it's that time of the year again

in this thread we are experimenting with brownie snowskin mooncakes with a white chocolate ganache moon

am using the laziest possible brownie recipe, so am putting butter and dark chocolate on to melt in a non stick pan

my hob is electric so the lowest setting is perfect for melting chocolate without burning it

(obviously if you've not got an electric hob you might consider using the water bath method of melt chocolate so as not to singe it)

heating cream in a small pan until hot and then pouring it over white chocolate to make ganache

white chocolate ganache often goes a bit yellow but in this case, it's an advantage because it's for making the moon (traditionally an almost orange salted yolk)

one all the white chocolate has been melted, refrigerate and wait

when most of the chocolate has been melted, take it off the heat and keep stirring

add caster sugar (or granulated, or brown, etc) and stir

this is a double batch but normally, it's 200g dark chocolate, 200g butter, 200g sugar, 3 eggs, 100g plain flour

it's a very forgiving recipe (as all brownies are, I've substituted brown sugar and honey for the caster sugar or skimped 50g off the chocolate before and it's fine)

when pan and batter are cool-ish (if it's too hot the eggs will cook) add eggs and mix

yes, these are one pan brownies, I make them in the non-stick pan I melt the chocolate in, that's why I call them the laziest brownie ever

and then the flour is folded in

the folding motion is figure of eight where one half of the eight stripes the bottom of the bowl and the other half of the eight is outside the batter

it's for incorporating air into the batter

And then pour into buttered pans, pop into oven for 45mins at 160C.

I usually line the pans with baking paper but because I'm going to be moulding these into mooncake mochi, I don't really care about being able to neatly extract them

I think the most important thing for a mooncake is to evoke a moon. So the goal is to create the night sky when you cut into the cake (traditionally made with lotus paste and salted egg yolk).

Hence why here we are using brownie for the sky and ganache for the moon.

An illustration of the myriad types of mooncake (some evoke the moon with their round exterior, others have the moon surprise, etc)

Illustration from: https://journal.the-readymade.com/post/121381344369/lee-xin-li-personal-sentimental-happy-my

And they're coming out of the oven!

Added another 10mins to bake time. Due to the whole mochi thing, will want them a bit less gooey than usual.

1 cup glutinous rice flour, 1/4 cup sugar and then water is going in for the mochi which will make the snowskin

and then water added, mixed

it is going into the microwave next

oh the brownie is out of the oven and is cooling, it's got that lovey crackle texture on top which is how I measure a brownie success

mochi covered in cling film and am microwaving in short bursts, for about three minutes

periodically taking the mochi batter out of the microwave and mixing it, it should get stiffer each time

picture to illustrate texture of mochi batter as it is getting there, very viscous and goopy

white chocolate ganache is basically solid now and so I'm going to roll them into balls

this is basically the same as making white chocolate truffles

And then the mochi is being rolled out, you see it here as a translucent blob covered in cornstarch

Tip: always use more cornstarch than you think you need, this stuff is GOOEY

here is cooked brownie that has been smashed up

we are approaching ready to combine

I should add here that I've literally never made brownie snowskin mooncake before and this is an experiment

As we roll out the tiny moons and think on the meaning of unity they promise (it's a traditional pun) time to remember that unity doesn't mean false peace.

Good time to think on the secret messages once hidden in mooncakes and the revolution they promised.

Technical difficulties. The brownie batter is too warm and is melting the truffle moons, so they are banished to the fridge for a bit (a classic punishment, I am sure it will write poetry about their exile) and the mochi is rolled a little too thin. Experimentation continues.

failed experiment number one, the ganache melted by the brownie

Realised we have the wrong recipe for snowskin as I had assumed we could just use the regular mochi recipe. But we can't because snowskin is stiffer than mochi (is 50% rice flour) making it possible to stamp. Experimentation continues.

Second attempt with the incorrect dough. The brownie has cooled so the moon doesn't melt and is nice and visible! The press did what it can but the design isn't making a mark on the mochi.

more photos of the mochi experiment

closeups of the snowskin dough as it progresses through the stages of being mixed, microwaved and then kneaded with a spatula until glossy

this recipe: https://www.chinesefoodhistory.org/post/purple-and-white-mooncakes-a-twist-on-an-old-treat-with-a-chocolate-variation

bonus picture of dog as she sits on her mat, this is where she sits when we are in the kitchen

and here we are, finally assembling again, also note that the brownie has been kneaded into a dough-like consistency for better squashing

and voila some mooncakes!

experimenting with dusting with cocoa powder to prevent sticking but the dough really isn't like mochi in this regard, doesn't stick to the mooncake press much

and of course, all mooncakes must have a secret revolutionary message

the moon is a promise

and i will do what i can to keep it

光復香港，時代革命