FrannyCooks Special : Snowskin White Lotus with Earl Grey Mooncakes by 1872 Clipper Tea Co.
I know I'm a few days delayed but allow me to still wish you all...祝你中秋節快樂 (Happy Mid-Autumn Festival)!!!
Next to the Chinese New Year, this is one of my much-awaited festivals as I love love love shopping for and eating mooncakes. Back in Manila, I thought there was just one kind -- the traditional baked kind that's filled with white lotus paste, salted egg and melon seeds. It was when I moved to Singapore that I was introduced to a whole new universe of mooncakes! From snowskin wrapped mooncakes filled with coffee, ice cream, truffles, durian and even for some, even bacon. I really have to give it to the mooncake chefs and his creativity.
This year was made extra special by 1872 Clipper Tea Co as it allowed me to take a step further and to learn how to make mooncakes. I was really excited upon receiving the invite and it coincidentally fell right on Paul's birthday making it a really happy day.
I joined a small group of fellow bloggers at the very cozy flat of The Baking Loft that afternoon. First step was to find a partner and I quickly teamed up with pretty Adele also known as Madame Chewy.
We listened intently to the demonstration conducted by the chef. She really made it look so easy and I hope Adele and I will be able to successfully make our mooncakes with the same ease too. I love that the mooncakes were infused with the Timeless Earl Grey tea as it has this floral, aromatic scent that goes so well with the white lotus paste and apricot bits too.
Ready to make your own Snowskin White Lotus with Earl Grey and Apricot Mooncakes?
Here are the things that you would need:
1.5 tbsp Clipper Earl Grey Dried Tea Leaves (steeped in water)
30g Tea Water
100g Glutinous Rice Flour (Kou Fien)
50g Caster Sugar
30g Salted Butter (soften)
90g Ice Cream Soda
200g Lotus Paste
20g Dried apricot (chopped)
Step #1: Steep your tea leaves in 1/2 cup boiling water and set aside.
Step #2: Gently sift the flour and sugar. Mix this with the softened butter.
Step #3: As soon as you have achieved a crumbly texture, add in the 30g of earl grey tea water and ice cream soda.
Step #4: Slowly mix all these together to form a soft dough. Knead the dough until it's smooth and store it inside a clean plastic bag to set aside.
Step #5: In making the filling, knead the white lotus paste and flatten it out. Add in the dried tea leaves and apricot depending on your desired taste.
Step #6: Portion the dough to 20g and the filling at 22g. Knead and roll them into balls.
Step #7: Flatten the dough into a round shape with the size of your palm. Fill this in with the white lotus paste filling and cover it up to seal all the fillings inside.
Step #8: Sprinkled the closing gap area with flour and pressed it down the mooncake mold.
There you have it! My first ever mooncake experiment and I'd say that Adele and I did a great job. I really enjoyed these Snowskin Mooncakes as I love the smell of the Timeless Earl Grey as well as the citrus-y apricot bits too.
Did you know?! The Timeless Earl Grey as well as the Cranberry Sunrise recently won the Great Taste award which is a very prestigious UK-based award-giving body as each product goes through a hundred judges through a blind-tasting process in order to determine the best among the lot. Yup, it's exactly the same Timeless Earl Grey tea blend that I just used for the recipe above.
Next to the Chinese New Year, this is one of my much-awaited festivals as I love love love shopping for and eating mooncakes. Back in Manila, I thought there was just one kind -- the traditional baked kind that's filled with white lotus paste, salted egg and melon seeds. It was when I moved to Singapore that I was introduced to a whole new universe of mooncakes! From snowskin wrapped mooncakes filled with coffee, ice cream, truffles, durian and even for some, even bacon. I really have to give it to the mooncake chefs and his creativity.
I joined a small group of fellow bloggers at the very cozy flat of The Baking Loft that afternoon. First step was to find a partner and I quickly teamed up with pretty Adele also known as Madame Chewy.
We listened intently to the demonstration conducted by the chef. She really made it look so easy and I hope Adele and I will be able to successfully make our mooncakes with the same ease too. I love that the mooncakes were infused with the Timeless Earl Grey tea as it has this floral, aromatic scent that goes so well with the white lotus paste and apricot bits too.
Ready to make your own Snowskin White Lotus with Earl Grey and Apricot Mooncakes?
Here are the things that you would need:
1.5 tbsp Clipper Earl Grey Dried Tea Leaves (steeped in water)
30g Tea Water
100g Glutinous Rice Flour (Kou Fien)
50g Caster Sugar
30g Salted Butter (soften)
90g Ice Cream Soda
200g Lotus Paste
20g Dried apricot (chopped)
Step #6: Portion the dough to 20g and the filling at 22g. Knead and roll them into balls.
Step #8: Sprinkled the closing gap area with flour and pressed it down the mooncake mold.
Did you know?! The Timeless Earl Grey as well as the Cranberry Sunrise recently won the Great Taste award which is a very prestigious UK-based award-giving body as each product goes through a hundred judges through a blind-tasting process in order to determine the best among the lot. Yup, it's exactly the same Timeless Earl Grey tea blend that I just used for the recipe above.
