Hóng Dòu Shā Yuèbǐng (紅豆沙月餅) – Red Bean Paste Mooncakes

Ingredients

• 12-13 Salted Duck Egg Yolks, optional
• Chinese Rose Wine (玫瑰露酒), optional
• All-Purpose Flour
• Water
• 1 large Egg

One recipe of:

• Mooncake Dough

Two recipes of:

• Chinese-Style Red Bean Paste

Procedure

• Set the yolks onto a plate, evenly spaced apart. Brush on a thin layer of rose wine. Steam for 5 minutes. Bring it to room temperature before assembling.
• Divide the mooncake dough into 40g pieces. Keep them covered with a piece of cling film while shaping, to prevent drying.
• Divide the paste into 70g pieces. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to use.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).
• Place a yolk within the bean paste, then completely encapsulate with the mooncake dough. Make sure it is a slightly squished sphere for the mooncake mold.
• Dust the mooncake mold with flour and tap the excess out. Stamp it with the press, then slowly release the mooncake.
• Line them up on a parchment-lined sheet pan and spray a light mist of water onto the bean paste mooncakes. Bake for 5 minutes.
• While the bean paste mooncakes are baking, make an egg wash by whisking the egg with 1T of cold water.
• Remove the sheet pan, lightly egg wash the tops of the bean paste mooncakes, and place them back into the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown throughout.
• Cool completely on a cooling rack before packing them up in an air-tight container. Let them rest for 1-2 days before consuming with friends and family!

*Bunny Wisdom*

• Salted duck yolks can be found at most Asian supermarkets. We found ours at our local Chinese grocery.
• If components are sticky or are difficult to handle: use a small dusting of flour on the dough to prevent sticking, and take a thin layer of neutral oil on the fingers and palms for the bean paste.
• The yolks will be somewhat flat. Try and keep that shape going throughout the stuffing and stamping process. It will keep the yolk in the center, and give you a proper mooncake shape.
• We use molds that hold 125g. They are about 3 inches in diameter and come in a variety of designs.
• If the dough is sticky, don't be afraid to dust the entire sphere with some flour before pressing with the mold.
• You will want to make sure the mooncake slowly spreads and fills the entire mold before releasing them onto the parchment. The scalloped edges and the motif on the tops should be distinct and sharp.
• The imprinted design is the only part that is being egg washed. A thin layer is all that is needed, so that the design becomes prominent after baking.
• These can definitely be eaten once completely cooled, but the hydration from the mooncake filling hasn't re-distributed to the mooncake skin and yolk, and can look a little dry. We wait at least a day before eating, but it's at its prime on the second day. If you take a look at the photo of the freshly baked mooncake (at the bottom of the page) and the photo at the very top of the post, you will notice that the exterior of the mooncake is hydrated and darkened in the top photo.