A delicate, delectable treat for celebrating Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, snow skin mooncake with custard filling delivers enchanting texture and flavour.
Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节) is just around the corner! This year, it falls on the 4th of October. I’ve been busy these days testing recipes for mooncakes, the traditional delicacy that Chinese people enjoy on this special occasion. Today, I’d like to show you how to make no-bake snow skin mooncake stuffed with irresistible custard filling (奶黄冰皮月饼).
As its name suggests, mooncakes (月饼) are cakes that resemble the shape of the moon. According to the Chinese lunar calendar, Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month of the year which is a full moon day. Apart from the tradition of moon gazing, eating mooncakes is an absolute must for Chinese around the world.
Mooncakes come with different looks and tastes. The most popular type of mooncake, known as Cantonese mooncake, is a brown, round pastry baked in the oven. Waiting for a new oven to be fitted in our Red House, I decided to cook some snow skin mooncakes (冰皮月饼) which doesn’t involve baking.
Originating from Hong Kong (though some believe it’s from Singapore), snow skin mooncake has a white out layer and is always served cold (that’s how it got the name “snow skin”). Made of glutinous rice flour, rice flour and wheat starch, etc., the skin part has a slightly chewy, sticky and springy texture which I find very interesting and pleasant.
Nowadays, you can find colourful snow skin mooncakes in Chinese bakeries. My recipe suggests you use two natural ingredients to achieve green and purple: matcha powder (finely ground green tea) and purple sweet potato powder (Yes! sweet potato comes in purple too!). You can find them in Chinese shops and some whole food stores.
The filling of snow skin mooncakes come in a wide variety too. Red bean paste, lotus seed paste or chestnut paste are common choices. Personally, I like Chinese-style custard filling (奶黄馅) the most. It’s made of egg, butter, powdered milk, wheat starch, etc. and has a pretty solid texture.
A few tips for you before moving on to my detailed recipe:
- Have a pair of plastic gloves ready. They will come in handy when you handle the sticky dough for making the mooncake’s skin.
- Make sure you chill the dough and the filling in the fridge before assembling the mooncakes. The hardened dough and filling are easier to shape.
- To achieve an authentic look for the mooncake, you need to use a special mooncake mould which is available both in Chinese shops and mainstream online shopping platforms. Apart from classic round mooncakes, I’ve also made some square ones. Small muffin tin or jelly mould can do the job too (No matter what you use, the cake tastes the same anyway).
- Use sifted icing sugar to dust the mould to prevent sticking. Traditional recipes call for toasted glutinous rice flour instead. Personally I find the former works fine and involves less hassle.
A delicate, delectable treat for celebrating Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, snow skin mooncake with custard filling delivers enchanting texture and flavour.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons glutinous rice flour
- 3 tablespoons rice flour
- 2 tablespoons wheat starch
- 3 tablespoons icing sugar, sifted
- 120ml (0.5 cup) milk
- 1 tablespoon condensed milk
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 45g (1.5oz) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2.5 tablespoons wheat starch
- 40g (0.5 cup) powdered milk
- 3 tablespoons icing sugar, sifted
- Sifted icing sugar (for dusting)
Instructions
- Make the skin: Whisk all the ingredients from group A in a bowl until well combined. Pour the mixture into a deep plate. Steam over a medium heat for 15 minutes (see note 1). Scrape the hardened dough off the plate. When cool enough to touch, knead with hands (using gloves to prevent sticking) until smooth and elastic (Colour the dough if you wish. Please refer to note 2). Keep refrigerated for 2 hours.
- Cook the filling: Mix all the ingredients from group B in a small sauce pan (or a metal mixing bowl). Place it into a bigger pan filled with hot water. Heat up over a low heat. Stir the mixture constantly with a spatular until it becomes pretty solid (doesn’t stick to the spatular any more). When completely cool, place in the fridge for 2 hours.
- Assemble the mooncakes: Divide the dough into 9 equal pieces. Shape 9 balls with the filling. Flatten a piece of dough into a round wrapper with your fingers (gloves on). Place a ball in the middle. Gently push the wrapper upwards to seal completely. Place it into a mooncake mould (dusted with icing sugar to avoid sticking). Push gently to shape (see note 3).
- Store & serve: The mooncakes taste best when chilled in the fridge. Place them in an air-tight container (or sealed plastic bag) and consume within 48 hours. You may also freeze them for up to 2 weeks. Leave to thaw in the fridge before serving.
Notes
1. Steaming time may vary depending on the volume of the mixture. For example, if the ingredients are doubled, you should steam for about 20 minutes.
2. HOW TO MAKE COLOURFUL SKINS: You may use natural ingredients to achieve this. For example, matcha powder for green or purple sweet potato powder for purple (They are available in Chinese shops and some whole food stores). Add the powder directly to the steamed dough then knead well to even the colour (add little by little until the desired colour appears).
3. Mooncake moulds are available in many Chinese stores, especially around Mid-Autumn Festival time. You can also find them on eBay, Amazon, etc. Small muffin tin or jelly mould can do the job too.
▼Another recipe: Cantonese mooncake with salted egg yolk
Wish you a very happy Mid-Autumn Festival if you are celebrating it. And wish you good luck in the kitchen if you are simply interested in making something beautiful and tasty for yourself or someone you love.
More classic desserts to discover:
Wei, These are absolutely beautiful. They don’t look real. You are amazing. They are works of art! I want to try one! 😉
Thank you so much Heddi! They do look pretty and taste just as nice. Very happy to introduce Chinese patisserie as they are less known to the West. Will definitely make you some whenever you come over!
冰皮月饼真漂亮！我今年也做了，广式月饼材料不好找，就做个简单一点的冰皮月饼，很好吃啊！
嗯！很喜欢冰皮。还在等新厨房新烤箱，所以暂时没法做广式。提前祝你们全家中秋快乐！
请问filling可以收多久？
Hi Emily, You may leave the filling in the fridge for up to 3 days.
How long can you store these mooncakes in the fridge?
Hi Kimiko, as I suggest in the recipe, these mooncakes can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days. You can freeze them too. Leave to thaw in the fridge before serving.
Hi Wei. I would like to use your recipe for the custard filling. However, can i use corn flour instead of wheat starch? Thanks!
Hi Justina! Personally, I haven’t experimented this recipe with corn starch. Based on your question, I’ve done some online research (both in Chinese & English) and I believe that it’s possible to replace wheat starch with corn starch if you have difficulties finding the former. It will affect the texture somehow but I don’t think it’s going to be a big problem. Good luck and please let me know the result.
Hello! Can i use tapioca starch instead of wheat starch?
I’m not quite sure about tapioca starch as a substitute. If you don’t wish to use wheat starch, try cornstarch instead.