Sweets and drinksBaked GoodsVietnam30 minutes mixing and resting the dough, two bakes of 10 minutes each
These little rounds have a crisp, flaky pastry and a savory sweet filling carrying a clear note of kaffir lime leaf. The filling holds Chinese sausage, candied winter melon, sesame and cashews, so every bite has several textures at once.
The tricky part is rolling the pastry thin enough without tearing it around the filling. The dough needs its full 30 minutes of rest so it does not shrink back when rolled. A common problem is a loose roll, which springs open in the oven and spills the filling onto the tray.
This batch weighs about 1kg, at roughly 350 calories per 100g.
Method
Put 300 to 320g sifted all purpose flour, 200g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend baking syrup, 0.25g baking soda (about a quarter teaspoon) and 50ml vegetable oil in a large bowl and mix to a smooth, pliable dough. Work in a third of the sliced kaffir lime leaves, then cover the dough and rest it for 30 minutes.
Make the filling while the dough rests. Dice 135g candied pork fat made with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 100g good quality Chinese sausage and 60g candied winter melon, finely chop 50g cashews, then add 50g toasted sesame seeds and the remaining sliced kaffir lime leaves. Stir in 20ml kOBE Monk Fruit Blend syrup and 8ml white rice wine or mai que lo so everything soaks together.
Roll the dough out on a flat surface into a strip 4 to 5cm wide and 3mm thick. Lay the filling down the center, roll it up like a spring roll, seal the seam and cut into bite sized rounds.
Arrange the rounds on a tray and bake at 190 degrees C for 10 minutes, taking them out once the surface starts to color.
Whisk 1 egg yolk with half an egg white, brush it over the rounds and bake for another 10 minutes until deep golden.
Tips
For pastry that stays crisp longer, drop the oven to 100 to 110 degrees C, dry the rounds for another 10 to 15 minutes and let them cool inside.
Splitting the kaffir lime leaves between the pastry and the filling carries the aroma through both layers.
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend syrup bakes to a lighter color, so an even egg wash is what brings the pastry to a deep gold.
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves slowly, so cool the cooked syrup and stir it again after 5 minutes so nothing settles at the bottom.
Seal the seam firmly before cutting, since an open seam lets the filling run onto the tray.
Let the rounds cool completely before boxing them, as covering them warm costs them their crispness.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.