The process of making purple amaranth mooncakes is simple and fun. First, mix all the powders except icing sugar together to ensure evenness. Next, using medium heat, stir-fry the mixed powders in a pan until slightly yellow, and the raw taste of the flour disappears, indicating that the powders are ready.
Then, wash the purple amaranth and blanch it in boiling water, allowing the color of the purple amaranth to dissolve rapidly into the water. Once the water turns a bright red, remove the purple amaranth, retaining its natural pigment-rich juice.
Place the stir-fried powders in a container, add icing sugar, pour in edible oil slowly, and add the still-warm purple amaranth juice. During this process, continuously stir with chopsticks to facilitate thorough fusion and even distribution of all ingredients.
Allow the mixture to cool slightly until it is no longer hot to the touch, then knead it into a smooth dough. Let it rest for about ten minutes to stabilize the dough.
Meanwhile, steam the purple sweet potatoes until cooked and mash them into a fine paste. If the sweet potato paste is too dry, add milk in moderation to adjust to the desired moisture level.
As the dough and purple sweet potato filling are nearing completion, divide them into small portions of 25g each and shape them individually. Take a piece of dough, flatten it, place the sweet potato filling in the center, carefully wrap and seal it, then roll it into a ball.
In the final molding step, lightly sprinkle the mold with cooked flour to prevent sticking, place the wrapped mooncake ball into the mold, apply pressure, and create exquisite mooncakes one by one. Repeat this process until all ingredients are used up. It is important to adjust the amount of purple amaranth juice added according to actual conditions to ensure the dough is of the right consistency; and the moisture of the sweet potato can also be adjusted flexibly with milk to ensure a smooth production process and better final taste.
