I make - Asian Date Rolls

Date filling is a popular option for Mooncakes. Chinese date filling uses jujubes (so called red dates). I used dates from date palm, the most common kind in the west. Its flavor and the texture are both similar to the traditional red date version.

As for pastry, the traditional pastry consists of two parts, the water-oil dough and the oil dough. And you wrap the oil dough inside the water-oil dough and roll out, a bit like puff pastry, Asian style. It's my first time making this and it's easier than I imagine. Gluten-free, of course, in my case and it should work more easily with conventional wheat flour. After this, I am less afraid of Asian puff pastry.

Asian Date Rolls

For date filling:

300 g dates, destoned and roughly chopped
200 g water
50 g honey or golden syrup or sugar

2 tbsps toasted glutinous rice flour (optional)
30 g butter or flavorless vegetable oil
a handful of toasted walnut pieces (optional)

Boil 200 g water in a pot. When the water comes to boil, add in chopped dates and cover. Turn the heat to medium-low and let the dates cook for 10 minutes. After 10  minutes, the dates should all disintegrate into a mush. Remove from the hob. Use a stick blender to blend the mixture. Be careful of the hot mixture.

Return the pot back on the heat. Add in honey (or your sugar of choice), stir and add the toasted glutinous rice flour followed by the butter/oil. Although rice flour is optional, it makes the date paste easier to work with later. Turn the heat to low and stir the mixture until most of the moisture evaporates. When the paste drops down the spoon with zigzag breakage, it's ready. Chill the date paste in the fridge.

Just before using, stir in walnut pieces. You can go with plain date paste, if you prefer.

For the Asian puff pastry:

Oil-water dough:

150 g gluten-free flour (your favorite blend)
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
20 g powder sugar
45 g butter (30% of flour)
30-60 g water (up to 40% of flour)*

In a large bowl, combine flour, xanthan gum, sugar and butter. Cut the butter into flour mixture until it looks like bread crumbs. Drizzle water to the flour mixture to form a dough. Squeeze the dough with your gloved hand as you go. The water amount may vary greatly. Start with the small specified amount and add drops gradually if the dough is too crumbly. Aim for soft but not sticky dough. Cover the dough in clingfilm and rest in the fridge while you prepare the oil dough.

Oil dough:

120 g gluten-free flour (your favorite blend)
60 g butter

In another bowl cut the butter into flour. Work the dough with your hand to form a dough. You may need a drop or two of water to form a dough. When oil dough is formed in a cohesive mass, cover in cling film.

To make the final Asian puff pastry, wrap the oil dough with water-oil dough. Some start with ball shape, some with rectangular. Your choice, as long as you can cover the oil dough completely with the water-oil dough. 

Preheat the oven at 200 C.

Lay a large piece of cling film on the work top, put the pastry dough on and cover with another piece of cling film. Roll out to an oval or rectangular shape. Fold in thirds, (left unto the middle third and under the right, for instance). Turn the dough 90 degrees and roll out again. Repeat this process a couple of time. Chill the dough when it gets sticky.

Roll out the pastry dough into a rectangular shape on a cling film, shape the date filling like a sausage (oiled hands help) and place on the bottom third of the pastry. Use the underneath cling film to help form a roll. It's like making a sausage roll. Slice into smaller chunks with a sharp knife. Wipe clean the knife when necessary as some date paste may get onto the knife. Brush the top with some beaten egg yolk. Bake at 200C for 20-22 minutes. Cool to room temperature before eating.