With the Mid-Autumn festival fast approaching on Thursday September 15th, have you learnt how to make a mooncake yet?
Mooncakes are a traditional sweet enjoyed during the festival and a great way to get creative in the kitchen at this time of year. If you are a keen pastry chef, try experimenting with different recipes, flavours and techniques.
A traditional pastry mooncake has 3 separate elements. The exterior pastry dough made using eggs, flour, milk, sugar. The filling made using lotus paste or red bean paste. And finally a simple glaze or egg wash to get the finished shiny effect on your mooncake (see main image). Have a look at our chinese mooncake recipe to get you started.
A mooncake press is an essential bit of equipment if you are looking for the traditional finish and the ornate designs on the crust. If you don't have a moon cake press, don't panic, you can try shaping the dough as much as possible by hand and use a fork or skewer to create your own designs. It can be as simple as making a cross or a series of lines, or more elaborate if you're patient. Otherwise you could try using a chocolate mould or a clean craft mould.
If you would prefer to try an unbaked jelly version of a mooncake and the chance to experiment with some more vibrant looking colours, have a look at our jelly mooncake recipes.
If you're not clear about any of the steps this is a useful video clip show you how to make a mooncake:
How to Make Your Very Own Mooncake