I once had a lovely companion named Shuchun. She was a very talented sorceress who came from a land so, so much different than Barovia. Many of the things she described – beautiful buildings painted red, sculptures of lion-dog creatures, and beautifully painted vases captivated me, and I wanted to hear about it every night we were together. While our time together wasn’t long enough to learn very much about her cuisine, she did teach me her favorite dish – Moon Cakes, something she spoke highly of. They’re divine. I’ll never be able to make them again, I don’t think. She had the ingredients with her, and I’ve never seen a lot of them ever again.
Ingredients:
- ½ cup flour
- ¼ cup golden syrup
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- ½ tsp lye water
- 2 cups of lotus seed paste
- 6 salted egg yolks
- 1 tbsp cooking wine (rose-flavored preferred)
- 1 whole egg
Directions:
Combine the golden syrup, oil, and water in a bowl, then add the flour. Knead into a dough and allow to rest for 30 minutes. In another bowl, combine the egg yolks with the wine, then cut into halves.
Roll the lotus seed paste into a tube shape, then cut into 12 portions, roll into balls, and set aside. Whisk the whole egg to prepare an egg wash. Divide the previously made dough into 12 portions too, and roll into a disc shape. Plop a hole into the center of each lotus ball with your finger and fill with some egg yolk, then roll into a proper ball again. Wrap that in a dough disk.
If you have a mould, butter it well to grease, then press the cake into the mould. Remove once the shape has been made, and place on a baking sheet. If you do not have a mold, flatten slightly, and transfer to the baking sheet immediately.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes, apply egg wash, then cook an additional 5 minutes. Cool and serve.
