Fly Me to the Moon: How to Make Your own Mooncakes

Fly Me to the Moon: How to Make Your own Mooncakes
Aug 30, 2014 By Robynne Tindall , eChinacities.com

Fly Me to the Moon: How to Make Your own Mooncakes
Photo: syndypenguin.blogspot.com

Regardless of how you feel about mooncakes – a divisive traditional Chinese snack that foreigners seem to either love or hate – they're an incredibly popular gift between family members and business associates alike. And if you're looking for a surefire way to impress just about any Chinese person, look no further than making your own as gifts!

Although countless variations exist, the most common type are Guangdong-style mooncakes, which have a thick, slightly oily pastry outside. Two of the most popular fillings are red bean paste and lotus paste, and it's quite common to find a salted egg yolk in the middle of the cake to symbolize the full moon. Thankfully, Guangdong-style mooncakes are also the easiest to make! Read on for our quick guide to making your own mooncakes.

The essentials

The main ingredients for the pastry are low-gluten flour (低筋面粉), sugar syrup (转化糖浆), alkaline or lye water (枧水) and vegetable oil. Although it may seem like an unusual ingredient, the alkaline water gives the pastry its soft, slightly fluffy texture and helps it to brown evenly. As for the fillings, you can either purchase them ready-made—particularly the red bean and lotus seed pastes—or, if you're feeling up to it, you can mix them yourself, which is particularly easy if you have a food processor.

You will also need a mould to make the mooncakes. Traditionally mooncake moulds were made of wood: you'd press the dough-wrapped filling into the mould, leaving a traditional design on the cake, often signifying good health and happiness. Today, mooncake moulds are generally made of plastic and come in a range of designs, from floral styles, to Hello Kitty and even Angry Birds (thanks globalization!). Mooncake moulds can be purchased on Amazon.cn or Taobao for around 20-30 RMB each.

Where to buy

Although they aren't used in everyday cooking, all the ingredients for both the mooncake pastry and the filling should be available in larger supermarkets such as Walmart, Carrefour and Wumart. As mid- to high-gluten flours are more common in China, if you can't find low-gluten flour you can still substitute all-purpose flour without altering the texture of the pastry too much.

A wide range of baking ingredients is also available on Taobao, for example from the Ziwei Baking Shop, which also has a physical location in Beijing.

How hard is it to make your own mooncakes?

Overall, making your own mooncakes is not as hard as it first appears. The pastry comes together fairly easily and is not nearly as temperamental as Western-style pastry. Your mooncakes may not look as uniform as shop-bought ones, but therein lies the charm of home baking.

The hardest part is wrapping the mooncakes, due to the low ratio of pastry to filling. However, it does get easier with practice. This website has a handy video showing you how to do it.

Recipe: Traditional mooncakes with lotus seed paste and salted egg yolks
(en.christinesrecipes.com)

Serving size: 12 mooncakes (approx. 50 grams each)

Ingredients:

100g plain flour; preferably low-gluten (低筋面粉)
60g golden syrup (转化糖浆)
½ tsp alkaline water, also known as lye water (枧水)
28g vegetable oil

For the fillings:

420g lotus seed puree/paste (莲蓉), store-bought or see recipe here
6 salted egg yolks
1 tbsp rose-flavored cooking wine (玫瑰露酒)

Egg wash:

1 egg yolk
2 tbsp egg white

Instructions:

1. Using a large bowl, mix the golden syrup, alkaline water and oil well. Sift in the flour. Use a spatula to combine all ingredients. Don't over-stir. Knead until the mixture forms a dough. Cover with film wrap and rest for 40 minutes.

2. Mix the egg yolks with the wine. Wipe dry the yolks with kitchen paper. Cut each into two halves. Set aside.

3. Roll lotus paste into a long tube. Cut into 12 equal portions, each 35 grams. Roll each portion into a ball shape. Set aside.

4. Preheat oven to 180 C (356 F). Prepare the egg wash: whisk the egg yolk with the egg white.

5. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions. Roll each portion into a small ball. Cover a dough portion with film wrap and roll into a thin disc. Then take a lotus paste ball and poke a hole in the middle with your finger. Place an egg yolk inside. Roll and shape into a ball. Wrap and seal the lotus paste ball with the dough disc.

6. Spray the mooncake mould with flavorless oil and place the stuffed mooncake into the mould. Lightly press the mould handle, then remove the mooncake from the mould. Transfer the stuffed mooncake onto a lined baking tray. Repeat this step to finish the remaining dough and lotus paste.

7. Bake in the preheated oven for about 10 to 12 minutes. Brush the mooncakes with egg wash about 5 minutes before removing from the oven. Continue to bake until the pastry turns golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.

8. Store in an air-tight container. The pastry will become soft—(回油), literally meaning “returns oily and soft”—and shiny in one or two days.

If all of that sounds like too much hard work…

Of course, mooncakes are also widely available to buy in supermarkets, department stores and hotels. Quality varies immensely, so consult a local friend about brands if you are unsure. For a modern take, try HäagenDazs' delicious ice cream mooncakes. Although expensive (prices range from 79 RMB for one to 598 RMB for a selection of flavors) they are bound to impress their recipient. You can order in-store or online.  Starbucks' mooncakes are also very popular, and feature attractive packaging and unusual flavors, such as pumpkin latte and chocolate coffee custard and almond. Order in-store and pick up later in the month.

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Keywords: how to make mooncakes recipes for mooncakes Chinese mooncakes Chinese cooking recipes

6 Comments

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Incongnito

Forget about the lotus seed paste, yolks and other vapid ingredients... Instead fill them in with chicken, ham and cheese or your favourite filling. Step No 2 Call your friends up and serve the mooncake with lots of cold beer...!

Sep 15, 2014 18:15 Report Abuse

instantkarma

moon cakes shouldn't see the light of day

Aug 31, 2014 16:59 Report Abuse

bill8899

Yummy mooncakes!

Aug 31, 2014 02:06 Report Abuse

bill8899

If you figure out how to fill them with baijiu, let us know!

Aug 31, 2014 02:08 Report Abuse

carlstar

I've made them before. was with a chinese chef, had the mold and all. they are really simple to make if you are that way inclined. tastes good if done right. just like anything else. don't blame the method, blame the baker

Aug 30, 2014 15:46 Report Abuse

sylvie

No matter how you make a moon cake,it taste funny. Don't like it,period!

Sep 06, 2012 18:48 Report Abuse