Let’s make some sweet Korean snacks, Korean walnut pastry – Hodugwaja!

The taste of Korean walnut pastry is quite similar to Korean fish shaped pastry – bunggeoppang (붕어빵), but obviously walnut pastry includes real walnuts in it, so it tastes more nuttier.

INGREDIENTS FOR KOREAN WALNUT PASTRY (MAKE 30 WALNUT PASTRY)

BATTER

• 1 cup (125 g / 4.4 ounces) cake flour or plain flour, sifted
• 2 tsp baking powder, sifted
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 cup water or milk
• 3 Tbsp (raw) castor sugar
• 1 Tbsp melted butter (15g)
• 1 egg

FILLING

• 200g / 7 ounces sweetened red bean paste, use about 1/2 tsp per pastry (*see note below for alternative)
• 15 shelled walnuts, break into smaller pieces to fit into the mold

OTHERS

• 1 Tbsp melted butter or neutral tasting oil for cooking

        *1 Tbsp = 15 ml, 1 Cup = 250 ml

HOW TO MAKE KOREAN WALNUT PASTRY

1. Combine all batter ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Mix them well. Transfer the mixture into a jug that has a spout for easy pouring.

2. Preheat a walnut cake pan over low heat. Quickly brush both sides of the pan with some melted butter or cooking oil.

3. Pour the batter mixture onto the walnut cake pan. Only cover about 60 % of the pan. Add the red bean paste and walnuts then add more batter mixture on top to cover the walnut cake mold. Make sure you don’t pour it too excessively as it can run down to the burner. (It will burn and smells. Also, it’s a cleaning hassle). Close the pan and turn it over quickly. Turn up the heat to medium low.

4. Cook both sides of the pan until the walnut pastry turns golden brown (about 4 mins each side). Make sure you check the doneness of the cake fairly often to avoid burnt pastry. Remove the pastry from the pan and cool down on a rack briefly. You many need to trim the edges of each walnut pastry with scissors to pretty them up.

5. Repeat the steps 2 to 4 until you use up the ingredients. Serve while still warm. Tastes best within 24 hours.