Peony Bean Paste Mini Rice Cake
Peony Bean Paste Mini Rice Cake
Beautiful Peony Bean Paste Mini Rice Cake, Made with Love
This is a mini rice cake crafted with care to celebrate Parent’s Day! Featuring exquisite peony-shaped flowers made from sweet bean paste atop a fluffy rice cake base. It’s a perfect, elegant treat for special occasions. Let’s walk through the making process step-by-step!
Cake Ingredients- 1 pack store-bought steamed rice cake (sirutteok), divided into 6 portions
- 6 small steamed bread rolls (sulppang)
- Sweet bean paste (anggeum), as needed
- Milk, for adjusting bean paste consistency
Natural Colorants- Baeknyeoncho powder (prickly pear)
- Chija powder (gardenia)
- Cheongchija powder (blue gardenia)
- Baeknyeoncho powder (prickly pear)
- Chija powder (gardenia)
- Cheongchija powder (blue gardenia)
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
First, prepare the steamed rice cake. If you’ve purchased a pre-made pack from a good rice cake shop, divide it into 6 equal portions. (Tip: I prepared mine by placing parchment paper on the base of a small cookie, like ‘sangtugwaja’. If you place the peony flowers on top, a cookie lid won’t fit, so it’s best to store the finished cake in a cake box.)
Step 2
If using natural colorants, mix a small amount of each powder with a tiny bit of water to create a paste. (The photo might show more water than ideal; use less water to achieve a thick consistency, as shown in the photo where it resembles the Han River! This thickness is important.)
Step 3
Next, whip the sweet bean paste using a hand mixer or a machine on its lowest setting until smooth. If the bean paste is too thick, it will be difficult to pipe the flowers. Gradually add milk to achieve a pipeable consistency. Now, mix in the diluted natural colorants to create your desired shades.
Step 4
You can also use commercially available food coloring for adjusting the bean paste’s hue. Whether you’re using natural powders or food coloring, add them little by little. Adding too much at once can result in a color that’s too intense, so check the shade as you go.
Step 5
The bean paste colors are now complete! The color shown here is a mix of hibiscus powder and a little bit of pink Wilton food coloring. For another type of flower, I used red Wilton food coloring.
Step 6
I used a Wilton #123 tip, which I slightly modified by pinching it with pliers to create a wave pattern, to pipe the feathery peony petals. Pipe one petal and test the consistency. If it feels too stiff, add a little more milk to make it easier to pipe.
Step 7
Pipe the peony buds.
Step 8
Continue piping the delicate petals.
Step 9
Ta-da! Your beautiful peony flowers, seemingly blooming from your hand, are complete. For more detailed piping techniques, please refer to the video instructions – they will be very helpful!
Step 10
Now, it’s time to attach the flowers to the rice cake. Gently scrape some bean paste from the back of the flower to help it adhere to the cake. If any bean paste smudges the cake surface, use a knife to carefully clean it up for a polished look.
