Black Sesame Mochi Mooncakes

Instructions

Mooncake Skin

1. In a small bowl, mix together the golden syrup and lye water
2. Add in the oil and mix until combined
3. Sift in the cake flour and salt and knead until the dough is formed (the dough should be slightly sticky and soft at this point)
4. Form the kneaded dough into a ball and wrap with plastic wrap and leave aside for 30 minutes (start preparing the black sesame filling)
5. Then knead the dough again and wrap and leave aside for another 30 minutes (start preparing the mochi)
6. After this the mooncake skin is ready to go!

Black Sesame Filling

1. In a medium saucepot, mix together the condensed milk, black sesame powder, glutinous rice flour, black sesame paste, and milk
2. Once the mixture has been combined, place over medium heat and add in the butter
3. Once the butter has melted and has been fully incorporated into the filling, remove from heat and chill in the fridge until time for mooncake assembly

Mochi

1. In a microwave safe bowl, add in the mochiko and sugar and whisk together
2. Add in the milk and mix to combine
3. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 1 minute
4. Remove and mix together the mochi
5. Cover again and microwave for 1 minute on high
6. Remove and mix together the mochi (if the mochi sticks to the spatula, coat it with some cold water first)
7. Cover again and microwave for 1 minute on high
8. Remove and mix the mochi again
9. Pour out the mochi onto some plastic wrap and proceed to knead for a couple minutes by hand (mochi is still hot at this point so be careful! It also helps if you frequently coat your hands in cold water to prevent the mochi from sticking to them!)
10. Wrap the kneaded mochi in plastic wrap and set aside

Assembly

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Portion out the mochi into 1/2 tbsp balls
3. Cover each of these mochi balls with 2 tbsp of the black sesame filling
4. Take 2.5 tsp of the mooncake dough and roll it out into a thin circle
5. Place the black sesame filling into the center of the rolled out dough
6. Form the mooncake into a ball and then lightly roll in cake flour
7. Shape the mooncake with a mooncake mold
8. Place the prepared mooncakes onto a lined baking tray, about 1 inch apart from each other
9. Bake for 5 minutes
10. Remove and lightly cover just the tops with egg wash (best to do with a brush with small bristles so that the egg wash doesn't fill in the cracks of the mooncake design)
11. Lower the oven temperature to 300F and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until the tops are a nice golden brown