Flaky Swirl Mooncakes 芋头酥

家里那一颗芋头放了很久，本想弄芋头饭的现在却弄了芋头酥, 这是为将来临的集会做测试烘焙。第一次弄芋头酥是在2011年。这次弄的芋头酥比起2011年，小有进步，我想在压平面团时得弄长一些那卷起时就会多几圈吧。包面皮的手法还得加强才好，那酥皮的层次才会均衡分明。

Carol的食谱，馅料有我喜欢的奶香，朋友试吃了以后提议下回加葱油我想那是很不错的建议。这芋头酥得小心轻放，那酥皮如一个不小心被压着就粹散了。在制作油皮面皮过程中，面皮是一直松软很好超做的。而油酥面皮是柔软有黏性的。我家大王说他喜欢这不是很甜的芋头酥月饼, 怎样都好吃下去还是会增胖的啦！

First time making this Flaky Swirl Mooncakes or Thousand Layer Yam Mooncakes was in 2011. If I compared this bake to the one 2011, I think I have some improvements in handling the flaky layering. But still, there is rooms to improve on getting more flaky layers by elongate the dough a bit while flattening and get more spiral during roll up the dough. 

The water dough was soft and pliable throughout the making process. The oil dough is soft and sticky. Both pastry dough has to be in same consistency of softness to minimize the leaking of oil dough into water dough while flattening process. 

One friend has suggested to add shallot oil in the yam filling after tasting the mooncake, I think it is a good idea to enhance the taste of yam filling. This pastry has to be handled with care, as it is fragile even to hold it with your finger tips, to place it in a cupcake linear is a good option.    

I'm referring to Carol's recipe book (Carol 不藏私料理厨房 page 154, 155, 156) and Honey Bee Sweets's blog for my Flaky Swirl Mooncakes, thank you Carol for sharing the wonderful recipe with us.

Note:
This mooncakes is not advice to keep more than 2 days, the flaky swirl will turn soft on the third day.

Ingredients:
water dough:
200g plain flour
15g sugar
70g ghee
105ml cold water

oil dough:
160g pastry flour
80g ghee
a few drops yam paste
a few drops food colouring (paste)

Filling:
500g yam 
80g fine sugar
30g butter
20g full cream milk powder

Method:

1. Prepare the filling: Peel off the skin of yam, cut the yam into small cubes. Steam the yam in steamer for 20 mins. When it is done, mash the yam with a fork. Add the sugar, butter and milk powder, mixed well. Set a side to cool. 

Divide the yam paste into 12 portions. Roll it into balls. (If you place it into fridge overnight, make sure to bring back to room temperature before use)

2. Prepare the water dough: Add all ingredients for water dough together, knead for a while (~5 mins) to form soft and pliable dough. Cover with plastic cling and let it rest in the fridge for ~30 mins. 

3. Prepare the oil dough: Add all ingredients for oil dough together, use the hand to form a rough dough. (Do not over knead the dough). Cover with plastic cling and let it rest in the fridge.

4. Assemble: Divide the water dough and oil dough into six portions respectively. Roll them into round balls. Take a water dough ball, flatten and wrap in oil dough. Flatten the dough ball with your palm and use the rolling pin to flatten the dough into long shape, roll up Swiss roll style. Let the dough rest for 10 mins. 

Flatten the rested dough into long shape again, roll up Swiss roll style. Let the dough rest for ~20 mins. Cut the dough into half. The cut side face upward and flatten the dough with palm. Flip the cut side downward and wrap in the yam paste filling. Bring the edge together and seal. Repeat for the remaining dough. 

5. Place the Mooncakes dough on lined baking tray and bake at 170C for 25~35 mins. or until the flaky swirl appears. 

Tang Yuan With Sweet Osmanthus (Black Sesame Filling) 桂花黑芝麻汤圆

Have you ever link eating Tang Yuan (a bouncy chewy glutinous rice balls dessert) to Japanese Zen 禅？I do. ^^

Tang Yuan is a bouncy chewy glutinous rice balls traditionally eaten during Yuan Xiao 元宵 and Chinese Winter Solstice Festival 冬至. It has the meaning of reunion. It is usually cook in a pot of boiling water, serve with sweet soup. My late grandma loves to cook the Tang Yuan without any filling in it. The last time I made my own Tang Yuan was in December 2013.

Recently we have a friend served us her homemade Tang Yuan, it was served with Sweet Osmanthus soup. I'm not sure was it because of the sweet osmanthus or may be the utensils we used, I associated eating the Tang Yuan with Japanese Zen. The soup is clean and pure and the osmanthus is so pretty, the chewy glutinous rice ball go well with the warm sweet osmanthus, yes, the sweetness of the soup is just right, not over dose by sugar. This dessert is very comforting!

Today I can't resist the desire to eat that Zen's style Tang Yuan again. First time for me to make the Tang Yuan with filling, I search the Internet and come across China Sichuan Food's Tang Yuan, I modified the water contents in the recipe and used cook dough method to make the bouncy chewy Tang Yuan. If you prefer the filling to be more liquefied you have to add more butter in the filling, the black sesame filling will burst in one bite. ^o^ I have certain expectation on the filing, I don't like it to be too runny, when we finished eating the Tang Yuan I want my sweet osmanthus soup to be clear and not fill with bits of black sesame filling.

To get a successful bouncy rice balls, is important to gradually add water into flour as much as it can absorb, knead properly, the dough should be wet, smooth and not sticky. After cooking the glutinous rice balls in boiling water, make sure you scoop out the glutinous rice balls and let it sit in a bowl of room temperature water before serving. Freeze the Tang Yuan dough balls if you are not going to consume it immediately. 

Recipe by Awayofmind Bakery House
yield: 47 pieces
Ingredients:
Black Sesame Filling:
250g toasted black sesame powder
180g fine sugar
200g butter, melted (add more so the black sesame and sugar mixture can form a rough dough)

Glutinous Rice Balls:
500g glutinous rice flour
2 tbsp sugar
~420ml water (200ml hot water, 220ml room temperature water gradually add) 

Soup:
warm water
Sweet Osmanthus syrup

Method:

1. Prepare the filling: Mix the filling ingredients together, mixed well. Divide into the portion you desire and chill in the fridge before use.

2. Prepare the tang yuan: in a mixing bowl, add half of the glutinous rice flour (250g) and sugar. Add in 200ml of hot water, use a chopstick to stir it together, then use the hands to knead the dough until it comes together. Add the remaining flour (250g), gradually add the room temperature water, continue to knead the dough. You will notice the flour will absorb all the water, knead the dough until it is smooth. The dough should feel wet and smooth with hands.

3. Boil water in a medium size soup pot, prepare a bowl of drinking water (room temperature) place beside. 

4. Roll the dough into log and divide it into smaller balls. Roll it between palm to make it round, make an indention on the ball, fill it with a small ball of black sesame paste. Wrap up the edge of the dough and seal, roll it between palm again to make round ball. Repeat until all dough is used.

5. Drop the balls into the boiling water pot in (3), when the Tang Yuan float on the surface, it means it is cooked, keep it in the boiling water for another 1/2 mins. Scoop the Tang Yuan out from the boiling water and place it in the bowl of drinking water. Let it be there until serving.

6. Serving: Scoop out three pieces of Tang Yuan to a serving bowl, place 80ml warm water in the bowl with a teaspoon of sweet osmanthus syrup.

Cranberry Cream Cheese Bread 蔓越梅阿扁面包

A few days ago, I brought home two yummy cranberry cream cheese flat buns after I attended Asian Coffee Morning. It was a beautiful bun baked by a friend, her beautiful bakes really inspired me to continue my baking journey which nowadays most of the time I find it lack of motivation to do so. My son love the cranberry cream cheese bread, he asked for more after taking two! As I have three tubs of Philadelphia Cream Cheese sitting in my fridge, I decided to put them into good use.

When searching on the filling, I find there are two types of filling recipe, one is cream cheese with condensed milk the other one is cream cheese with icing sugar, I used the later. With water roux in the bun, it produces a fluffy soft bread texture.  Huh... I forgot to flatten the bun a bit after shaping, and thought I could press down the bun with a tray on top before baking, I think I pressed it too hard. It was a mistake that cause some buns to have hairline cracks on the edge of the bun after baked.

Thanks Cook With No Books for the beautiful recipe!

近来的我在烘焙这方面都是懒散的，孩子每一天的课程都是排得满满的，一有空摊我就想在沙发上磕睡一下。好不容易在朋友那找回烘焙灵感，看她完成每一个漂亮的成品让我手瘾大起，这是real world 的Bake-Along。 那天从集会带回倆个朋友弄的蔓越梅阿扁面包，我家孩子吃下倆个还嫌不够，今天就开工弄了十二个，这应该够吃了吧？ ^^ 

日子里能有闲情游博客真的真的太棒了。。。是的今天新的钟点拥人开始上班，她迟到了一个小时，来了五个小时才只弄好楼上。。。我都一一忍下了，有钟点帮忙得感激才好还得提醒自己别随便炒了人家咯！

Recipe adapted from Cook With No Books with minor changes
Ingredients:

Water Roux:
30g bread flour
150ml water

Bread dough:
300g bread flour
100g plain flour
80g sugar
20g milk powder
1 tbsp instant dried yeast
1/4 tsp fine salt
1 egg 
50g dried cranberries, soaked in hot water for 10 mins then drained
150ml cold water (add in gradually)
60g cold butter, cubes (I used 50g)
some extra bread flour for dusting the dough and hands if the dough is too sticky 

Filling:
260g cream cheese, room temperature (I used 300g)
60g icing sugar

Method:
1. Prepare water roux: Mix bread flour with water in a small saucepan, heat up under medium heat to 65C, keep stirring until the mixture thicken. Cover and set aside.

2. Prepare the bread dough: Combine all the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl, add the water roux and egg. Knead the dough using KitchenAid speed 1 and gradually add the cold water while kneading. Switch the KA speed to 4 and let the bread dough knead until it form smooth dough, add in the butter cubes, let the KA continue to knead until the dough form elastic film. Add in the cranberries, knead in the cranberries to the dough.

3. Let the dough proof to double its size, about 40 mins, depends on how hot is your kitchen. 
4. Whisk the cream cheese together with sugar in a bowl, set aside to chill in the freezer.
5. Transfer the proof dough to a floured worktop, punch down the air and divide the dough into 12 portions. Rest the dough for 10 mins. (If the wet dough is too sticky, dust the dough and your hands with some bread flour)
6. Flatten the bread dough, spoon a tbsp of cream cheese into the middle of the dough, wrap up the dough by gather the edge and pinch the dough to seal. Dust both side of the dough with bread flour, use the hands to flatten the dough a bit. Place the bread dough on a lined baking tray, leave enough space in between each dough. Let it proof for 30 mins.

7. Lay a piece of parchment paper over the bread dough. Weigh down the dough with another baking tray over it. 

8. Bake at preheat oven at 210C for 12 mins.

*Can chill the bun in the freezer, reheat 30 seconds in the microwave will still produces soft fluffy bun.