....... Divertimento: September 2012

Tuesday 18 September 2012

Mahjong cake

I attended a birthday dinner last night and my contribution was the birthday cake. As the "birthday girl" is an old hand at the game of mahjong, I got her this beautifully crafted cake from Maxim's Bakery. The two "longevity peaches" were extras for HK$20. The mahjong table, tiles and dice plus the peaches were all  made of chocolate.

It was a pity to have to cut it up! I am happy to report that the cake was every bit as good to eat as it was to look at.....

Mahjong themed birthday cake


Note that the dice add up to "8" a Cantonese lucky number. The tiles make up a winning hand.... "Royal Flush" anyone? There are even tiny replicas of chips on each side of the mahjong table. Quite the work of art.

If you would like to check out this bakery's offerings, please note that it has a website and online ordering.




Sunday 2 September 2012

Snowy mooncake 冰皮月饼


I have a great passion for mochi so when the opportunity came to attend a “snowy mooncake” making class, I signed up straight away. Since I love the traditional mooncakes, I have never had snowy mooncakes before.

My thinking is, if I learn to make snowy mooncakes perhaps I could make them “off season” – win-win, right? Have traditional mooncakes when they are available to purchase then make the snowy variety when mooncake festival is over!

Well, the snowy mooncakes I took home from class is a disappointment. The ones I made certainly looked like the ones at the shops, so I was quite pleased. However, as always, it’s the taste that matters. The pastry is tough, not chewy, light and soft. The question is – is the problem the recipe or is it my technique? I guess I should have asked to try the ones made by the instructor during class. Of the 6 fillings used during class, 4 were pre-made, store bought. And of the remaining two which were made in class, one was plain green bean and the other, black sesame. In the picture of the snowy mooncakes I made, the purple one is yam flavoured, the pink is strawberry, the orange is mango (bottom right) and the white ones are either plain or coconut flavoured. There is a pale green one, but it looks almost white in the picture. That’s melon flavour.
Snowy mooncakes made by myself during class

So now, I have resolved to get me some snowy mooncakes from the bakery to find out what I should aspire to. This could open up a whole new avenue for my research. I have a recipe book on mochi making and it includes a recipe for snowy mooncake, so perhaps I should try that out. I know that a baking supplies shop in Wanchai stocks ingredients for snowy mooncakes, which I almost bought last year but didn't. The ingredient sets included instructions on how to make them. I will definitely let you know if I find a good recipe.


Scene from class