Inspired by the filling of wife biscuits (老婆饼) & the pastry of pineapple tarts during the Lunar New Year season, I came up with these!
It was a challenge to get nice pictures of a bite cross-section because the pastry is light and crumbly. I have shared the recipe and video of the process on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFJTQ1ghkpm/?igsh=MTh6aGJkeDJwZnRh
But I will just copy and paste the recipe and baker's notes on this blog post for those of you who find it hard to read off the captions of the reel. Feel free to upsize as this is a small batch.
Filling:
100g candied wintermelon (糖冬瓜)* blended or minced
1/8 tsp salt
6g oil
4g honey
20g yuzu/Jeju citron* marmalade without rind
25g water* (more if necessary, 1/2 tsp at a time)
40g cooked glutinous rice flour* (a.k.a. 糕粉)
2g matcha powder*
12g yuzu/citron rind from marmalade, finely chopped
Pastry:
110g plain flour
10g cornstarch
6g matcha powder
20g milk powder
25g icing sugar
1/8 tsp salt
100g cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 egg yolk
Egg wash:
1 egg yolk
7g milk/water
1. Blend or mince candied wintermelon. Add salt, oil, honey, marmalade & water. Mix well
2. Whisk together cooked glutinous rice flour & matcha powder. Add to 1. & mix until dough forms
3. Add rind & mix well. Add more water if dough is dry*
4. Divide filling into 8g balls. Keep airtight & refrigerate until ready to assemble
5. Sift together all dry ingredients for pastry
6. Rub in butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs
7. Add yolk. Mix until dough forms. Wrap & refrigerate for 30min
8. Divide dough into 10g portions. Wrap the filling. Make a hole to vent* during baking
9. Freeze & preheat oven to 135C fan/150C
10. Once oven is preheated, place chilled tarts on lined baking tray. Apply egg wash. Add black sesame seeds if you wish
11. Bake for 30 min or until lightly browned, rotating the tray halfway.
*Baker's notes:
🔸Candied wintermelon, cooked glutinous rice flour and yuzu/Jeju citron marmalade are most likely things you can find in an Asian grocer if you don't live in Asia. These are common items in Singapore. If you can't get cooked glutinous rice flour, simply dry fry glutinous rice flour over low heat for 10 min until aromatic. There's a distinctive cooked glutinous rice flour smell you can't miss
🔸I was given some high grade matcha powder from @alovelikesobo but you may use whatever you have on hand. Do note that lower quality matcha may oxidize with exposure/heat and the green colour may be less vibrant after baking. Needless to say, higher quality powder would taste better
🔸The amount of water needed for the filling will vary depending on how dry your candied wintermelon is. Err on the side of adding less water first because it can get difficult to handle if too much water is added and it becomes a sticky mess. Add enough water such that it's still soft and tacky to touch but doesn't stick to your finger when lightly pressed as shown in the reel
🔸I went for a slightly firmer pastry than regular pineapple tart pastry but still crumbly as the filling is slightly chewy due to the glutinous rice flour. Personally I feel if the pastry is too delicate, it wouldn't fit this filling but feel free to adjust the ratios of the dry ingredients in the pastry. The higher the percentage of cornstarch, the more delicate the pastry
🔸Traditional wife biscuits are made with flaky pastry that doesn't use butter. I decided to have a light buttery pastry to accompany the aromatic and slightly chewy filling. Slits or holes are usually made in the flaky pastry before baking. They act as vents to release steam from the filling, which in turn prevents the pastry from cracking uncontrollably. Don't be alarmed if you see your tart pastry cracking in the oven as this is due to the expansion of filling/ release of steam. The appearance of the cracks will reduce upon cooling. Using lower heat with longer baking time helps to keep cracking minimal
with love,
Phay Shing
No comments:
Post a Comment