Mooncakes

Mooncakes made flaky pastry and a seed and nut filling, decorated with a red stamp

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City/Region: China

Time Period: 1792

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There are many different kinds of mooncakes made all over East Asia around this time of year for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Some are savory, some are sweet, and they can have chewy, crumbly, or flaky doughs. 

The flaky dough that we’re making here can be made with either lard or melted butter. Lard would have been more traditional for 1792, and it makes a more flavorful pastry, but melted butter will make a smoother dough that’s easier to work with and comes out less crumbly and more flaky. 

The filling is delicious and not too sweet, with a rich unctuousness from lard, nuts, and seeds.

“Imperial Scholar Liu’s Mooncake
Use flying flour from Shandong to make a flaky pastry for the crust, with pine nuts, walnuts, and melon seeds ground into a fine powder for the filling. A little rock sugar and lard are added. When eaten, it does not taste overly sweet, but instead is fragrant, flaky yet tender, and rich; a truly unique experience.”

— Suiyuan Shidan by Yuan Mei, 1792

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Ingredients:

Filling

• 1/2 cup (60 g) pine nuts
• 1 cup (120 g) walnuts
• 1/2 cup (55 g) shelled melon seeds* or shelled sunflower seeds
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons lard, melted

Water Dough

• 1 1/4 cups (150 g) flour
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) warm water
• 3 tablespoons (40 g) lard or melted butter**

Oil Dough

• 1 cup (120 g) flour
• 4 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons (60 g) lard or melted butter

Decoration

• Red food coloring
• Water

*I attempted to use Chinese black watermelon seeds at first, but they were very difficult to break open, so I switched to sunflower seeds, which were also popular in Chinese cuisine at the time.

**Melted butter will yield a dough that's easier to work with and smoother, but the lard will be more flavorful.

Instructions:

1. For the filling: Toast the nuts and seeds in separate batches in a dry pan over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until they’re lightly browned and fragrant.
2. Grind the toasted nuts and seeds in a food processor until they’re a powder.
3. In a large bowl, combine the ground nuts and seeds with the sugar. Pour the melted lard over the mixture and work it together with your fingers until the lard is well incorporated and it holds together when you squeeze it. Form the mixture into 10 balls. Cover them and set them aside while you make the dough.
4. For the water dough: In a large bowl, mix the flour, lard, and warm water together with your hands until it forms a smooth dough. It will be quite sticky at first, but should come together and smooth out in a few minutes. Cover it and set it aside while you make the oil dough.
5. For the oil dough: This is just like making the water dough, but without the water. Mix the lard into the flour with your hands until it forms a smooth dough, then cover it and set it aside for 15 minutes to rest.
6. To make the mooncakes: After both doughs have had time to rest, divide them both in half. You will repeat steps 7-11 for both halves of the dough.
7. Take one half of the water dough and roll it out into a disc about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick. Place half of the oil dough, shaped into a ball, in the center of the rolled out water dough. Wrap the water dough around the oil dough. Pinch the seam to seal it, flatten it out slightly, then wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes.
8. After the dough has rested, roll it out onto a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 12 inches (30 cm) long by 6 inches (15 cm) wide. Fold it in thirds like a letter, then once again wrap the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes.
9. After the dough has rested, roll it out into another rectangle about 12 inches (30 cm) long by 6 inches (15 cm) wide. A little bigger is fine, you can just eyeball it. With the long end facing you, roll the dough from the top to the bottom so that you have a cylinder about 12 inches (30 cm) long. Wrap the dough, set it aside, and let it rest for 15 minutes.
10. After the dough has rested, divide it into 5 equal pieces. You will end up with 10 total pieces since you are repeating these steps for both halves of the doughs. For each piece, have the long side facing you and press the center down with your finger, then fold the ends up toward each other so you have a kind of U shape. With the ends sticking up, lightly mash it down, then roll it out into a circle about 4 inches (10 cm) wide. Go over the edges of the circle with the rolling pin again so that they’re a little thinner than the rest of the dough.
11. Place one of the filling balls in the center of the dough. Lightly wet the edges of the dough with water, then wrap the dough around the filling, bringing the edges together and sealing them. The water will help the dough stick together. After all the mooncakes have been filled, cover them and let them rest for, you guessed it, 15 minutes.
12. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
13. After the mooncakes have rested, press them gently just so they have a flat top. Soak a paper towel in some red food coloring and water. If you have a food-safe stamp you’d like to use, press it into the red paper towel, then gently stamp the top of the mooncake. You can also paint something on top with the food coloring. Repeat with all of the mooncakes.
14. Place the mooncakes on a baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they’re very lightly browned. Let them cool, then serve them forth.

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