Colourful Spiral Flaky Pastry Coconut Custard Mooncake - Made with Natural Colouring and Less Sugar HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Do you love mooncakes but hate consuming too much fat and sugar from them?

Worse if the store-bought mooncakes that we had are made with lotus seed or red bean paste that are made with unknown fat and they might contain a high amount of saturated and trans fat!!! Eww...

Worst if we are indulging with mooncakes that are extra sweet!!! Most people would think that high-fat foods are the cause of heart diseases, stroke, diabetes and cancers. Not entirely because sugar is bad too! Consuming excessive sugar is somehow similar to force-feeding ourselves like the ducks with fatty liver (foie gras) and the fatty liver can eventually lead us to many chronic diseases. Eww...

With all these health concerns, does this mean that we can't eat any mooncake or sweet treats or buttery food at all?

No! No! No!!! Life is short so please don't eat cardboard food!!!

Although I'm health conscious, I'm after taste and texture in my food and wouldn't mind eating carbs, gluten, sugar, butter and salt with reasonable moderation!!!

So this is why I'm baking these Colourful Spiral Flaky Pastry Coconut Custard Mooncakes...

I'm not saying that these mooncakes are healthy! Unlike many store-bought mooncakes, my homemade less-guilty treats are made with 1) WAY LESS SUGAR 2) fats that are TRANS FAT FREE 3) no artificial colourings and flavours. Most importantly, my pretty-looking mooncakes are DELICIOUS!!! This is definitely a recipe that is worth sharing...

My Colourful Spiral Flaky Pastry Coconut Custard Mooncakes
They are made with natural colouring and less sugar!

Easy 4-ingredients Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies - Made with Less Sugar

What happened when I mix mix mix (1) peanut butter, (2) brown sugar, (3) baking powder and (4) egg and baked the mixture?

Within minutes, I was enjoying these yummy peanut butter cookies!!!

Amazing?

Super Easy 4-ingredients Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Chinese Red Bean Paste Mooncake Pastry Slices

I wonder if it is just me or everybody...

Have you noticed that more people are consuming less mooncakes these days? Or maybe my husband and I are the only one that are becoming more health-conscious and eating less mooncakes?

Do you love mooncakes but hate consuming too much sugar and fat from them?

However, a mooncake is a mooncake if it is not made with a good amount of sugar and fat! And if I have to eat a tasteless mooncake or a mooncake that is made with artificial sweentener, I would rather not to eat any mooncake! Agree?

This is why I'm baking these red bean paste mooncake slices to satisfy my mooncake crave without consuming excessive sugar and fat from these yummy controlled-portion-size festive treats...

Love the idea?

My family and I love these Red Bean Paste Mooncake Pastry Slices
They are less guilty and delicious!

Super Soft Sandwich Bread with NO Overnight Starter Recipe ONE

If you are not following my Instagram @zoebakeforhappykids, you might wonder why is Zoe not updating her blog... *crickets chirp* LOL!

The last three weeks had been a fun and amazing journey for us as it is our first time visiting the beautiful Italy. We had visited many iconic landmarks like The Roman Colosseum, Fontana di Trevi, Duomo di Firenze, Duomo di Milano, St. Mark’s Basilica at Venice and ate many traditional Italian food such like pasta, PIZZA and GELATO!!! We love pizza and gelato so much that my son and I even attended a pizza and gelato making class in Florence and the class was awesome!

Apart from pizza and pasta, we have even tried many truffled food, a Florentine steak (also known as Bistecca alla Fiorentina or La Bistecca) and ate many ciabatta sandwiches that are filled with gourmet cheeses, prosciutto and ham. YUM!!!

Are we sad that we are now back at Melbourne? Yes and no. Sad because we really enjoyed our trip in Italy. No because Melbourne is lovely too with a nice blooming mild Spring weather. Plus, we also miss our home-cooked / Asian food. ke ke...

As we are slowly adjusting back to our routine, the first thing I had to bake is our Asian-style super soft sandwich breads. Yup... We are back to our habit of eating less crusty ciabatta sandwiches and more super soft breads.

For our love for super soft breads, I have been exploring, baking and sharing many super soft sandwich breads for YEARS!

Many readers who have tried these soft sandwich breads recipes that I have shared said that these breads are indeed very soft and good! And I'm happy to hear these encouraging feedback as it helps to motivate me to share more of my favourite recipes in the future...

Very Very Very Soft Basic Sandwich Bread Loaf
Extremely Soft Bamboo Charcoal Bread
Golden Sandwich Bread
Japanese Shokupan Condensed Milk Sandwich Bread - Recipe One
Japanese Shokupan Condensed Milk Sandwich Bread - Recipe Two
Japanese Shokupan Condensed Milk Sandwich Bread - Recipe Three
Milk and Egg Enriched Sandwich Bread - Spongy Soft, Recipe One
Milk and Egg Enriched Sandwich Bread - Fluffy Soft, Recipe Two
Spongy Soft Honey Sandwich Bread
The Fluffiest White Sandwich Bread in the World
Vegan Extremely Soft White Sandwich Bread

After listing the above soft sandwich bread recipes, I realised one thing... These soft sandwich breads are actually made with NO overnight starter culture and NO Tang Zhong (汤种)!!! What is Tang Zhong? For those who don't know, please read here.

Based on two different super awesome super soft sandwich breads recipes that I have baked with sourdough or overnight starter culture at here and here, I have always believe that the use of sourdough or overnight starter culture will enhance the overall texture and softness of all breads... Or maybe not! Recently, I started to wonder... Is the addition of the overnight starter culture really necessary to make bread super soft? Or is it just a mere baking belief?

Like most curious people who can't sit still, I have converted a proven super soft sandwich bread with overnight starter at here into a recipe with NO overnight starter. Guess what? These sandwich breads with NO overnight starter are super soft too!!!

Here you go...
This is the Super Soft Sandwich Bread with NO Overnight Starter.