Crispy Coffee-Custard Mooncakes

I truly enjoyed looking at the different creations of mooncakes made by fellow bloggers, they were so beautiful.  I didn't plan to make any mooncakes until I saw this delicious looking Baked Custard Mooncakes shared by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids (Thank you very much, Zoe). This is my second attempt at baking these mooncakes.  However, this time I decided to make coffee custard instead and I doubled the recipe with some slight changes.  Since I didn't have any custard powder, I replaced it with cornstarch and added some vanilla paste.  If you are a coffee lover, I am sure you'd love these.

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a  Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, 中秋节快乐!

Coffee Custard Filling (Yields 436g)

(A)

40g butter, softened 

120g palm sugar, grated

20g caster sugar 

6 egg yolks, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla paste

(B)  Mix together to combine:

40g condensed milk

80ml thickened cream 

120ml coconut milk 

(C)  Sift together:

40g plain flour

30g corn starch (to replace custard powder)

20g tapioca flour

2 tsp coffee granules

• Cream butter and sugars until light.  Beat in egg yolks, one at a time; beat until combined.  Then beat in vanilla paste.
• Pour in ingredients (B) and beat to combine.
• Add in ingredients (C) and mix well.  
• Pour the mixture into a heat resistance plate and steam over medium heat for 25 minutes; stirring constantly.  Set aside to cool.
• Knead mixture until smooth and wrap custard in cling wrap and place it in the refrigerator to chill until required.  (I chilled my custard overnight).

Mooncake Pastry (Yields 1024g)

(A)

200g butter, softened

30g rice bran oil

180g icing sugar, sifted

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla paste

(B)  Sift together:

440g plain flour

70g cornstarch (to replace custard powder)

1/2 tsp baking powder

• Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Then beat in oil.
• Gradually add in eggs; beat until well combined.  Beat in vanilla paste.
• Add in sifted flours and beat until incorporated and the mixture begins to hold together. Bring the dough together with your hands.  Wrap dough with cling wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for an hour.

Shaping the coffee custard filling

about 30g desiccated coconut

• Divide the filling into 15g each and roll them into balls.  
• Coat the balls of filling with desiccated coconut and set aside.

Shaping the mooncakes

Egg wash:  1 egg yolk + 1 tbsp milk

• Divide the pastry dough into 36g each and roll them into balls.
• Take a ball of pastry and place it in between two pieces of cling wrap or baking paper, then flatten into a flat and round circle.  Place a ball of custard filling in the middle of the dough and wrap into a ball.  
• Lightly flour the ball and place it into the mooncake mould and press out the mooncake.
• Place the mooncakes on a baking tray which has been lined with baking paper.  Cover the mooncakes with cling wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before baking.
• Preheat oven to 160°C fan forced.  
• Brush a thin layer of egg wash over the mooncakes and bake for about 25 - 30 minutes.  
• Cool the mooncakes on the tray for about 10 minutes before transferring them onto a wire rack to cool completely.