Mini Bunny Snowskin Mooncakes

I can’t believe time past so fast! It seems like just only yesterday I’d made these piggy and bunny mooncakes and I’m already making them again! Mid-Autumn Festival is a very popular festival celebrated by Chinese worldwide and is held on the 15th day of the 8th month in the Chinese calendar, when the moon is at its roundest. Somehow I’ve always heard people saying that the moon is always the largest and roundest during Mid-Autumn festival… I wonder how true is that!

This year, besides my baked mooncakes, I’ve also attempted making snowskin mooncakes. Snowskin mooncakes became popular several years back due to the wide variety of flavours that can be made. I’ve seen flavours like durian, sesame, green tea, mocha, tiramisu, chocolate etc. Though they sound really interesting, I still prefer my traditional baked mooncakes with red bean paste / lotus paste filling… but I’m still making them this year for my friends and colleagues to try.

I got the snowskin recipe from Mei Shi China (Chinese website),  which uses raw glutinous rice flour and rice flour steamed together in milk. This recipe is different from other recipes I’ve found online which uses cooked glutinous rice flour mixed with water.

The skin was very soft, tender and elastic – it was pretty easy to manage (as long as your hands are dusted with cooked glutinous rice flour). I made them really mini in size so that it’s a one-mouth-one-bunny – easier to give out to friends too! However I must admit it’s quite time consuming trying to shape all the bunnies…

I ate one immediately after wrapping and it’s very chewy and elastic – like muah chee / mochi. After a night’s rest in the fridge, it’s less elastic but still soft – and I think that’s how snowskin generally tastes like. However, the downside is that the skin will gradually harden, so they have to be consumed within 2 days (I ate one on the 3rd day and the skin’s really hard!)

The bunnies are only slightly taller than a 50 cents coin!

On a side note, I’ve rearranged the layout of my blog, so here are some changes if you’ve noted:

• You can now see the top 10 posts on the right sidebar in picture! (I believe a picture speaks louder than words )
• Above the top 10 posts there’s a “Surprise Me” which brings you to random posts on this blog – it’s kind of fun if you ask me
• I’ve re-categorized all my posts and display it on the sidebar – it should be easier to navigate around this blog, with categories like:
  • “Difficulty levels” from step-by-step photos guide to challenging bakes;
  • “Events” for my Aspiring Bakers, Bake-Along, The Home Bakers and Cook Like a Star bakes;
  • “Meal Type” which includes appetizers, breakfast, mains, desserts and sweets;
    • I realized I baked a lot of chocolate cakes, so I’ve split the cake category into chocolate cakes and other cakes - easier to find recipes!
  • “Special” will cover interesting bakes like those with alcohol, special holiday treats etc. (fruits, tea and coffee, nuts and spices go in here as I can’t find other category to throw them in…); and
  • “Travelogues” is plainly all the travel destinations I’ve been to – I am definitely hoping to expand this list!
• To prevent over-crowding in the sidebar, I made use of the footer bar for my recent posts, archives, awards, baking events etc.

I hope you all like the new layout and hope you all will have a more enjoyable read here

On to the step-by-step photos!

Measure milk, coconut milk, sugar and oil in a mixing bowl. Whisk together with a pair of chopsticks.

Sift glutinous rice flour, rice flour and corn flour in.

Whisk to get a smooth consistency. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.

Steam over high heat for 15 minutes until the dough has set.

Stir with a pair of chopsticks until the dough forms a ball. Let cool completely before using!

Bunnies waiting to be eaten up!

I’m submitting this to Bizzy Bakes’ Recipe Box #15. Do hop over to see all the lovely treats foodies have submitted!

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Mini Bunny Snowskin Mooncakes (makes 25 ~20g bunnies)

adapted from Mei Shi China (recipe is in Chinese)

45 grams glutinous rice flour (糯米粉)
35 grams rice flour (粘米粉)
20 grams corn flour (蜀粉) – Note [1]
50 grams caster sugar (白糖)
90 grams coconut milk (椰浆) – Note [2]
100 grams milk (牛奶)
20 grams vegetable oil (植物油) – Note [3]
250 grams lotus paste filling (莲蓉陷) – Note [4]
30 – 50 grams melon seeds, toasted and cooled completely – Note [5]
Cooked glutinous rice flour for dusting (熟糕粉) – Note [6]
Melted chocolate

Measure glutinous rice flour, rice flour and corn flour in a small bowl. Stir to mix them thoroughly.

In a large heatproof mixing bowl, measure the caster sugar, coconut milk, full-fat milk and vegetable oil. Stir with a pair of chopsticks / whisk to mix them together, dissolving the sugar in the process.

Sift the flour mixture into the milk mixture and whisk till incorporated. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap (cling film) and set aside for 30 minutes.

Prepare a steamer. Remove the plastic wrap and steam over high heat for 15 minutes till the dough has set. Remove the mixing bowl from the steamer and immediately use a pair of chopsticks to stir the dough vigorously – it will be very elastic and hard to mix – until the dough comes together into a ball. (Wear a pair of oven gloves when stirring to prevent yourself from getting burned.)

Cover the dough with a plastic wrap (cling film) – making sure the plastic wrap is touching the surface of the dough. This is to prevent the surface of the dough from hardening. Let the dough cool completely to room-temperature before using. If urgent, place it in a room-temperature water bath to cool it faster – you want the dough to be at room temperature, not cold.

While the dough is cooling, divide the filling  into 25 pieces(10 grams each) and roll desired amount of toasted melon seeds in them. Set aside.

Once the dough has cooled completely, dust your hands with cooked glutinous rice flour and divide the dough into 25 pieces – with each piece weighing 8 to 10 grams. The extra dough will be used to make the ears and tails.

Dust your hands and wrap a filling inside the dough. Shape into an oval shape. This will be the bunny body.

Dust your hands and pinch 3 small doughs from the extra dough. Shape 2 into ears and 1 into tail. Dab the ears and tail in a little water (or brush with a little water) and stick onto the bunny body. Pipe a little melted chocolate for the eyes.

Repeat until all bunnies have been formed.

Store the mooncakes in an air-tight container and refrigerate overnight. Consume the mooncakes within the next 2 days. (The longer the mooncakes sit, the skin will harden and it will not taste good, so eat as soon as possible for best taste and texture.)

Notes:

[1] Cornflour can be substituted with wheat starch (澄粉).

[2] Coconut milk can be substituted with either milk or evaporated milk (炼乳), but it will not be as fragrant.

[3] Vegetable oil can be substituted with olive oil (橄榄油).

[4] Use any of your favourite filling – red bean, tiramisu, etc.

[5] To toast melon seeds: spread an even layer of melon seeds on a baking tray. Bake in a preheated oven of 175 degrees Celsius for 5 – 10 minutes until the seeds are fragrant and lightly golden brown. Let the seeds cool completely to room temperature before using.

[6] To prepare cooked glutinous rice flour: spread an even layer of glutinous rice flour on a baking tray. Microwave for 2 minutes on high till the flour is heated through. Alternatively, fry the flour in a non-stick frying pan until heated through. When tasted, the flour should not have any flour taste. Let cool completely before using. The flour helps to prevent the dough from sticking onto your hands.

[7] To make a normal size mooncakes (~45 grams) – grab 25 grams of filling and mix in some melon seeds. Wrap in 20 grams of dough and use the mooncake mould to make a mooncake shape/design.

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Happy mooncake-ing!

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Tags: asian, baking, chinese, Coconut milk, cooking, Flour, food, glutinous rice, Mid-Autumn Festival, Mooncake, recipes, Rice flour

• September 21, 2012
• 4) Desserts & Sweets, Allergy-free, b) Medium, Creative Bakes, Egg-free, Fun for Kids, Holiday Special, Mid-Autumn Festival, No-bake, Pies, Pastries, Tarts, Special
• 41 comments