Mooncakes are traditionally made, bought, gifted and eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival in China. However, they’re also associated with the Chinese New Year, and from my understanding, aren’t often enjoyed as much as we in the Western world believe. Perhaps it’s possible that in the East, mooncakes have the same bad rep as fruitcake does here in the West. Food politics aside, I love the traditions, how aesthetically appealing mooncakes are, and their name is really cool. I wish fruitcake had a cool name… 

In the episode, Love Stings, of Kung Fu Panda Legend of Awesomeness, Scorpion poisons the village by lacing mooncakes she made with a substance which makes Po dizzy, and the villagers pass out.

Well, the mooncakes I made are definitely not poisonous lol, but I thought it would be a lot of fun to make some since I’m kinda obsessed with the idea of making a ton of mooncakes for a seasonal festival, and wish I could partake in such event. So, for now I will live vicariously through my favorite cartoon characters.

Traditionally, mooncakes are made with an alkaline water and golden syrup, and some recipes call for powdered milk, which is also kind of difficult to find these days to be honest. They are filled with lotus paste, bean paste, or nuts seeds and dried fruit. Although I LOVE lotus paste and red bean paste, I wanted to create a recipe which wouldn’t require too many specialty ingredients, although you will need a mooncake mold/press. I will leave an affiliate link below where I purchased mine.

I created a simplified recipe and made them a bit shorter since the filling is pretty nutritious and dense in calories.  I ate two for lunch (I feel like Po) and they kept me pretty full.

Ingredients

for Apricot Filling:

3/4 Cup Almonds I used salted.

1 Cup Chopped Dates

1/2 Cup Chopped Dried Apricot

3 TBSP Apricot Preserves

for Mooncake Dough:

2 Cups + 2 TBSP All Purpose Flour

3/4 Cup Sugar

1 Stick Unsalted Butter room temperature

2 TBSP Canola Oil or any neutral flavored oil

2 Eggs

1 TSP Kosher Salt

 

 

Directions

for Apricot Almond Filling:

1. In a food processor, combine all ingredients and pulse until almonds and fruit are minced.

2. Chill apricot almond mixture in the fridge while you work on your dough.

3. Form 12-14 balls which should weight about 24 -26 grams each.

4. Place mooncake filling balls next to each other on a plate so they may be ready for your dough.

for Mooncake Dough:

1. In a food processor, combine all ingredients and pulse together until your dough is firm. It will be slightly sticky. If mixing by hand, combine wet ingredients first, and add dry ingredients 1/2 Cup at a time.

2. Form dough into a log and wrap with cling wrap. Refrigerate for about 45 minutes. Chilled dough will be firm, but still slightly sticky.

Assembly:

1. Portion dough out into 45 gram pieces. Do this one mooncake at a time. Dust hands with flour.

2. Wrap dough around filling ball and pinch at the end. Gently roll dough ball until smooth. they do not need to be perfectly spherical so don’t stress out like I do.

3. Chill dough balls in fridge for 15 minutes.

4. Lightly dust your mooncake mold with flour. If you’re using a press mold like I did, simply push the mold down into a small bowl of flour.

5. Gently press your mooncake mold down onto your dough ball, then pop out of the mold.

6. Line mooncakes onto a silicon lined baking sheet.

Baking:

1. Bake mooncakes for 5 minutes at 350 degrees. Mooncakes will look a bit oily. This is okay.

This will prevent mooncakes from exploding in the oven as they contract a little as they cool down. Immediately cooking them at a high temperature will result in a dried out, exploding mooncake. I don’t think anyone wants that… 

2. Baste mooncake with egg wash which is 1 egg and 1 TBSP of water.

3. Bake mooncakes in oven now at 425 degrees for about 10-12 minutes. Mooncakes should be golden brown and shiny on top.

 I hope you enjoy this awesome recipe! They were a lot of fun to make, and I was really satisfied at how cute they came out.

Enjoy!!! <3 

Affiliate Link Where I purchased my mooncake press:
KingSo(TM) Mooncake Fodant Gift DIY Moon Cake Mold 4 Flower Plant Stamps Decor Mould (Round)

Read the original on: Amby Cakes