Have you noticed that more people are consuming less mooncakes these days? Or maybe my husband and I are the only one that are becoming more health-conscious and eating less mooncakes?
Do you love mooncakes but hate consuming too much sugar and fat from them?
However, a mooncake is a mooncake if it is not made with a good amount of sugar and fat! And if I have to eat a tasteless mooncake or a mooncake that is made with artificial sweentener, I would rather not to eat any mooncake! Agree?
This is why I'm baking these red bean paste mooncake slices to satisfy my mooncake crave without consuming excessive sugar and fat from these yummy controlled-portion-size festive treats...
Love the idea?
My family and I love these Red Bean Paste Mooncake Pastry Slices
They are less guilty and delicious!
Unlike most traditional baked mooncakes, these less-guilty mooncake slices are made with:
1) homemade red bean paste with moderate amount of sugar and oil. Plus, the oil that I used to cook the paste has low saturated fat and NO trans fat. My recipes are at here and here.
2) 1:1 pastry and red bean paste filling. Most mooncake pastry contains a lot lesser fat and sugar than almost all mooncake paste fillings. Hence, it is better to make or bake mooncakes with more pastry than fillings or at least in 1:1 ratio.
3) NO lard or NO any other fat that has high saturated fat and trans fat
4) NO salted egg yolk
Best of all, they taste like mooncakes and they are delicious!!!
YUM!!!
These red bean mooncake pastry slices can be a little naughty.
... but they are definitely a lot nicer than most traditional mooncakes!
Sorry that I don't have a video showing how I made and shaped these mooncake slices because it was difficult to shape them with a video camera in my way.
However, please be assured that these slices are not too difficult to bake as the recipe is actually quite simple and straightforward.
Like my recipes? For my latest updates, you can follow me at either my Facebook at here or here or my Instagram @zoebakeforhappykids
Here's the recipe that is modified from the book, Traditional Chinese Pastries by Amy Wong.
Make eight 2.5 cm / 1 inch slices For the pastry:
90g golden syrup
20g vegetable oil
1/2 tsp baking soda
100g plain / all purpose flour
For the filling:
200g homemade red bean paste, recipes are here and here
For the egg wash:
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp milk
Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F. Line one baking tray with a piece of baking paper. Set aside.
To make pastry:
Using a wooden spoon, beat golden syrup and oil for about 1-2 mins or until combined. Add baking soda and beat for about 1 min or until incorporated. Do not over-beat at this stage. Add flour. Use a spoon to mix gently until the mixture forms a soft pliable dough. Wrap dough with cling wrap. Set aside to rest at room temperature for at least 1 hr.
To shape:
Place dough onto a large piece of cling wrap and use a rolling pin to roll pastry into a flat rectangle shape (about 20 cm x 30 cm).
Briefly shape red bean paste into a rectangular block and place it into the rolled pastry. Place another large piece of cling wrap onto the red bean paste and use a rolling pin to roll on top of the cling wrap. Keep rolling the paste very gently and outwards along the length and width of the rectangle until it forms a large and flat rectangle shape (about 20 cm x 30 cm) which is the same size as the pastry.
Use your fingers to pick the cling wrap at the bottom and use it to roll the pastry from the shorter end along the longer side to form a long flat log shape (about 20 cm long). Use a rolling pin to flatten the pastry slightly if the log is too rounded.
Place the rolled pastry on the prepared tray. Use a blunt knife or flat spatula to make a criss-cross pattern on top. Brush pastry with egg wash.
Bake for 20 mins or until deep golden brown. Note: The pastry will puff up and crack slightly during baking but its shape will stay mostly intact. Allow pastry to cool slightly on the tray for 5-10 mins, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely. When the pastry is completely cooled, the small cracks on it will become less obvious.
Trim off both uneven ends and cut pastry into 2.5 cm / 1 inch slices. Serve and enjoy!
Store pastry in an airtight container at room temperature for up 1 week.
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