Custard Moon Cake 奶黃月餅

These exquisite moon cakes are created by innovative bakers from Hong Kong. A box of eight reportedly fetches almost HK$500 (~USD$65-70)!! The cake is filled with moist and rich custard with a nice coconut flavor. The recipe is straight forward but it takes some tricks and a lot of practice to create a nice and distinctive look.

I tried different recipes and finally came up with this one with modifications.

這款近年風靡香港的奶黃月餅，身價越來越貴，據報一盒八個要港幣近五百大元 !!
不過又真是很好食，奶黃餡香滑，加上一杯熱茶，真是一絕。

Ingredients to make 12 mini custard moon cakes, about 55g each

Crust 餅皮:
47g sugar 糖
182g cake flour 低筋麵粉
12g custard powder 吉士粉
18g half & half or evaporated milk 花奶
15g egg 蛋液
91g butter, softened 室溫牛油

Custard fillings 奶黃餡:
60g sugar 糖
18g cake flour 低筋麵粉
18g custard powder 吉士粉
18g milk powder 奶粉
25g condensed milk 煉奶
30g egg 蛋液
100g coconut milk 椰奶
30g butter 牛油
3 salted egg yolks, optional 鹹蛋黃

Egg wash: 1 egg yolk with 1/2 tsp water 掃餅面蛋液：一個蛋黃加半茶匙水
Syrup: 1 tbsp sugar dissolved in 1/2 tsp warm water 糖水：一湯匙糖溶於半茶匙水

Make the filling:
1) Mix sugar, flour, custard flour and milk powder in a large bowl. Add condensed milk, egg and coconut milk. Mix well and add butter. Pour into a shallow dish for steaming.
2) Steam for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the steamer while it is still hot and mix it well with a spoon. Let it cool down. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Make the crust:
1) Cream room temperature butter with sugar in a stand mixer or use a whisk in a large bowl for a few minutes.
2) Add egg and half & half. Mix until incorporated.
3) Add the flour and custard flour and mix until incorporated. Do not over mix.
4) Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.

Assembly:
1) Divide the filling into 12 balls about 25g each (put in a quarter of a salty duck egg yolk, if use). Divide the crust into 12 as well, 30g each.

2) Flatten a portion of the crust dough between two pieces of plastic wrap. Put in a portion of the filling and close up the seams.

3) Roll it in a small dish with flour. Put it in a moon cake mold and press. Continue with the rest the same way.

4) Bake in a preheated 480F oven for 5 minutes.
5) Take out the baking sheet and brush very lightly with egg wash. Let them dry for 10 minutes.
6) Brush another layer of egg wash and return to the oven for 5 more minutes.
7) Remove from the oven and brush a thin layer of syrup on top. Then return to the oven and bake for one more minute.
8) Take out the cakes and let them cool completely on a rack. They can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerated for two weeks. They may be reheated in a 350F oven for 7-8 minutes. Do not microwave.

Notes:
1) It is very important not to brush too much egg wash otherwise it will smear or distort the delicate pattern/design of the moon cakes.
2) Avoid rolling too much flour before pressing with the mold. Just enough to prevent sticking with the mold.


餡料做法：
1) 將糖、所有粉類放大碗內，加入煉奶、椰奶及蛋液，攪勻，加牛油(不用攪勻)。
2) 大火蒸十五至廿分鐘，取出搓勻，待冷後放雪櫃過夜。

餅皮做法：
1) 室溫牛油加糖攪拌幾分鐘。
2) 加蛋及花奶，再攪至均勻。
3) 加麵粉及吉士粉，攪至沒有乾粉便可。用保鮮紙包好放雪櫃至少三十分鐘或過夜。

月餅做法：
1) 將餡料分成十二份，或廿五克一份(如用鹹蛋黃，可此時加入四份一個)。分餅皮成十二份，或三十克一份。
2) 將一份餅皮放兩張保鮮紙之間，用手掌壓平，或用擀面杖擀開，包入一份餡，收口後滾滿少許麵粉，放入模內壓出花紋。
3) 放入已預熱至480度焗爐焗五分鐘。
4) 取出掃上薄薄一層蛋液，十分鐘後再掃上一層，再放回焗爐焗五分鐘。
5) 取出掃上一層糖水，再焗多一分鐘便成。放架上待涼，放室溫可保存約三日，或放雪櫃一兩星期，食時放350度焗爐焗約七、八分鐘，不要放微波爐叮。

注意事項：
1) 掃蛋液不可太多，太厚會看不清楚餅面花紋，但太少又沒有金黃色，要適量啊。
2) 包好月餅後只須滾上薄薄麵粉，不可太厚。