Little Mouse in Kitchen *~~*: Mochi Snowskin with Tofu Bailey's Chocolate Truffle

Since I am going to make mooncakes this year and I am NOT using salted egg yolks (high cholesterol! and wasting of whites) , I decide to make my own truffles. Then, I also thought of the high sugar/fat content of mooncakes (which I devour quite a bit every year), I considered using low fat content instead -- Tofu or beancurd.

First attempt failed as I used the wrong type of tofu. Second attempt was a success, thanks to my wonderful, logical thinking husband.

Tofu Bailey's Dark Chocolate Truffle
Makes about 28 balls
2 x 150g tofu (taukwa, firm)
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tbsp instant coffee powder
40-50g softened butter
6 tbsp condensed milk or honey
3 tbsp Baileys Irish Cream (optional)
200g semi-sweet chocolate chips*
100ml milk**

1. Blend tofu in blender till fine.
2. Add in cocoa and coffee powder. Blend well.
3. Mix in butter and condensed milk. You can adjust the sweetness to your own liking.
4. Add liquor to masquerade the tofu taste. (Personally I do not like tofu!)

5. Chill in fridge for about 1-2 hours.
6. Bring the milk to simmer at edge over small fire. Remove from fire.
7. Melt chocolate chips in warm milk till smooth.
8. Using a 2.5cm ice cream scoop, scoop the tofu mixture and roll into ball.

9. Dip the ball into melted chocolate. Place the dipped balls onto a tray lined with baking sheet.

10. Freeze till ready to use.

Notes:
* I used semi-sweet chips as that was what I had in my kitchen.
** I used milk as I wanted the truffles to be in mooncake so the casing would not be too hard. If you are making truffles to be eaten as it is, you do not need to use milk. Just double boil chocolate chips till they melt. Dip as above and decorate with cocoa powder / white chocolate / sprinkles.

I am searching for a recipe for snowskin mooncake that allows the dessert to remain soft even after chilling in fridge, but I really want to avoid use of shortening as it is not healthy. I am prepared to use pre-mix only as a last resort. I came across this mochi recipe that mentioned the dessert would remain soft even after chilling, so I gave it a try.

Mochi Snowskin Mooncake
This can yield about 4 x 70g snowskin. (I made 7 times of this batch!)
45g Glutinous rice flour
35g Rice flour
20g Wheat starch flour
18g Oil
185g Milk
50g Sugar

1. Mix all flours together, set aside.
2. Mix oil, milk and sugar and stir till sugar is melted.
3. Pour flours into liquid mixture, and stir to combine well.
4. Sieve two times to ensure smooth mixture. Rest for 30min.
5. Cover the top with plastic wrap, steam on high heat for about 45 min or until mochi does not have flour taste. (I made a mistake to make 7 times of above ingredients at one go. The pot was too deep for the mochi to cook evenly and well. It took me 3hrs to steam them thoroughly :<. It is better to steam in small batches on a broad plate)

6. Using two pairs of chopsticks, stir the mixture till smooth while still hot.
7. Once mochi is cooled, chill in fridge so that it will be more pliable to shape. (I did not chill at first, the starch was soooo sticky!!)
8. With cooked glutinous rice flour in palms, shape mochi into balls. Flatten the ball.
9. Wrap filling into mochi, chill at least 8 hrs.

Notes:

*Prepare some extra cooked glutinous rice flour for shaping mooncake. Fry flour in pan over low fire until the raw flour taste is gone. This is kor fen (糕粉)

**Due to the size of my truffles, I could not use any mould to fit my mooncake, so I have to shape on my own. Weight used: one truffle + 35g white bean paste + 25g mochi

*** Mochi can be kept in fridge and still stay soft for 3 days; after which the snowskin will harden. So best consumed within 3 days.