Speaking of wife cakes or sweetheart
cakes, I am sure everyone has curiosity in their mind. Even if you have not
eaten them, you must have heard of them. In fact, wife cakes are a Chinese
delicacy that has a sweet winter melon centre and a flaky pastry crust. It’s
also name as Lao Po Bing (老婆饼).
The ingredients of wife cakes are
simple, but the taste is not simple. It has rich fillings and flaky pastry
crust, moist and soft fillings. The taste is sweet but not greasy. The filling
is made of candied winter melon, coconut flakes or desiccated coconut and white
sesame seeds to make glutinous rice filling.
The secret of having a flaky pastry
crust is the method of hand-kneading for the water-oil skin. After learning
this method, you can also use this method for making other pastry desserts like
Seremban Shao Bao, thousand layers mooncake, or even the spiral curry puff.
INGREDIENTS
Water Dough （8 pcs）
100g All-purpose flour
20g Sugar
¼ tsp Salt
30g soften butter
50g Water
Oil Dough (8pcs)
70g All Purpose Flour
43g Soften Butter
Filling (8 pcs)
65g Candied Winter Melon (cut into
small pcs)
10g desiccated Coconut
20g White Sesame Seed
100g Water
20g Sugar
¼ tsp Salt
25g Butter
45g Glutinous Rice Flour
METHOD (The filling)
1. Finely chopped the candied winter
melon.
2.In a nonstick skillet, cook the white sesame over low to medium heat for 7 to 8 minutes, or until it
turns a light tan color. Immediately remove from heat and let it cool
completely.
3. With the same skillet at medium
heat, add in the water, sugar, salt, and butter. Cook until sugar and butter
completely dissolve. Once the water is boiling, turn to LOW heat, add in
the glutinous rice flour. Keep stirring
to prevent lumps until it forms a dough (prevent over stir fried the dough).
4. Add in the chopped candied winter
melon, desiccated coconut, and toasted sesame. Stir until all well combined and
form a soft glutinous dough. Cover with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge.
METHOD (Water dough)
Combine
the flour, sugar, salt, and soften butter in a mixing bowl. Mix it well until
the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
Add in water in few additions. Slowly knead it with your hand until you
have a smooth dough. Cover and rest for 15 minutes.
METHOD (Oil dough)
Combine
the flour and soften butter in a mixing bowl. Mix it to form a soft dough, no
kneading for this step.
ASSEMBLE OF THE WIFE CAKES
1. Divide the water dough and oil
dough into 8 portions respectively, roll into a ball shape. Cover with plastic
wrap to prevent dryness.
2. Take a piece of water dough ball
with seam side up, flatten and roll out. Wrap in a portion of the oil dough,
fold up and pinch it tightly. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent the dough from
turning dry. Repeat until the rest is completed.
3. Take the first wrapped dough with seam side up. Flatten the wrapped dough slightly, roll from
middle out, roll it into an oval-shaped sheet about 5” long. Roll it up from
the short side. With the seam side up, flatten and roll it into an oval-shaped sheet
again, about 8" long. Repeat the same for the second wrapped dough until the rest is
completed. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes. Always shape the dough
chronologically, to allow the dough to rest.
4. Divide the filling into 8 pieces
evenly and roll into ball.
5. Take the first dough chronologically, seam side up, pinch middle with
index finger, left right fold to center and round the shape. (dust slightly
with flour to prevent skin from breaking). Roll from middle out, roll into thick middle, thin edge disc.
6. Put in the filling, seal the edges
together with your thumb and index finger. Gently flatten the dough into a
large disc.
7. Beat one egg yolk, lightly apply
egg yolk wash to the tops. When the first egg wash dry, brush another layer of
egg wash then sprinkle some sesame seeds on top. Use a knife to draw two
strokes through in the middle, let air out to prevent cracking.
8. Bake in a preheated oven at 190°
for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a rack.
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