Yippee! I finally got around to making some tasty Manju cakes. After what it seems like a fruitless search for bottled red bean paste, I decided to just make my own from scratch. I got the red bean paste recipe from here. I doubled the recipe so I can bottle and stock some for future use. I plan to make some red bean pancakes and Chapssalddeok (Korean Style Mochi) in the days to come. 

For the Manju pastry,  I used Home Baking School's 게 구 리 만 주 (Gaeguri Manju) or Frog Manju Cake recipe. Unfortunately the recipe link has been removed but it was good thinking that I copied and posted the recipe in my blog post.


KITTY CAT MANJU CAKES


Red Bean Paste Filling

• 1 1/3 cup red beans 
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• Water for boiling

1. Soak red beans overnight. Drain. Boil red beans for 1 1/2 hours (it took mine 2 hours) until soft. Boil until all the water has evaporated.

2. Transfer softened red beans to a food mixer and process beans until  mixture reaches soft and fine consistency.  

3. Add the sugar.

4. In a shallow saucepot, fry bean paste in hot oil  in medium heat. The red bean paste is done when the oil has completely been absorbed. The mixture should reach a mashed potato consistency. Remove from heat and cool.


Manju Pastry

• 188 grams condensed milk
• 1 egg yolk
• 188 grams flour
• 5 grams baking powder

  1. Sift together flour and baking powder and transfer to a medium sized bowl.

2. Make a well with the flour and add the condensed milk and egg yolk. Blend well until all the ingredients have combined.   

2. Make dough balls using a small ice cream scoop. Using a melon baller, scoop little balls of red bean paste.

3. Roll Manju pastry into a ball and make an indentation in the middle using your thumb. Fill the indentation with a ball of red bean paste. Carefully seal the edges and roll the manju pastry to your desired shape.

3. Transfer to baking sheet. Brush with eggwash (eggwhite + some water).

4. Bake in a 350F oven until slightly brown.


Enjoy! Happy eating!