Rub shortening into the flour and sugar until mixture resembles 'crumbs'.
3. Mix in the flavoring paste and food colouring into the cold water, stir to fully mixed.
4. Slowly add cold water into the crumbs and mix it in to get a dough consistency that does not stick to your hands. Knead to form a dough that is pliable. 'Do not over knead'. (Note: you have to monitor the amount of water use, some flour will absorb more water, and some won't. Therefore it's either 130ml is too much or too little for you.....so add bit by bit)
5. Let the dough rest for about 20-30 minutes. While waiting, scale the filling to each portion of 95gm, and roll it into a ball. 
6. When the dough is rested, scale it into a portion of 65gm , and roll it flat on your palm, wrap a piece of the filling into the centre, and seal it in. (Note: Remember to dust the mooncake and the mold with extra 'Kao Fen' or 'Snow Powder' before putting the mooncake into the mold to press).
7. Store the mooncakes in the fridge until ready to serve. 

Sounded really straight forward and easy right? So, what are you waiting for, you are still in time to make a batch for this Mid-Autumn Festival celebration .....;)

Pandan Snowskin with Green Tea Paste Filling

Happy Snowskin Mooncake Making!!