So not only was this week’s recipe a big section with loads of pretty photos in the book I got. But it also fit for some Astronomy homework!
It’s got a few parts so I’m going to do the base mooncake first then give the ways to make the fillings after that. BUt you can also buy each type of filling pre-made. There’s also a lot more things you can fill them with but these are the most common and most traditional.
Mooncakes are a part of the Chinese Mid Autumn Festival and SO pretty and so neat! Different regions of China have different mold patterns for the top and use different fillings. The festival itself is about appreciating the moon and has a lot of legends and folklore attached to it. That would be an entire article itself if I went over it. So I encourage you to look that up!
There’s also a few other kinds that have coverings, such as a no-bake rice coating called snow skin, or a kind made with gelatin. These are more modern types so I’m just going to go over the traditional pastry kind here.
You can eat these by either slicing them into smaller pieces or just biting into them. Usually served with green tea.
You will need!
Ingredients
Mooncake Dough
- 150 g golden syrup
- ⅓ teaspoon lye water *If you can’t find this, bake one part Baking soda in the oven in a metal bowl at 175 °C / 350 °F for 30 minutes. Then mix with 4 parts water. Adjust the size of the parts as you may need.
- 60 g vegetable oil
- 250 g cake flour additional flour for dusting
- 2 pcs egg yolk beaten, for egg wash
- 4 tablespoon milk
Filling of Choice (pick one)
- 4 pcs salted egg yolks
- 160-180 g white lotus seed paste
- 160-180 g red bean paste
- 160-180 g green tea and mung bean paste
- 160-180 g Wu Ren (Mixed Nuts) or mixed nuts
Equipment needed
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Bowls
- mooncake moulds (if you can’t find these use a 2 inch springform pan or silicone cupcake molds. You need to be able to press the pastry out of the mold to cook on its own.
- baking paper
- Mixing spoon or spatula
- Baking trays
- Sieve
- Oil Brush
- Food processor or the stirring spell with knifes
- Plastic wrap
- Kitchen scale optionial
- Rolling pin
Instructions
- Combine the golden syrup and lye water in a large bowl and mix until emulsified. Add the oil and mix well.
- Using a sieve, add all the flour at once to the mixture. Fold until combined. Rest for 30 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 20 equal portions. You can use the kitchen scale to make this easier. A spell might also work to get it right. Roll each portion into a ball.
- Cover one ball with plastic wrap or dust with flour and roll it out into a thin circle. Flour might make the texture gritty, so try to use plastic wrap. You can reuse the same one for each dough ball. Preheat the oven to 180 °C (or 355 °F).
- For Salted Egg Yolk Filling Mooncake: Roll the lotus paste into as many balls as there are egg yolks (4 in this case). The paste balls should be smaller than the dough balls. Poke a hole in each one and insert a salted egg yolk (or 2 yolk halves). Seal the lotus paste in the dough disc.
- For White Lotus, Red Bean, Green Tea and Wu Ren Fillings: Roll the filling paste into a long tube. Cut it so that it matches the desired number of mooncakes. Roll each piece into a ball. Seal each ball in a dough disc.
- Oil and flour your mould. Place the filling-sealed-in-dough ball inside it. Press the handle lightly, then remove the pressed pastry. Place on a lined baking sheet.
- After moulding all 20 Mooncakes, mix the milk and egg yolks to make an egg wash. Brush each pastry with this mixture. If desired, brush them again delicately with a dry brush to remove excess and preserve the moulding.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. After removing from the oven, let cool for 5 minutes and then brush again with remaining egg wash. Let cool on a wire rack and then store in an airtight container for 1-2 days before consuming.
Now how to make each different filling type.
White Lotus Seed Paste Ingredients
Ingredients
- 100 g dried lotus seeds
- 70 g sugar
- 50 g neutral oil (sunflower, vegetable, etc)
- 20 g maltose or honey
Equipment needed
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Bowls
- Pot
- Pan
- Mixing spoon
Instructions
- After soaking the lotus seeds for a few hours, break open all the seeds to remove the bitter green centre.
- Boil the beans until they become soft. Then, blend the seeds into a smooth consistent paste before sieving them to remove any excess water.
- Next, cook the oil and sugar together in a pan. Once the mixture becomes golden brown, pour in the lotus paste to cook together.
- Add in the maltose slowly and let the mixture cook together until it thoroughly combines. The white lotus seed paste is ready when you can take out the paste as one sticky whole piece.
- Store the sweet mooncake filling in an airtight container in the fridge until ready for use.
Salted Egg Yolk *makes four*
You will need! *though really its way easier to buy this from a store that specializes in Asian food*
Ingredients
- 4 raw duck eggs
- 1 cup Chinese baiju OR whiskey
- Salt Water
Equipment needed
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Bowls
- Large sealable container
Instructions
- To make salted duck eggs from scratch, wash the outside of the eggs before arranging them in the brining vessel. Cover them completely in water before pouring this water out into a pot. Set the eggs outside in the sun (during the early morning, not the late morning or afternoon) and let them sunbathe for 2-4 hours.
- Using the ratio of ⅓ cup salt to every 1 kg of water, add salt to the water previously set aside and boil it. Once boiled, let it cool to room temperature. Let the brining vessel dry out completely.
- Add the liquor to a bowl and submerge the eggs for 1 hour. Then add the eggs to the dry brining vessel along with the liquor and the cooled salt water. Seal the vessel and let it rest for 30 days or more.
- After they have brined for a month, boil one egg in salt water. Cut them in half to check the yolk. If it is cured and hard, boil 3 other eggs and remove their yolks.
Red Bean Paste
Ingredients
- 100 g dried red adzuki beans
- 40 g vegetable oil
- 80 g white sugar or rock sugar
- 15 g maltose
Equipment needed
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Bowls
- Pot
- Blender
Instructions
- Soak adzuki beans overnight. The next morning, drain the beans and add them to a pot, filling it halfway with water. Cook for around 2 ½ hours or until soft. Check regularly and stir the pot to ensure no beans are sticking to the bottom.
- When they are tender enough to be crushed easily, turn off the heat and drain the water. Let them cool.
- Add them to a blender along with the sugars and oil. Blend until it forms smooth, silky red bean paste. Set aside until ready to use.
Green Tea and Mung Bean Ingredients
Ingredients
- 100 g split mung beans
- 100 g sugar
- 300 ml water
- 1 tablespoon matcha powder
- 125 ml plant-based milk
- 30 g all-purpose flour or glutinous rice flour
- 3 tablespoon warm water
Equipment needed
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Bowls
- Steamer
- Fork or masher
Instructions
- Soak the split mung beans in water for 3 hours. Then, rinse the beans a few times before setting them in a steamer.
- Steam for 30 minutes before setting aside. Mash the beans until it becomes a consistent paste using a fork or masher.
- Dissolve the green tea powder in warm water. Then, mix thoroughly the remaining ingredients – milk, sugar, flour, green tea – with the paste.
- Pour the mixture into a pan and cook. Once the paste becomes thick, smooth and no longer sticks to the pan, then the filling is ready.
- Set aside and let cool before using the mooncakes
Mixed Nuts and Ham *this one is a savory style!
You can use a different mix of nuts for this if you want
Ingredients
- 15 g walnuts
- 15 g almonds
- 12 g pumpkin seeds
- 15 g cashews 13 g sesame seeds
- 22 g Chinese hard ham
- ½ teaspoon five-spice powder
- 11 g dried/candied ginger or other dried fruit
- 16 g peanut oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 31 g granulated sugar
- 27 g water
- 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine
Equipment needed
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Bowls
- Knife
- Baking sheet
- Pan
Instructions
- Steam the hard ham for 15 minutes. Save the liquid in the steaming vessel for later. Finely dice the ham.
- Toast the nuts and seeds by spreading them on a baking sheet and baking for 8 minutes at 160 C (325 F). If using pre-toasted nuts and seeds, skip this step.
- Toast the rice flour in a dry pan over medium-low heat for around 20 minutes until it is light brown. Stir constantly. Heat the oil for ten minutes in a separate pan and then turn off the heat to let it cool.
- Chop the nuts and seeds. In a large bowl, mix them with the ham, sugar, salt, dried or candied fruit, and spices. Mix well.
- Add the steamed ham juice, 27 g water, the liquor, and the oil. Stir well until combined.
- Finally, add in the sweet rice flour and mix until dry and crumbly in texture. Add extra oil if necessary. Set aside for use in mooncakes.