Hydrangea Pastry
As a child, I always had red bean paste and egg yolk mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival—they were my favorite. My grandmother doted on me most, saving the mooncakes others gave her each year for me. Coming home for the festival, there were always mooncakes waiting, filled with red bean and egg yolk.
But as I grew older, I became pickier and nearly stopped eating mooncakes. Perhaps with changes in lifestyle, the idea of mooncakes has come to mean little more than going home, with no real excitement left for the pastry itself.
Missing loved ones grows stronger during festivals. Before I realized it, I had been working away from home on my own for several years. Each time I return, I get to enjoy my grandmother's cooking—even a simple vegetable dish and a bowl of soup feel like a feast. I am a simple person who loves food, enjoys weaving it into the joy of daily life, and likes sharing it with family and friends.
Mid-Autumn treats are not limited to mooncakes; Mid-Autumn pastries are wonderful too. Because I love red bean and egg yolk filling, I created this Mid-Autumn pastry—Silk Ball Pastry (绣球酥). I weave strands of flaky pastry into the longing and love I hold for my family. Each strip of pastry carries my deep yearning for them. I want to present this thoughtfully crafted Silk Ball Pastry to my loved ones. Love weaves the longing; longing seasons the flavor.
My grandmother has long suffered from diabetes, so making this pastry myself reduces the sugar content, allowing her to enjoy a Mid-Autumn treat unavailable in stores. Whether the taste turns out good or not, at least it is healthier and more hygienic when made at home.
Ingredients
Matcha powder
5g
Raw salted duck eggs
9
Red bean paste filling
as needed
Red yeast rice powder
5g
Instructions
1
Step 1
Weigh all the water dough (oil skin) ingredients and place them into the bread machine bucket.
2
Step 2
Start the kneading function and knead until smooth and a gluten film forms.
3
Step 3
Weigh the shortening (oil paste) ingredients and place them into a container, mixing until uniform.
4
Step 4
Divide the kneaded shortening into three equal portions. Add red yeast rice powder to one and matcha powder to another, leaving the third as the original flavor. Once the water dough and shortening are ready, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 5 minutes.
5
Step 5
Divide each of the three colored shortenings into 3 equal portions. Divide the water dough into 9 equal portions.
6
Step 6
Take one portion of water dough and wrap it around one portion of shortening. Use a pushing motion from bottom to top to fully enclose the shortening, then seal the opening facing downward.
7
Step 7
Roll the wrapped dough with a rolling pin into a tongue shape.
8
Step 8
Roll it up from bottom to top.
9
Step 9
Take one portion and wrap it with the red yeast rice powder shortening.
10
Step 10
Roll each of the three colored doughs into tongue shapes one by one.
11
Step 11
Cover the rolled pastry with plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes.
12
Step 12
Now process the egg yolks. Shell the raw salted duck eggs and remove the yolks. Rinse off the thin membrane around the yolks with water. Bake in the oven at 170°C (340°F) for 5 minutes.
13
Step 13
Take an appropriate amount of red bean paste and wrap one egg yolk in it.
14
Step 14
Prepare a total of 9 egg yolk and red bean paste fillings.
15
Step 15
Take one rested roll and roll it into a rectangle, fold at the 1/3 mark, then fold both sides toward the center.
16
Step 16
Use a sharp knife to cut the pastry into 5 equal portions.
17
Step 17
Take a small portion of pastry, roll it into a long strip, and cut it in half.
18
Step 18
Pair the two different colored pastry strips. The bottom 4 strips should be one color, and the top 5 strips should be the other color. Weave them together in a crisscross pattern.
19
Step 19
Wrap one red bean paste and egg yolk filling with the braided pastry strips.
20
Step 20
Completely enclose the red bean paste and egg yolk filling with the braided pastry strips, then seal the opening and roll it into a round shape.
21
Step 21
Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F) for 25 minutes.
22
Step 22
The delicious and beautiful hydrangea pastry is ready!
23
Step 23
The delicious and beautiful hydrangea pastry is ready!
24
Step 24
The delicious and beautiful hydrangea pastry is ready!
