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Authentic Mooncake Recipe Alternate Text Guangdong, China

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We strongly advise you to read the cooking tips before jumping to the recipe though

Introduction & history

An elaborate Chinese dessert, mooncake is quite a challenge even for the most experienced cooks. Its preparation requires time and patience, especially when it comes to assembling. The first step is to choose the filling, which can be sweet or savory. The most popular fillings include lotus seed paste, various bean pastes, mixed nuts, sesame seed paste, while pork is a favorite in the savory department. Salted duck egg yolk is often incorporated into the middle of a mooncake and has a strong symbolic meaning. The sweet fillings are made by soaking, cooking, and mashing the beans and seeds, which are then cooked in a pan with sugar, oil or butter, and a little salt, so the liquid evaporates, and the paste becomes dry and dough-like. The dough, on the other hand, is made by kneading flour with fat (traditionally lard, nowadays vegetable oil), lye water, and inverted sugar syrup or honey. The following steps are all about precision. The dough and the fillings are precisely divided into ... Read more

Main ingredients

Cooking tips

  • dough

    There are a few types of mooncake dough. Still, it is most commonly prepared with flour, golden syrup (i.e., inverted sugar syrup) or honey, lye water or alkali solution, and vegetable oil or lard. The dough is soft and oily and easy to manage when turned into wrappers. However, the dough should rest for 1-2 hours before you start assembling mooncakes. When baked, the dough becomes slightly chewy ... Read more
  • golden syrup

    Golden syrup or inverted sugar syrup is added to the dough, and it consists of sugar, water, and lemon juice. Its purpose is to give a golden color to the crust and to help it retain moisture. You can replace it with honey, tough. Choose mild-flavored varieties and make sure honey is runny and not crystallized.
  • lye water

    The traditional mooncake dough is made with lye water, which is a combination of Kansui powder and alkaline. Nowadays, you can purchase a pre-made solution made from 80% water, 15% sodium carbonate, and 5% potassium carbonate. Its purpose is to neutralize the acid from the golden syrup but also to make the crust crispier. In case you can’t find lye water, there are three ways to substitute it. One,... Read more
  • fillings

    The mooncake fillings can be sweet or savory, but whichever filling you choose, make sure it is not too moist since it might cause the crust to crack during baking. If you make the fillings from beans or lotus seeds, they need to be soaked and cooked, mashed into a paste, and cooked in a pan with oil and sugar until all the liquid evaporates and the paste becomes dry and non-sticky.
  • salted egg yolks

    The yolks of salted duck or chicken eggs are often incorporated into the center of mooncakes, symbolizing the moon. To prepare the egg yolks, break the eggs and wash the yolks in cold water. Salted yolks are firmer than raw ones, but they still need to be managed gently. Some recipes suggest spraying the salted egg yolks with white spirit to remove the raw taste.
  • mooncake molds

    Traditional mooncake molds are made of wood, while modern versions tend to be made of plastic and often include interchangeable stamps for decorating the top of the mooncake. Most commonly, they are round, but there are also rectangular molds, or those in the shape of a fish, a piglet, or a flower. The mold should be lightly floured to prevent the mooncake from sticking. Press the mold very gently;... Read more
  • baking

    The mooncakes are baked on a regular baking sheet covered with parchment at 180°C/350°F. The baking is divided into two stages: in the first stage, mooncakes are baked shortly until the crust starts to harden, and in the second stage, they are brushed with an egg wash and baked again until golden brown.
  • resting

    Freshly baked mooncakes tend to be hard. Therefore, they should be placed in an airtight container and left to rest for 1-2 days before being served. During that time, the oil and the filling moisten the crust, making the mooncakes tender.

Recipe variations

Cantonese-Style Mooncakes with Lotus Seed Paste and Salted Egg Yolks

PREP 40min

COOK 2h 35min

RESTING 2d 12h

READY IN 2d 15h

3.1

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The following recipe gives directions how to make Cantonese-style mooncakes filled with lotus seed paste and salted egg yolks. The paste is made from scratch, and in the dough preparation, honey is used instead of golden syrup, i.e., inverted sugar syrup. Since lotus seeds need to be soaked overnight, make sure you start your preparation one day in advance. Also, keep in mind that the crust should soften before serving, so rest the mooncakes for 1-2 days once they have been baked. This recipe was adapted from the YouTube channel Amanda Tastes,which deals predominantly with traditional and modern Chinese food.

Ingredients

20 Servings

Cantonese-Style Mooncakes with Lotus Seed Paste and Salted Egg Yolks

FOR LOTUS SEED PASTE

150g (5.3 oz) dried lotus seeds

120g (4.2 oz) caster sugar

80g (2.8 oz) vegetable oil

1/2 tsp salt

FOR DOUGH

180g (6.3 oz) plain flour

125g (4.4 oz) honey

1/8 tsp (0,5g) dietary alkali

55g (2 oz) groundnut oil

FOR FILLING

20 salted eggs

FOR EGG WASH

1 egg yolk

1 tbsp egg white

Preparation

1

Cantonese-Style Mooncakes with Lotus Seed Paste and Salted Egg Yolks

Step 1/15

First, prepare the lotus seeds by soaking them in water for 6-8 hours. When they become soft, break each seed in half with your fingers. If you find sprouts between halves, remove them.

Step 2/15

Place soaked lotus seeds in a cooking pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil; then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 2 hours, until the water becomes milky and the lotus seeds start falling apart.

Step 3/15

Transfer cooked lotus seeds and their liquid to a blender, and pulse until smooth and velvety. Then, transfer this mixture into a non-stick skillet and warm up over medium heat.

Step 4/15

Add the vegetable oil gradually one-third at a time, and stir constantly until absorbed. Then, add salt and caster sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves completely. If you prefer a saltier filling, increase the amount of salt. Keep stirring until the paste thickens and the liquid evaporates. The paste is ready when it reaches a dough-like texture. Transfer it to a plate and leave to cool.

Step 5/15

Meanwhile, prepare the mooncake dough. Put the dietary alkali in a large bowl and mix with 1/2 tsp water until dissolved. Add honey and groundnut oil and whisk until blended. Then, fold in the flour using a spatula until soft and sticky dough is formed.

Step 6/15

Transfer the dough to a large piece of plastic wrap, wrap it up and leave to rest at room temperature for 1-2 hours.

Step 7/15

Crack the salted eggs one by one into a small bowl. Gently fish out the egg yolk with a slotted spoon or a mesh spoon and transfer to a big bowl filled water to remove the remains of egg whites. Strain the yolks, gently dry with a paper towel, and arrange on a plate.

Step 8/15

Now, assemble the mooncakes. For a 50g (1.75 oz) mooncake, the total weight of filling (egg yolk + lotus seed paste) should be 35g (1.2 oz). For instance, for a 15g (0.5 oz) egg yolk, you will need 20g (0.7 oz) of lotus seed paste. First, measure the weight of each yolk on a kitchen scale. Then, add enough lotus seed paste, so the total weight is 35g (1.2 oz).

Step 9/15

Roll each portion of lotus seed paste into a ball, then press it in the palm of your hand to form a flat disc. Place a salted egg yolk in the middle, and gently gather the edges of the lotus seed paste using your thumb and index finger, so the paste envelopes the egg yolk. Roll into a ball and repeat with the remaining egg yolks and lotus seed paste portions.

Step 10/15

Now, divide the dough into 15g (0.5 oz) portions. The amount of dough from this recipe is enough for 20 mooncakes, so be precise. Arrange the portions of dough on a clean plate, take one, and cover the rest with plastic wrap.

Step 11/15

Lightly flour your hands. Roll one portion of dough into a ball, then press with the palm of your hand to get a flat disc. Place the filling ball in the middle and gently stretch the edges of the dough using your thumb and index finger, so the dough wraps the filling completely. Seal the edges on the top, so the seam is invisible and roll into a ball. Repeat with the remaining portions of dough and filling balls and lightly flour each mooncake-to-be.

Step 12/15

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a baking tray with parchment or a silicone baking sheet.

Step 13/15

While the oven is heating up, shape the mooncakes using a mooncake press. Roll each mooncake into an elongated ball which fits the opening of your mooncake press. Gently place the mooncake into the press, and press down on a baking tray. Leave enough room between mooncakes. Place the baking tray in the oven and bake for 5 minutes.

Step 14/15

In the meantime, make the egg wash by whisking 1 egg yolk with 1 tbsp of egg white. After 5 minutes of baking, lightly brush each mooncake with some egg wash. Return the mooncakes to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes.

Step 15/15

Cool the mooncakes on a wire rack to a room temperature. Then, transfer the mooncakes into a food container and seal well. Let them stand for 1-2 days to become soft and moist, and then serve.

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