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Moon Cakes
Here's what you will need to make it:
- 3 cups flour
- 1/2 cup powdered milk
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup of melted butter, cooled to room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup apricot preserves
- 2/3 cup chopped, pitted dates
- 2/3 cup flaked, sweetened coconut
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 large mixing bowls
- 1 medium mixing bowl
- spoon or electric mixer for mixing dough
- large cutting board
- knife for cutting dough
- greased baking sheet
- 1 small bowl
- spoon
- oven mitts
- spatula
Here's what you have to do:
1. Shing Ying and her family eat Moon Cakes at Chinese New Year. Moon Cakes are also eaten during The Harvest Moon Festival in the fall. In Chinese, these cakes are called 'rea bing'
2. Ask a grown-up before you begin. You'll be using an oven and an electric mixer for this recipe.
3. Wash your hands.
4. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
5. In a large mixing bowl combine 3 cups of flour, 1/2 cup of powdered milk, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Set this dry mixture aside.
6. Break two eggs into a large mixing bowl and add 3/4 cup of sugar.
7. Mix the eggs and sugar together. This is easier to do with an electric mixer but ask a grown-up for help before you use one. Beat the mixture until it "ribbons" off the beaters - about 5 minutes. If you mix this with a spoon, it will take about 10 minutes.
8. Now, add 1/2 cup of melted butter that's cooled to room temperature and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the egg mixture.
9. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture a little bit at a time. Stir it each time you add the flour. Keep mixing until it is smooth.
10. Sprinkle flour on your cutting board. Put the dough on the floured board and knead it for a minute or two.
11. Form the dough into a long, snake-like roll and cut it into 10 pieces. Put them aside.
12. In a medium bowl mix 1 cup of apricot preserves, 2/3 cup chopped, pitted dates, 2/3 cup flaked, sweetened coconut and 1/2 cup of raisins. This mixture is the filling for the moon cakes.
13. Press each piece of dough into a four-inch circle with your fingers. Make the edges thinner and the center thicker.
14. Put some filling into the center of the dough circle. Pinch the edges of the dough together over the filling.
15. Roll the cake into a ball and flatten it into a three-inch round.
16. Use your knife to carve a crisscross design on top.
17. Arrange the cakes about an inch apart on a lightly greased baking sheet.
18. Beat 1 egg with two tablespoons of water in a small bowl. Brush some of the egg on the top of each cake with the back of a spoon.
19. Put on oven mitts to place the baking sheet into the oven. Bake the cakes for about 15-18 minutes until golden brown.
20. Put on oven mitts to remove the cakes from the oven. Let them cool before you nibble.
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