RECIPE

Ingredients for egg yolk and lotus paste centres:

4 salted egg yolks
10g melted butter
15g milk powder
500g lotus paste, available at baking shops

Method:

1. Steam egg yolks for 15 minutes.

2. Place in an electric mixer and mix with melted butter and milk powder

3. Roll the mixture up into 24 balls and freeze for about 30 minutes or until the egg yolk balls harden.

4. Take the egg yolk balls out of the freezer and wrap each one with about 20g of lotus paste. Put the balls back in the freezer.

Ingredients for cupcake base:

250g butter, plus extra for greasing
625g sugar
5 eggs
432g flour
20g baking powder
10g baking soda
5g salt
250ml milk

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 175 deg C. Grease and line two 12-cup muffin trays.

2. In an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar till fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and continue to mix till well incorporated.

3. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Fold this into the butter and egg mixture in two batches. 4. Add the milk and fold until well combined.

5. Divide the batter equally among the muffin cups.

6. Meanwhile, take the egg yolk and lotus paste balls out of the freezer. Place a ball in the centre of each muffin cup. Put the tray in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Insert a skewer around the sides of the cupcake. The cake is cooked if the skewer comes out clean. Cool the cakes.

Ingredients for kaya frosting:

250g butter
750g icing sugar
250g kaya
A few drops of green colouring

Method:

1. Cream butter and sugar till mixture is pale. Add kaya and colouring and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate if not using immediately.

Ingredients for snow skin:

120g boiling water, plus extra for dusting the moulds

150g icing sugar

1 Tbs vegetable shortening

A few drops of food colouring of your choice

100g glutinous rice flour, toasted in a dry pan and sifted

Method:

1. Mix boiling water and icing sugar till you get a smooth paste. Add in shortening and desired food colouring.

2. Fold in glutinous rice flour and knead into a dough.

3. Divide dough into 24 balls, or as many cupcakes as you have – one for each cupcake. Roll each out till it is about 2mm thick.

4. Dust mooncake moulds with icing sugar and press the dough into each one.

5. Knock the mould gently on your hand for the dough to fall out. Each piece of dough should now be slightly larger than a 50 cent coin. These small snowskin medallions will act as garnish for each cupcake.

Assembly:

1. Using a knife, cut off the domed top of each cupcake so that it is flat.

2. Spread each cupcake with frosting and decorate with the snowskin medallions.

Makes 24 cupcakes