Mooncake Jelly- 2009

Verdict:- My mooncake jelly did not turn out too well this year 'coz of the quality of the agar agar powder used. It is too mushy and soft. I still prefer the Happy Grass brand which I could not find here in Penang. Almost half of it has its skin sticking to the bottom of the mould. Will remember to use a good brand for making the skin next time.

Its been a couple of years I have not been making these little desserts for the mid-autumn festivals due to ill health. But this time I am adamant to make it eventhough I am not feeling very good lately due to my RA. Not to miss another year of sharing my pretty jellies in the form of mooncake or rather to satisfy my cooking instinct I dig out some lotus seeds from my fridge to make some delicious lotus paste for the fillings. It takes some time to cook the paste but worth the effort as I used olive oil and honey to sweeten it for a more healthy paste.

After making the paste, I blended some frozen leftover durians and some mangos to make two kinds of fillings. The past years I make fillings with cream cheese but this time I try using lotus paste which is just as nice. Would love to share with readers my recipe.

Lotus paste:-

200g lotus seed
150g sugar
150ml olive oil
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp condensed milk
a pinch of salt

Method:

Soak lotus seed for about 30 mins. Then cook in pot of water til soft and tender.(about 30 mins). Strain and leave to cool. Blend it with some water into a smooth paste. Melt half the sugar in a wok or pan to caremelize it til golden brown. Add in blended lotus paste, olive oil and remaining sugar. Stir fry over medium heat til paste is smooth and does not stick to side of pan. ( about 30 min ). Stir in honey and condensed milk and mix well til well blended into paste. Cool and its ready to be used.

Lotus seeds........

Stirring the lotus pastes in wok...........

Durian fillings:-
(A)
120g mashed lotus paste
400ml santan (2 boxes low fat santan)
80ml water
120g blended durian flesh ( I blend it with a little of the santan)
1 tbsp agar agar powder
1/8 tsp salt

(B)
100ml milk
1/8tsp durian essense (optional)
few drops of yellow coloring

Method:

Mix A and bring to boil then add B and mix well. Strain mixture into a square patty tin of 20cm square or round tart moulds if you are using large jelly mooncake moulds.

Cooking durian fillings......

Pour fillings into pan to cool, then cut or mould into desired shape...

For the mango fillings the method and ingredients are the same except use blended mangos instead of durians. For mango add in mango essense.

Using a cookie cutter to cut out the fillings to fit the round mould.

Mooncake jelly in mould........

Mooncake Skin:-

1 tbsp agar agar powder
500ml water
4 pandan leaves, knotted
80g sugar
2 tbsp condensed milk

Mix the above and bring to boil. Add in the color of your choice.

For the method of preparation please refer to my other jelly mooncake posting here and here.