Shanghai mooncake is best known for its short crust pastry. The western style crisp and buttery mooncake crust goes perfectly with the sweet and savoury chinese style lotus paste filling with salted egg yolk.
First, have ready all ingredients needed to make these Shanghai mooncakes.
To start, bake salted egg yolks in a 175 degree C preheated oven for 10 minutes. Then lightly toast melon seeds. Set them aside to cool before use.
Prepare Mooncake Skin
Put margarine and icing sugar in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Cream until well combined. Then add in egg yolks, one at a time. Mix to combine well after each addition. Then, mix the batter with evaporated milk.
Slowly add in the sieved flour and mix until a soft dough is formed. Cover with cling wrap and rest the soft dough for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, divide the rested soft dough into 5 equal pieces, 80g each. Meanwhile prepare mooncake filling.
Prepare Mooncake Filling
First knead toasted melon and sesame seeds into the lotus seed paste till well combined. Then, form the lotus paste into a log and divide into 5 equal pieces, 105g each. Wrap each piece of lotus paste with one egg yolk (15g) and form into ball. You should have 5 lotus paste balls, each weighing 120g.
Assemble mooncakes:
To assemble the mooncakes, first flatten the soft pastry dough and wrap around the lotus paste ball. Gently push, press and squeeze the dough, holding the ball securely in your palm, until the dough skin gradually covers the lotus paste ball. Roll into a ball. Repeat this step to finish the remaining dough skin and lotus paste balls.
Next, mould the mooncake. Dust a little flour on the mooncake mould. Place the stuffed round mooncake into the mould. Turn it UPRIGHT on a smooth surface. Then press the plunger down until you feel resistance. Lift the mooncake mould off the surface and use the plunger to push the mooncake out.
Repeat the same with the rest of the wrapped lotus paste balls. Then arrange the mooncakes onto a baking tray. Egg wash lightly on the surface of each mooncake.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 190 degree C. Place mooncakes into the preheated oven to bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown in colour. Then remove and transfer the baked mooncakes to cool completely on wire rack.
These mooncakes are best served after 2 to 3 days to allow the pastry to absorb some oil from the filling. Hence the skin will turn soft and has a crisp but crumbly texture.
It is best to serve these shanghai mooncakes 2 to 3 days after they are baked to allow the skin to turn soft and oil released to the surface (not dry).
Make sure the mooncakes are cooled before applying egg wash so as to get an even colour.
Leave the mooncakes to cool completely and store in airtight container.
If the mooncakes are dry enough after baking, it can be kept up to weeks in an air-tight container.