抹茶芋头酥 matcha green tea flaky mooncakes

Just like the previous years, weeks before the mid-autumn festival, my children started reminding me to make them their favourite snowskin mooncakes. Over the weekend, besides rushing out two batches of snowskin mooncakes to satisfy their cravings, I tried making some flaky yam mooncakes.

It's the first time I tried my hands at making these teochew style yam mooncakes. I followed the step by step instructions from my favourite Chinese blogger, Carol 自在生活, although the mooncakes I made do not look great, they taste really good!

The yam filling which I made from scratch is very fragrant and flavourful...not overly sweet and I like the hint of buttery and milky flavour.

The matcha flavoured pastry crust is not distinct at all but it certainly helps to made these flaky mooncakes look more appealing to the eyes :)

I also tried some with ready made red bead paste as fillings. The red bean paste which I bought from kwong cheong thye never disappoints me. It is not too sweet and the texture is very smooth. It is worth the effort to make a special trip each year to this shop to get my mooncake ingredients.


Here's wishing you a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!
花好月圆，福满金秋，中秋节快乐！



Matcha Green Tea Flaky Yam Mooncakes 抹茶芋头酥

Ingredients:
(makes 12)

yam filling:
450g yam (peeled)
70g caster sugar
25g unsalted butter
15g milk powder (omit if not available)

water dough:
200g plain flour
15g icing sugar
70g shortening
100g water

oil dough:
155g plain flour
5g matcha powder
80g shortening


Method:

yam filling:

• Cut yam into chunks and steam for 15 to 20mins or until soft. Mash finely with a fork while hot. Add in caster sugar, unsalted butter and milk powder(if using), mix well. If desired, add extra sugar and adjust sweetness according to taste. Leave to cool. Divide into 45g portions and shape into rounds and set aside.

water dough:

• Sieve together flour and icing sugar into a mixing bowl. Rub in shortening with fingertips until the mixture becomes crumbly. Add in the water and mix and knead for about 5 mins to form a soft dough. Cover with cling wrap and leave the dough to rest for 40mins.

oil dough:

• Sieve plain flour and matcha powder into a mixing bowl. Add shortening and mix with hand to form a soft dough. Do not over knead. (Note: Cover oil dough with cling wrap and keep in fridge till ready to use.)

to assemble:

1. Divide oil dough into 6 portions (about 40g each), shape into rounds.
2. Divide water dough into 6 portions (about 65g each), shape into rounds. Flatten water dough and roll to form a disc (about 10cm diameter). With the smooth surface facing out, wrap one portion of the oil dough pinch and seal the seam. Shape into round ball. Repeat with the rest.
3. For each wrapped dough, flatten and roll out into a thin, longish oval shape. From the shorter end, roll up swiss roll style. Place seam side down and cover with a damp cloth, leave to rest for 10mins. (Refer to the first video demo posted here.)
4. When ready, repeat the Step 3. Place seam side down and cover with a damp cloth, leave to rest for 20mins. (Refer to the second video demo posted here.)
5. When ready, cut each rolled up dough into two equal portions. Flatten each dough and roll to form a disc (about 10cm diameter). Wrap one portion of the yam filling, pinch and seal the seam and shape into a round. (Refer to the third video demo posted here.) 
6. Place seam side down on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the rest.
7. Bake in preheated oven at 170degC in the middle rack for about 25mins. Leave to cool on cooling rack. Store in air tight container in room temperature up to two days. Reheat in oven till warm before serving as the crust tends to harden upon cooling. Reheating will make the crust flaky and crisp.

Recipe source: adapted from Carol 自在生活