Mooncake
中秋節快樂!! A Mid-Autumn Festival traditional Chinese treat! I usually only eat this once a year specifically for this holiday because, as delicious as this is, most store bought mooncakes are WAY too sweet for me. That’s why this year I decided to make my own! There were two main things I wanted to address that I always wanted in my mooncakes. First, make them less sweet. Second, make the outer crust thicker so it doesn’t feel like I am just eating a block of filling. This recipe is perfect for me and I hope you will enjoy it as well!
Matcha Mung Bean Paste (Filling #1)
150 g Mung Bean
15 g Matcha Powder
100 g Coffee Creamer (powder)
Can be substituted with 200 mL of milk but I did not want to add extra liquid to the recipe.
120 g Sugar
This might seem like a lot of sugar but this amount is needed to balance the matcha powder.
1 g Salt
1 g Citric Acid
50 g Unsalted Butter
The paste needs some type of oil. It is best to use an oil with a high melting point. When I used vegetable oil, the filling completely lost its shape while baking and the design of the mooncake was ruined. Some alternative oils are lard/pork fat or coconut oil. Which oil you use just depends on your own taste.
15 g Glutinous Rice Flour
Soak the mung beans overnight. Then put the mung beans in a sauce pan and just cover them with water. Simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour or until very tender.
Drain the mung beans but reserve about 1/2 Cup (about one ladle full) of the water to mix with the glutinous rice flour.
Using a food processor, purée the mung beans until very smooth and then return to the sauce pan. Turn on the stove to medium heat.
Add the matcha powder, coffee creamer, sugar, salt, and citric acid to the purée. To avoid spatter and making too much of a mess, continuously stir the purée with a wooden spoon until to mixture dries out and can hold its shape on the spoon.
After the purée has dried out sufficiently, add in the butter and stir until combined.
Then mix the reserved water with the glutinous rice flour to make a slurry. Then add the slurry to the purée and continue stirring until the paste holds together.
Let the paste cool and then transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.
Azuki Red Bean Paste (Filling #2)
150 g Azuki Red Beans
80 g Sugar
Less sugar is needed here because the red beans have a natural sweetness.
1 g Citric Acid
1 - 2 drops Red Food Coloring
This is optional. The natural puree is pretty gray in color so I added the food coloring to make it look more appetizing.
40 g Pork Fat
Again, you need to use an oil with a higher melting point. I liked that the pork fat added a bit of savoriness to the red bean paste but 50 g of unsalted butter can also be used here.
15 g Glutinous Rice Flour
Soak the red beans overnight. Then put the red beans in a sauce pan and cover them with water that reaches about 1” higher. Simmer the red beans for 1 - 2 hours until very tender. You might need to add a bit of water from time to time to make sure the pot doesn’t dry out.
Drain the red beans but reserve about 1/2 Cup (about one ladle full) of the water to mix with the glutinous rice flour.
Using a food processor, purée the red beans until very smooth and then return to the sauce pan. Turn on the stove to medium heat.
Add the sugar, citric acid, and red food coloring to the purée. To avoid spatter and making too much of a mess, continuously stir the purée with a wooden spoon until to mixture dries out and can hold its shape on the spoon.
After the purée has dried out sufficiently, add in the pork fat and stir until combined.
Then mix the reserved water with the glutinous rice flour to make a slurry. Then add the slurry to the purée and continue stirring until the paste holds together.
Let the paste cool and then transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.
Mooncake (This amount of dough will make approximately 4 regular sized mooncakes)
3 g Sodium Cabornate
This can be made at home by taking baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), spreading about 1 Cup of baking soda out on a sheet pan, and baking it for an hour at 250°F. The resulting powder will be much lighter and very basic so do not handle it with bare hands. Store in a tightly sealed glass jar.
15 g Water
70 g Honey
30 g Vegetable Oil
120 g Bread Flour
Traditionally, cake flour is used but I like that bread flour gives me more structure.
1 Egg Yolk (beaten until smooth)
This will be for the egg wash. For the best results, just use the egg yolk. Do not mix it with water. If just using the yolk is too difficult, just use one whole egg that is beaten until smooth.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the sodium carbonate and water and mixed well. Not all of the powder will dissolve. Just mix as thoroughly as you can.
Then add in the honey, vegetable oil, and bread flour. Mix/fold the dough together thoroughly.
Put the dough in an airtight container and let it rest for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, divide the dough into 60 g portions and form them into balls. Cover them with plastic to prevent them from drying out.
Take the completely chilled filling of your choice and weigh out 55 g portions and form them into balls. Cover them with plastic to prevent them from drying out.
My preferred dough to filling ratio is 60 g dough to 55 g filling. This will give you a slightly thicker crust in the end. If you prefer the more traditional thinner crust, use 60 - 70 g of filling.
Take a dough ball and flatten into a disc in the palm of your hand. Then take a filling ball and slowly shape the dough around the filling until it is fully encased.
Dust the outside with flour and press in the mooncake mold of your choice.
After shaping, spray the mooncakes with a little bit of water and place them in an airtight container. Rest the mooncakes in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, preheat the oven to 400°F.
After 30 minutes and once the oven is at temperature, place the mooncakes on a baking sheet. Spray a little water over them right before they go into the oven.
Bake the mooncakes at 400°F for 7 minutes.
Prepare the egg wash in the meantime.
After 7 minutes, take out the mooncakes and turn the oven temperature down to 375°F.
Let the mooncakes cool for about 1 minute. Then lightly coat the entire mooncake in the egg wash. Use a soft brush and be very gentle as to not damage the design on top.
Put the mooncakes back into the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
Take the mooncakes out and let them cool for 30 minutes.
Then put them in an airtight container and leave them in room temperature for 2 - 3 days. This step is called Hui You (回油) or “returning oil” and is necessary for the crust to absorb some of the oil from the filling. This will make the crust soft and its color will deepen slightly.
Afterward, the mooncakes can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 weeks or be stored in the freezer for 3 months.
