Recently my mind has been drifting towards history and my place in the timeline of things and I’ve been reminiscing on all the wonderful moments of my adolescence. I’m only 18, but my outlook, interests, and passions have changed so much even from high school and middle school. It occurred to me that I used to be in love with Mad Men, absolutely obsessed with all the politics and culture and America and fashion it embodied. Season 1, Episode 13: “The Wheel”- Don presents Kodak’s Carousel, a revolutionary piece of technology. A simple yet beautiful pitch: a time machine that preserves photographs, holding all the precious memories to enjoy at any moment with just a few turns and clicks.
Food has always been a time machine, connecting the past and the present. Like many other Asian-American kids, mooncakes were a pleasant constant of my childhood along with bin-bin rice crackers, shrimp chips, and all the wonderful variations of Hello Panda. Flavor-wise, the salted egg lotus and red bean flavorings weren’t too appealing for my young taste buds, but I always loved the sharing, familial aspect and the beautiful designs and packaging part of the eating experience.
During my sophomore year of high school, I attempted to make mooncakes for the first time. Hunted down some cheap molds from Amazon, used pre-made red bean paste, and messily followed a lotus paste recipe I found online. Lotus paste was not a good texture and tasted weird. Result: neither good nor bad, but impressive to peers since what type of 15 year old is making mooncakes? Junior and senior year: same thing, but I expanded and made a few variations with nuts, the process was much more fluid but somehow more time consuming, my hands were getting used to the texture and fluidity of the dough, and I grew accustomed to the process. Some mooncakes cracked, and depending on the dough recipe I used, the texture never seemed to emulate the ones you could get from the store. Perfecting these babies would be labors of love.
… And that’s why I’m here to share my own mooncake recipe now. Stuck at home this semester, I started recipe testing mooncakes two months before October and ordered new molds, made several dough recipes until I found the perfect one, and succumbed to using store-bought lotus and red bean paste. And for once, I am almost content with where this recipe is at now:)
Goals for next year: make ice cream and snow skin mooncakes! Continue sharing with friends!
Mooncake Recipe
Ingredients
Dough
- 196 grams all-purpose flour
- 16 grams cornstarch
- 1/8 tsp lye powder, or alternatively baking soda
- 2 tbsp room temperature water
- 120 grams golden syrup
- 48 grams vegetable oil
- 10 grams natural honey
Egg Wash
- 1/2 tbsp water
- 1 egg yolk
Filling
- red bean paste
- lotus paste
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the lye powder and water. Stir to dissolve, then set aside.
- Add the rest of the ingredients of the dough in a separate bowl, then add in the lye water and stir until combined. The dough should be loose and smooth to the touch.
- Let the dough rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- In the meantime, portion your fillings into 1.5-2 tbsp portions, and roll into balls. Freeze the balls if the filling is soft.
- When the dough is done resting, pinch a piece of dough, about 1-1.5 tablespoons, slightly smaller than the size of the filling. Form the dough into a ball, then flatten into a circle, about 2.5-3 inches in diameter, making sure the sides outer circumference of the dough is thicker than the center of the circle.
- Place one of the filling balls in the center of the dough circle, then enclose the filling by carefully stretching and flattening the dough until none of the filling is visible. This is a delicate process, be patient:)
- Lightly roll the ball in flour, then place it under the mold and press the design into the ball. Repeat with until all the filling and dough is used.
- Place the mooncakes onto a lined baking sheet, spacing them 1 inch apart. Refrigerate the mooncakes for 15 minutes before baking.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare the egg wash by whisking together the egg yolk and water. Bake the mooncakes for 5 minutes, then take them out and brush them with a light layer of egg wash.
- Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 8-12 more minutes. Be careful not to over bake. The mooncakes should only be lightly golden.
- Once the mooncakes are done, let them cool at room temperature. Store the mooncakes in an airtight container for at least 2 days before serving so the oil from the dough can return to the surface, providing a glossy finish and soft texture.