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Disclosure: This recipe is in collaboration with Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School Parent Support Group (PHPPS PSG).

STORY BEHIND THE RECIPE

It was customary for emperors to worship the moon in the middle of autumn because they believed it would be essential for a full harvest the next year. It became a festival in the Tang Dynasty when the merchants and nobles would throw grand parties for moon worship, and eventually the masses joined in too. Many years later, mooncakes were created and used as a medium of rebellion back in the Yuan Dynasty. The people hid secret messages in the mooncakes to rebel against the ruling Mongols!

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Mooncakes are now a must during the mid-autumn festivity, usually shared by friends and family over hot Chinese tea. Accompanying the bright moon, many children often carry their lanterns and play with sparklers. We get to enjoy the many variations of mooncakes, durian, champagne and even the teochew mixed nuts variation! I must say my favourite is still the traditional one with a full yolk in the center that represents the beautiful full moon.

I am going to show you and the Pei Hwa community how to make the classic well loved Traditional Baked Mooncake all from scratch. Be sure to watch this space for our homemade lotus seed paste and snowskin recipes as well.

TRICK OF THE TRADE

The mooncake mould is an important yet overlooked component of the recipe.

I strongly recommend you to get a wooden mould instead of the plastic variation. The imprints tend to be nicer and deeper which will produce more defined patterns.
First and foremost, find out the volume of your mooncake mould. This will help you determine how much filling and pastry you require. Our mould can fit 180g, thus our proportions are 130g of filling with egg yolk with 50g of pastry.
If you are using a new wooden mould, you need to fill it up with oil and leave it overnight for it to seep into the wood. This will help to season the mould and ensure that the mooncake would not stick during shaping.
You need to dust the mooncake mould with flour before shaping the mooncakes if not the pastry will end up sticking to the mould, resulting in an undesirable outer etching.

HOW TO MAKE TRADITIONAL MOONCAKE (MAKES 9 MOONCAKES)

PREPARE THE EGG YOLK

Remove the black salted charcoal from the salted egg and wash thoroughly.
Separate the egg yolk from the white.
Remove excess egg white that is left on the yolk with a kitchen towel.
Arrange the yolks on an oiled plate and steam for 2 minutes. Cool and set aside.

Before steaming

After steaming

PREPARE THE PASTRY

Sieve the flour into a bowl.
Make a well in the centre and add the syrup, oil and alkaline water.
Use a spatula to fold the flour into the center until well incorporated. Cover the bowl with cling wrap for 2-3 hours and leave at room temperature.

Read Also: Snowskin Mooncake (冰皮月饼)

PREPARE THE FILLING

Add the melon seeds to the lotus seed paste and mix well.
Toasted melon seeds: bake them in an oven at 160 degrees for 10 minutes, mixing them once.
The weight of 1 egg yolk and lotus paste together should be 130g (this is dependent on the volume of your mooncake mould).
Roll the lotus paste into a ball and use your thumb to make an indent in the center big enough for the egg yolk.
Place the egg yolk in the hole and cover it with remaining lotus paste, ensuring that it stays in the middle as much as possible. Roll it into a ball and set aside.

ASSEMBLE THE MOONCAKE

Weigh out 50g of the pastry after it has set. (The combined weight of the pastry and filling should fit exactly into your mould.)
Roll the pastry into a ball. Flatten it into a circle with your palms. Wrap the pastry around the filling ball, ensuring that there are no cracks in the skin.
One the filling is enclosed, roll into a ball and dust with Hong Kong flour and set aside.
Generously dust the mooncake mould with flour and tap out any excess.
Push the ball into the mould until all the spaces are filled, pressing from outside towards the center.
Tap the mould on the table, once on each side to loosen and dislodge the mooncake.

BAKE THE MOONCAKE

Place the mooncakes on a baking tray and spray some water on them to ensure no cracking during the baking process. Bake in a preheated oven at 160 degrees for 15 minutes.
Make sure the mooncakes are well-spaced.
Remove from the oven and cool. Mix and sieve the eggs and brush the egg wash over the mooncakes before putting them back in the oven for another 10 minutes until golden brown.
Occasionally check on the mooncakes to prevent them from burning.
Remove and let them cool completely before storing in a container. It is best eaten a few days after baking.

MARKETING TIPS

Get the duck eggs from the wet market instead of supermarkets. The ones with the black soil are the freshest and will produce a bigger and more vibrant egg yolk.
It is best if you follow our recipe to make your own lotus seed paste, if not, we recommend that you get it from Sun Lik Trading.

COOKING TIPS

Do not over-steam the egg yolks as they will be dry and disintegrate easily during the assembly process.
Golden syrup sweetens the pastry and gives it the beautiful golden colour.
Alkaline water neutralises the acid in the golden syrup which helps to prevent the sugars from crystallising and forming a crispy pastry. It browns the mooncake and keeps it soft.
The peanut oil will add a savoury depth of flavour to the mooncake.
To prevent the skin from cracking during the baking process, spray some water over the mooncakes before baking.
Do not brush the raw mooncake with egg wash as it will destroy the imprint, thus doing it after the 1st round of baking will be better. However, remember to let the mooncake cool down before doing so if not the residual heat will cook the egg. Brush it uniformly and get into all the crevices so the mooncake will brown evenly.

STORING TIPS

When done, cool completely and place it in a container for at least 1-2 days for the oil to surface. The mooncake will take on a glossy appearance, and it will taste better.
Do not throw away the unused egg whites, use them in fried rice or steamed eggs!

DIETARY MODIFICATIONS

Egg-Free: Do not add the salted egg yolk, add more lotus seed paste accordingly.
Fish-Free: No modifications needed.
Gluten-Free: No modifications needed.
Nut-Free: Do not use peanut oil, but use canola oil instead.
Shellfish-Free: No modifications needed.
Vegan: Do not add the salted egg yolk, add more lotus seed paste accordingly.
Vegetarian: Do not add the salted egg yolk, add more lotus seed paste accordingly.

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Traditional Baked Mooncake (传统烘月饼)

Course: Snack

Cuisine: Chinese

Keyword: traditional mooncake

Prep Time: 1

Cook Time: 1

Total Time: 2

Servings: mooncakes

Calories: 729kcal

Author: Bee Leng

Celebrate Mooncake Festival this year with delicious mooncakes and hot Chinese tea accompanying your little ones with their lanterns and sparklers!

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Pastry

200 g Hong Kong Flour narcissus brand
125 ml Golden Syrup
50 ml Peanut Oil
¼ tbsp Alkaline Water

Filling

9 Salted Egg Yolks
1 kg Lotus Seed Paste lian rong
50 g Toasted Melon Seeds

Others

Hong Kong Flour (for dusting)
Water (for spraying)
2 Egg Yolks and 1 Egg White (for egg wash)

Instructions

Prepare the egg yolk

Remove the black salted charcoal from the salted egg and wash thoroughly.
Separate the egg yolk from the white.
Remove excess egg white that is left on the yolk with a kitchen towel.
Arrange the yolks on an oiled plate and steam for 2 minutes. Cool and set aside.

Prepare the pastry

Sieve the flour into a bowl.
Make a well in the centre and add the syrup, oil and alkaline water.Use a spatula to fold the flour into the center until well incorporated.
Cover the bowl with cling wrap for 2-3 hours and leave at room temperature.

Prepare the filling

Add the melon seeds to the lotus seed paste and mix well.
The weight of 1 egg yolk and lotus paste together should be 130g (this is dependent on the volume of your mooncake mould).
Roll the lotus paste into a ball and use your thumb to make an indent in the center big enough for the egg yolk.
Place the egg yolk in the hole and cover it with remaining lotus paste, ensuring that it stays in the middle as much as possible. Roll it into a ball and set aside.

Assemble the mooncake

Weigh out 50g of the pastry after it has set. (The combined weight of the pastry and filling should fit exactly into your mould.)
Roll the pastry into a ball. Flatten it into a circle with your palms. Wrap the pastry around the filling ball, ensuring that there are no cracks in the skin.
One the filling is enclosed, roll into a ball and dust with Hong Kong flour and set aside.
Generously dust the mooncake mould with flour and tap out any excess.
Push the ball into the mould until all the spaces are filled, pressing from outside towards the center.
Tap the mould on the table, once on each side to loosen and dislodge the mooncake.

Bake the mooncake

Place the mooncakes on a baking tray and spray some water on them to ensure no cracking during the baking process. Bake in a preheated oven at 160 degrees for 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and cool. Mix and sieve the eggs and brush the egg wash over the mooncakes before putting them back in the oven for another 10 minutes until golden brown.
Remove and let them cool completely before storing in a container. It is best eaten a few days after baking.

Video

Notes

MARKETING TIPS

Get the duck eggs from the wet market instead of supermarkets. The ones with the black soil are the freshest and will produce a bigger and more vibrant egg yolk.
It is best if you follow our recipe to make your own lotus seed paste, if not, we recommend that you get it from Sun Lik Trading.

COOKING TIPS

Do not over-steam the egg yolks as they will be dry and disintegrate easily during the assembly process.
Golden syrup sweetens the pastry and gives it the beautiful golden colour.
Alkaline water neutralises the acid in the golden syrup which helps to prevent the sugars from crystallising and forming a crispy pastry. It browns the mooncake and keeps it soft.
The peanut oil will add a savoury depth of flavour to the mooncake.
To prevent the skin from cracking during the baking process, spray some water over the mooncakes before baking.
Do not brush the raw mooncake with egg wash as it will destroy the imprint, thus doing it after the 1st round of baking will be better. However, remember to let the mooncake cool down before doing so if not the residual heat will cook the egg. Brush it uniformly and get into all the crevices so the mooncake will brown evenly.

STORING TIPS

When done, cool completely and place it in a container for at least 1-2 days for the oil to surface. The mooncake will take on a glossy appearance, and it will taste better.
Do not throw away the unused egg whites, use them in fried rice or steamed eggs!