September 7, 2011

Mooncake


Mooncakes
assorted lotus seed mooncakes

Lotus Seed Mooncake with Salted Duck Egg Yolk
lotus seed mooncake with a salted duck egg yolk

I've always wanted to make mooncakes for Chinese mid-Autumn festival [this year it's on September 12] but couldn't find easy to use molds. I finally found and bought from a Singaporean catalog one large round with 4 different plate designs and a small square with 3 plates. For the filling I used lotus seeds I bought from the Asian store and added one salted duck egg yolk in each of the 3 big ones. Some have chopped walnuts which I really like and a few I added pandan paste to the filling. I still have to learn how to make the impressions more pronounced though and I think I have to use a different recipe for the pastry to achieve that. Right now I'm happy with the way they look and I love the flavor of all of them. 

Mooncake Molds

The lotus seeds I got were already shelled and only some of the seeds had the green thingie inside that needs to be discarded before cooking. 

Lotus Seeds and Moncakes

Lotus Seed Mooncake

pastry shell
173 ml golden syrup
78 ml light olive oil
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ tablespoon water
10½ ounces all-purpose flour, sifted twice

lotus seed filling
1 pound shelled dried lotus seeds
water
1 cup sugar, or to taste
shelled watermelon seeds, chopped walnuts, pandan paste

egg wash
1 well beaten egg
  • Pastry: Mix syrup, olive oil, baking soda, and water. Slowly add flour and mix with hands or rubber spatula until incorporated. It will be sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and leave on the kitchen counter for 6 hours.
  • Filling: Wash the seeds, cover with water and soak for 3 hours. Remove the green germ if necessary. Wash 2 more times. Put in a medium saucepan, add water, and boil gently until tender. Cool slightly, then blend in a blender or food processor until smooth. Return to the pan, add sugar, and cook until all the moisture has evaporated. Cool before adding flavoring, watermelon seeds, or walnuts. 
  • Shape and bake: Proportion should be 65% filling to 35% pastry shell. Shape portions of filling into balls. Flatten a piece of dough into a very thin round, place the ball in the center and cover completely with dough. Place the balls seams side down on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Use the mold to stamp the design or leave plain if you don't have one but flatten slightly. Brush with egg wash and bake in a preheated 400° F oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely before cutting into portions.

15 comments:

  1. That is beyond impressive! I honestly did not know how they could be made at home, and loved to see the molds you used...

    you did an amazing job, I don't think that many people could tackle this type of recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Oggi, where did you order the molds from? i have a friend that's trying to find mooncake molds.

    ReplyDelete
  3. R,
    They are now available from eBay. Here is the link.

    ReplyDelete
  4. thanks so much! I will let her know!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your mooncakes look great. Where did you find those forms? they look so cool.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love mooncakes and yours look just like the ones I had in Hong Kong...Good job!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Should I blend the boiled lotus seeds together with the boiled water or without ( dry blending )? ??

    ReplyDelete
  8. Suan168
    Yes, with the liquid, for smoother texture, then you dry it out by cooking further in pan.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Oggi, thanks for the reply.. I'm actually just starting now to try to make mooncake of your version, after buying an old traditional mooncake form last year, made of wood. And I am recently at the step 2 ~ Filling... question: how do I know that all the moisture has evaporated? Thanks in advance.

      Delete
  9. S.O.S.. pls help me, Oggi! I just tried to bake one mooncake and the result is a catastrophe :(
    Well, the skin is okay, but I can barely see the shape & form of the mooncake and the filling ist not firm, still very soft and even like "raw". I decided to not continue form and bake the others. I'm pretty sure I did something wrong, just dunno what it is?! Maybe the moisture of the filling isn't properly evaporated??? Please help me..Thanks in advance.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Suan168
    The filling should be dry enough to form into balls without crumbling but they shouldn't be too sticky either. To make the design more visible, try refrigerating the formed mooncakes before baking.
    Hope that helps.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi !!
    Your mooncakes look great. Where did you find those forms? they look so cool. Where I can order something like that? Thanks a lot !!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Unknown @ 11/6/21

    Thanks. The molds are available from Amazon and eBay. Search mooncake molds.

    ReplyDelete