Traditional Chinese Mooncakes / 广式月饼
By: Angie's Recipes
Published: Thursday, December 10, 2009 - 5:54pm

Ingredients




1 gram Alkali (I used Potassium Carbonate - Pottasche)
3 ml Water
78 grams Inverted sugar
30 grams Salad oil (preferable peanut oil)
105 grams Plain flour
780 grams Filling (Pastes of lotus seeds, black sesame, Chinese dates)
1 tablespoon Egg yolk
1/2 tablespoon Egg white

Preparation

1 Dissolve alkali with water in a bowl. Add in inverted sugar syrup and oil. Beat until thoroughly combined and imulsified. Sift in the half flour and mix to the consistency of smooth paste. Add in another half and use rubber spatula to mix the dough until it becomes as soft as your earlobe. Cover it with plastic film and set aside for at least four hours at room temperature. 2 Divide dough and filling into 12 portions, each about 17 grams and 65 grams respectively. Flatten a portion of the dough in the palm of your hand and center the filling. Gently push the dough upward from all sides with two hands until all the filling are fully covered. Extend the dough with constant strength to so that the filling can be completely and evenly enclosed. Rub into a ball and coat thinly with flour. Dust the mold with flour and pour off the excess. 3 Preheat the oven to 170C/340F. Stir the egg yolk and white in a bowl until combined. Set aside. Place the filled packet, seam side up, in the floured mold. Press firmly to obtain the clear imprint of the mold and push down the imprinted mooncake onto a baking tray. Lightly spray the surface of the mooncakes with water and bake for 5-7 minutes on the upper rack of the hot oven. Once the surface of the mooncakes started to appear light-coloured, remove and lower the oven temperature to 150C/300F. Brush the imprints atop the mooncakes with egg mixture and return them to the oven. Bake for 7 further minutes and take out again. Brush with egg mixture once more and return to bake for 5 more minutes until golden. Remove and cool completely on a wire rack. <

About


Mooncake is a Chinese confection that is traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival, although they can be eaten at other times of the year as well. Traditional mooncakes are typically baked and consists of a thin tender skin enveloping a sweet and slightly oily filling, like lotus seed paste, bean paste, jujube paste, sesame paste, and many other kinds.
Besides its significance in Chinese history, mooncakes  play an important role in August Moon gatherings and gift giving. These palm-sized round cakes symbolize family unity and perfection. Some mooncakes have a golden yellow egg yoke in the center which looks like a bright moon. They usually come in a box of four and are packaged in tin boxes with traditional Chinese motifs.
Traditional mooncakes have an imprint on top consisting of the Chinese characters for "longevity" or "harmony" as well as the name of the bakery and filling in the moon cake. Imprints of  a moon (月亮), a woman on the moon(嫦娥), flowers(花), vines(藤), or a rabbit(玉兔) may surround the characters for additional decoration.
This crust has a reddish-brown tone and glossy sheen. It is the most common type of crust used on Cantonese-style mooncakes. It is also the most commonly sold in many western countries. Chewy mooncake crust is made using a combination of inverted sugar syrup, lye water, flour, and oil, thus giving this crust its rich taste and a chewy yet tender texture.