Taro & Coconut Snow Skin Mooncakes

Recipe & text by Amy Ho: Of the many traditions associated with Mid-Autumn Festival, one of the most important and well-recognized traditions is making and sharing mooncakes. In Chinese culture specifically, the round shape of the mooncakes represents the moon and symbolizes completeness and reunion. Unlike a traditional baked mooncake, the wrapper of the no-bake snowskin mooncakes is a mixture of glutinous rice flour, rice flour, and tapioca starch. The combination of these three ingredients gives the mooncakes its signature soft yet slightly chewy texture. The filling of snowskin mooncakes can range from jammy fruit centres to aromatic taro or custard fillings. The possibilities are endless.

• Ready In: 5 hrs
• Serves: 12
• Yields: 12 cakes (depending on mold size)

Ingredients

• Snowy Mooncake Wrapper

• 6  tablespoons glutinous-rice flour
• 5  tablespoons  rice flour
• 3  tablespoons tapioca flour
• 6  tablespoons icing sugar
• 175  ml  unsweetened full-fat coconut milk
• 1  tablespoon  vegetable oil
• 1⁄4 cup  toasted  rice flour, for dusting

• Taro Coconut Filling

• 3  cups  taro root, peeled and cubed
• 1  cup  purple  yam, peeled and cubed
• 1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
• 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2  tablespoons  vegetable oil
• 1⁄4 cup  unsweetened full-fat coconut milk
• 1⁄4 cup sago, pearls

Directions

1. For the Snowy Mooncake Wrapper:
2. In a large measuring cup, whisk together the coconut milk and oil. Set aside. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the glutinous rice flour, rice flour, tapioca starch, and sugar. While whisking, slowly add the coconut milk mixture. Whisk until smooth.
3. Divide the wrapper batter evenly into two small bowls. Color each bowl with a drop of food coloring. Transfer the bowls into a steam basket. Steam the batter over medium-high heat until mixture turns translucent, about 30 – 40 minutes.
4. Once the wrapper batter is translucent, remove the bowls from the heat. Using a spatula or chopsticks, stir the batter until it becomes springy and smooth, about 10 minutes. The dough will be be chunky at first.
5. Once the dough is smooth, transfer it onto a piece of plastic wrap. The dough will be hot.
6. Using the plastic wrap, knead the dough until it becomes uniform and has a glossy sheen. The dough will be springy. Flatten the dough into a disc and wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Hot dough will be too sticky to work with.
7. For the Taro Coconut Filling:
8. Peel taro and purple sweet potato and cut into 1-inch cubes. In a separate pot with a steamer basket, steam root vegetables until fork tender, about 30 minutes.
9. Transfer steamed taro and purple yam into a large bowl and add sugar and coconut milk. Mask with a large spoon or spatula until smooth. Fold in cooked sago pearls. Wrap the bowl with plastic wrap and chill until dough is ready to be rolled out.
10. Assembly:
11. After the dough has been chilled, it’s ready to be rolled out. If using a 50-gram press, take 15 grams of dough and place it between two small sheets of parchment paper. Roll out the dough until it's 1/8-inch in thickness.
12. Place 35 grams of filling at the center of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper around the filling so it’s completely sealed. Dust the ball with toasted rice flour.
13. Lightly dust the mooncake mold with toasted rice flour. Place the ball into the press.
14. Press against the table to form the mooncake. Use the plunger to release. Repeat until all the dough has been used up.