Somewhere out there

A love that transcends space and time. I've got my hopes up and running as though on a constant dosage of steroids. Soon... very soon. All I can do now is cast a occasional glance at the moon and bask in it's transferable source of energy. Somehow, you are nearer.

Speaking of the moon, these are my first batch of traditional baked mooncakes. 3 days after the bake session, they were ready for the taste test. The verdict, I reckon the mooncake skin needs a little work, though I can't actually place my finger on the error. The hazelnut honey lotus paste proved to be quite a tease on the taste buds with an intriguing musky sweetness to it. For those interested in trying the recipe, I have posted it below!

Baked Mini Mooncakes
recipe adapted from Do What I Like.

Ingredients: (makes 6 mini mooncakes)
100g plain flour
30g peanut oil
65g golden syrup (Abram Lyles)
1/2 tsp alkaline water

Filling:
2 tblspoon of Hazelnut Honey
180g lotus paste

Method:
1. Mix peanut oil, golden syrup and alkaline water together in a big cup and sit this cup in a bowl of boiling water. Stir till mixture is well combine. Remove and leave aside to cool till warm state but not cold.
2. Sieve plain flour into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the flour and pour in the warm syrup. Mix till a dough is formed. Cover the mixing bowl with a wet towel and rest the dough for 30 - 45 minutes.
3. Divide dough and filling according to the size of your mould. Shape the dough into a round flat sheet with sides thinner than the centre.
4. Wrap in the filling and mould it into a ball shape. Coat it with flour.
5. Dredge wooden mooncake mould with flour and put the mooncake into the mould. Flatten it with your floured palms and make sure that the mooncake fills up the mould nicely.
6. To dislodge the mooncake, bang the mould on a hard surface with equal force in the north, south, east and west direction.
7. Place mooncakes on a lined pan and spray the mooncakes with some water. Bake at 180C - 190C for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, cool the cakes for 5 - 10 minutes then apply egg glace and bake for another 10 - 15 minutes or till golden brown. As every oven varies, please standby to check on your mooncakes. If you are doing standard size mooncakes, the baking time might be longer.
8. Store cooled mooncakes in an airtight container and serve only after 3 days when the mooncakes have 回油.