Red Date Paste Puff Rolls
My favorite Red Date Paste Puff Rolls, incredibly delicious! Many of you might already know that I am a fan of red date paste. In my opinion, the taste of red date paste is absolutely amazing. Any pastry made with red date paste, such as Red Date Flower Pastries or Red Date Mooncakes, is never enough for me. But loving red date paste comes with a precondition: the taste of the paste has to be pure enough. So, instead of saying I love red date paste, it's more accurate to say I love the red date paste I make myself. Take today’s red date paste as an example—it is truly magnificent. Paired with crispy, flaky pastry skin, these small and cute Red Date Paste Puff Rolls are truly irresistible. PS: To create smooth and delicious red date paste, a high-speed blender is a must. If you don’t have one, a food processor that can finely grind ingredients is also necessary. The high-speed blender I used for this recipe, by Junbei, will officially launch on October 9th. Stay tuned for the group purchasing details I’ll share in my article on the night of October 8th.
Ingredients
Steps
Start by making the red date paste. Clean the dried red dates, cut them in half with scissors, and remove the pits.
Place the pitted red dates into the blending cup of the high-speed blender, then add 250g of water.
Select the 'Porridge' function (or refer to the alternative method below if your blender lacks this function).
After a few minutes, when the dates in the cup have softened as shown, stop the program. ★The 'Porridge' function usually runs for over 30 minutes, but red dates do not require that long. Just stop when they are soft and mushy.
Use the 'Juice' function to blend the soft dates into a fine paste. ★If your blender doesn’t have the 'Porridge' function, you can steam the dates in a steamer for 15 minutes until soft. Then blend them with enough water to create a smooth red date paste.
Pour the red date paste into a frying pan and start cooking. Add sugar and stir constantly over medium heat. Add vegetable oil in three portions, stirring well each time until fully absorbed.
Cook until the water in the paste evaporates, leaving a thick and malleable paste. Let the paste cool before using. ★Do not leave the paste too wet, or it will be difficult to handle and may cause cracks during baking.
Next, prepare the pastry dough. Soften the butter, add salt and icing sugar, and beat with a mixer until fluffy. ★To avoid icing sugar from flying, mix the sugar and butter manually with a whisk before using the electric mixer.
Add the whole egg liquid in two parts and continue beating with the mixer.
The well-beaten butter will appear fluffy and smooth.
Sift in flour and milk powder.
Use a spatula to mix until the flour is fully incorporated and forms a soft dough.
Take half of the dough and gently roll it into a log shape (dust your hands and surface with flour to prevent sticking).
Flatten the dough, then roll the red date paste into a log and place it onto the dough.
Gently lift the dough with a scraper and wrap it around the paste, sealing the edges. ★Using a scraper makes it easier to handle the dough, which might stick to the surface.
After wrapping, gently roll the log to smooth out the surface.
Wrap the remaining dough in the same manner. Place the logs on a small tray lined with parchment paper, then freeze for about 30 minutes until firm (I cut the logs in half to fit the tray, yielding four pieces in total).
Once firm, brush the surface with whole egg liquid and sprinkle with black sesame seeds.
Cut the logs into small sections and place them evenly on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 180°C and bake for about 15 minutes until the surface is golden brown. Baking time may vary depending on your oven, so adjust as needed.
Finished product.