Thursday, September 4, 2014

Chocolate snowy mooncake

So , I tried my hand on baking this Mid-Autumn must-have , mooncake . Mid-Autumn Festival  is considered to be one of the most important events for the Chinese people . It is a  harvest festival that dates back thousands of years ago . Here in Hongkong , it's the time for family reunion , some kids totting their favorite cartoon character-shaped lanterns , moon gazing at the park and of course , giving , receiving and eating mooncakes .

You can't help but see mooncakes here this time of the year and boy , choices are dizzying ! From traditional mooncakes with different fillings to snowy mooncakes and ice cream-filled ones . I wanted to make a snow skin version last year after seeing some blogging friends' wonderful creations . I admit I like the various designs of the mould more than actually eating it lol 

I was planning to buy the filling , baking supplies shops here have some amazing array of fillings but settled on making it . I used Christine's Recipes' mung bean filling recipe since I love the taste of one of Taipan's snowy mooncake with that kind of filling . It was simple but time consuming to make and since I got lazy while making it , I skipped one important part , pushing the cooked mung beans through a sieve , so instead of smooth pureé , mine came out with a bit bumpy texture .  Oh , I also reduced the liquid way too much , the result was a tad dry and crumbly filling but workable nonetheless . Luckily , it still tastes great , the sweetness is just enough and will try it again maybe , next year . And no skipping this time !

I commented on Jeannie's blog before that I want to try  Vicky's  mochi mooncake , the skin only , and she said that making mochi is sticky and I got a cold feet the night before my first attempt hee hee ! So , I used the recipe that I found before at Edith's old blog , Precious Moments  . The recipe is really simple to make , the dough is very easy to handle and the flavor is absolutely gorgeous ! If you're looking for one delicious snow skin , you must try this one !

The Hello Kitty mooncakes look meh , you can't see much its feature but the flower ones look pretty rad , right ?! You can see from the first photo that there's one mooncake that has a white cast ? It's actually frozen , I was planning to photograph it but it slipped off my mind *sigh*

Not so bad for my first foray on mooncake making  *pats back* lol 

For the mung bean filling ( recipe adapted from Christine's Recipes )

200 grams peeled split mung beans
100 grams caster sugar
80 ml coconut milk
70 ml canola oil
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tablespoon wheat starch

* Rinse mung beans and soak at least 4 hours or preferably , overnight . Transfer beans into a large shallow pan , cover beans with 1 cm of water and steam in a wok over medium-high heat for 20-25 minutes or until it's easily smashed with your fingertips . 

* Drain beans in a sieve and discard excess liquid . Use a large spoon to press the cooked beans through the sieve and you'll get a smooth mung bean pureé .

* Transfer the pureé into a nonstick pan , add sugar , coconut , milk , oil and salt , mix well . Cook over medium-high heat until liquid is reduced by about two thirds . Sift in starch , in 2 addition , stirring well after each . 

* Reduce heat to low and cook , stirring constantly , for about 30-35 minutes . Transfer mixture into a bowl and let cool completely before using . 

For the chocolate snow skin ( recipe adapted from Precious Moments )  

Yield : 312 grams 

130 grams water
70 grams caster sugar
50 grams bittersweet chocolate , at least 60 % cocoa , melted
10 grams cocoa powder , plus extra for dusting 
10 grams chocolate paste 

20 grams shortening 
60 grams fried sweet ( glutinous ) rice flour

* In a small saucepan , combine water and sugar ; over medium heat , cook until sugar is melted . Take pan off heat ,  stir in the cocoa powder and paste , use a whisk and mix well .  Add in the melted chocolate and stir well to combine . 

* Combine flour and shortening , mix thoroughly . Add it to the chocolate mixture and mix to form a dough then chill in the fridge for 30 minutes before using . You can chill the skin overnight .

To make the chocolate snowy mooncake : I used a 50-gram mould ( 30 grams filling and 20 grams chocolate skin ) 

Makes 15 pieces 

* Weigh filling and skin into portions , form into small balls . Put adequate amount of extra cocoa powder into the plate . Dust the mould lightly with cocoa powder . Line a baking sheet with silicone mat . 

* Roll one portion of chocolate skin between a sheet of plastic wrap , use a rolling pin or fingers to flatten it , about 1/8 cm thick ( rough estimate ) , dust your hands with cocoa powder and put skin into your palm , wrap in the filling . Place into the mould , press firmly on top of the lined baking sheet and release . Repeat with the rest until skin is all used up .

*  Chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours before eating or freeze mooncakes and thaw them in the fridge beforehand or at room temperature for 20-30 minutes .


  1. Anne, Like your dark chocolate snowskin moonckaes. Look pretty! Mine was too light, should have mix with some cocoa powder.
    Happy Mid Autumn Festival!

  2. I agree...your flower design mooncake looks so pretty:) Anne, You've worked so hard ..well done! Making mooncake is not for the lazy, like me!...so, I can only admire you:)

  3. Hi Anne,
    Your mooncakes looks fabulous! Kudos to you for making the filling from scratch! I'm not making any mooncakes, too lazy, and besides someone gifted us a box! :)

  4. Wow! I must say these look really good! I like the mungbean fillings! I remembered seeing this on Christine's blog and told myself I got to try it too but somehow forgotten about it...maybe I'll do it this weekend if I have the time:D So when are you doing the mochi ones:P

  5. 看起来很浓郁啊，真想咬一口！！！

  6. They are so pretty and I love the colour contrast between dark skin and light bean filling. Excellent!

  7. *clap clap* on your first homemade mooncakes! yeah, the flower one looks pretty, good work!

  8. Hi Anne!
    Oh how the time is flying by, it seems like yesterday that I was ooogling all these mooncake delicacy's. It's simply amazing how many varities there are. I think yours look absolutely stunning. I can't believe it is your first time make this variety. Well done!!! It would be so much better if I could just get one nibble, perhaps one day:) Thank you so much for sharing, Anne...

  9. Anne, I have never seen chocolate moon cake here. they look so cute!