Preparation time: 1.5 hour
Waiting time: 1 hour
Baking time: 10–15 mins
Total time: Approximately 2 hour 45 mins
Servings: 11 mooncakes
Ingredients:
Dough:
150g Cake flour
100g Invert syrup (home made using this recipe)
45g Vegetable oil
10g Lye water (I used this brand)
Filling:
775g Lotus seed paste (store bought or homemade)
10–12 pieces of Salted egg yolk
Others:
Egg wash (1 egg yolk + 1 tsp water)
Corn starch for dusting
Spray bottle with water for misting
Mooncake mold
Plastic cooking gloves to prevent sticking when handling Step 3
Kitchen scale for precision
Before you start: quick tips and understand the ingredients
General: I suggested to use store bought lotus seed paste until you are comfortable with this recipe. I made 7 batches of three mooncakes each before I reached the results that made me happy :) I keep a spreadsheet to help me document each adjustment I made to the recipe to understand how each ingredient works. For me, wrapping the filling and molding was a huge learning curve, but the tips in this post are what worked for me!
Kitchen scale: precision is key, and a scale will give you mooncakes that come out the same size.
Skin to filling ratio: 30% skin to 70% filling is the best ratio. 40–60 is also popular but I found the skin to be too thick.
Cake flour: don’t skimp on the cake flour, and do not DIY your cake flour. DIY cake flour does not incorporate well with the wet ingredients, and yields a dry dough that is very hard to work with and very difficult to mold nicely. I have not tried all-purpose flour, but I’ve read that although the skin does not come out as soft, it works just as well.
Invert syrup: this is basically sugar, water, and lemon, cooked until it thickens and darkens. It retains moisture, keeping your mooncakes soft.
Lye water: since invert syrup contains lemon, adding lye water will neutralize the lemon so that your mooncakes don’t taste sour. The amount of lye water will determine the darkness of the mooncakes. If you prefer a lighter shade, you can add less. If you prefer it darker, you can add more. Be sure to test it out!
Oil: most recipes call for peanut oil for its fragrance, but you can use any kind of cooking oil. Vegetable oil is quite neutral.
Salted egg yolk: store bought egg yolks are great, but only bake well the first time you use them right after opening it. You can seal away extra yolks, but note that the next bake with the extra yolks will come out dry. The weight of each yolk also varies — for precision, it is important to weigh your paste together with the yolk.
OK let’s go!
Step 1: Preparing the dough
In a bowl, combine invert syrup, oil, and lye water — mix well. Add cake flour and mix until it forms a dough. Knead for a few minutes until incorporated. Do not over knead. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, and let rest for about 1 hour.
Step 2: Prepare the filling
With your cooking gloves on, divide the lotus seed paste and weigh each together with the salted egg yolk. Each set (paste+yolk) should weigh 70% of the final total mooncake weight. I used 100g round mold (70g filling), and 125g square mold (88g filling). This recipe made 6 round and 5 square mooncakes for me.
Squeeze each piece of lotus seed paste with the palms of your hands to make sure they are compact (this will remove air bubbles. Roll it into a ball, then press your thumb down the center about half way to make a dent for the yolk. Gently push the egg yolk in and wrap with the paste, slowly pressing and making sure there are no air bubbles. Roll into a ball. Repeat for the rest.
Image(s) for reference:
Step 3: Assembling
Lay a piece of plastic wrap on your working surface. With your cooking gloves on, divide and roll dough into balls that weigh 30% of the final total mooncake weight (refer to step 2). Place on top of plastic wrap, and with the palm of your hand, flatten into a circle on a piece of plastic wrap. If you are using a rolling pin, be sure to lay another piece of plastic wrap on top of the dough to prevent sticking.
Tip: Optimal circle size is a diameter about one index finger larger than the ball of filling.
Tip: For the technique described below, check out this video from 3:54 to 4:21 .
Carefully peel off the flattened dough, and place it on your palm. Place the filling at the center of the dough, and flip it over onto your other hand. Using the curve connecting your thumb and index finger, wrap the filling by rounding out the dough over it. Gently pressing down to remove air bubbles half way down, then flip it back over onto your other hand. With the curve on your free hand again, push the dough up to close off the filling. Roll into a ball, smoothing any folds and cracks as much as possible. Repeat for the rest.
Step 4: Molding
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Dust the palms of your hands with cornstarch and roll each ball in, coating it to prevent sticking to your mold — pat off excess. Place dusted ball on a cooking tray and cover with the mold.
Tip: For the molding technique described below, check out this video from 6:08 to 6:30.
Don’t worry, this step takes practice! Holding the base of the mold down tightly with one hand, use the other hand to press the mold handle down as much as you can. Keeping the base still, and release the handle, and repeat about 2–3 times. Release first, before pushing the mooncake out — this will avoid the dough sticking to the mold. Sometimes it still will. Be sure not to release until you carefully wiggle the mooncake out, otherwise it will end up scraping the side. Right before going into the oven, mist the mooncakes all around with a thin layer of water to prevent major cracks while baking.
Image(s) for reference:
Step 5: Baking
Bake at 350°F for 3–5 mins until it looks dry. Prepare your egg wash during this time.
Take out mooncakes, turn oven down to 325°F.
To avoid caking the intricate design with your egg wash, be sure to apply as thin a layer as possible, starting with the edges. Don’t need to egg wash the sides, just the top to give the design a nice shine.
Pop it back in for another 3–5 mins. Repeat egg wash. Then pop it back in for 5-10mins.
Tip: Baking temperature and time may vary due to difference in oven. Keep checking to ensure it achieves your desired shade, but also keep in mind that the color will darken over the next few days.
Let mooncakes cool completely, and store in an airtight box (I wrapped each mooncake with plastic wrap) and let it rest for 2–3 days before consuming.
Important Tip: This process in Chinese is called 回油 (translation: returning oil). It will be scary to see that your mooncakes might have little cracks, and are super dry and hard — and that’s OK!!! During the resting period, the skin will absorb the oil from the filling. This will make the skin soft, moist, shiny, and darker. (See images below)
Image(s) for reference:
