The method of making mooncake skin
Release time : 06/12/2025 09:30:03
As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, the competition for the most exquisite mooncakes is on full display. Beyond being concerned with whether the mooncake's taste meets expectations, people are now also paying attention to its exterior and packaging, making it a must to win hearts with all aspects of "color, aroma, and taste".
So, how can one balance the aesthetics with the taste of the mooncake? The mooncake skin is the first impression people get when they see a mooncake. Whether or not people will choose to try the mooncake largely depends on whether the appearance of the mooncake is attractive enough, which requires a great deal of skill from the mooncake maker.
So, how can you make a delicious mooncake skin? How do various types of mooncake skins come about? Let's learn about the preparation methods for mooncake skin together.
Firstly, prepare the following materials: 200g of all-purpose flour, 160g of maltose, 50g of oil, 3g of amaranth water, bean paste balls, egg white liquid.
Secondly, familiarize yourself with the pie crust recipe: Melt the sugar syrup in a microwave and mix it with water until even. Pour this mixture into 50g of vegetable oil and stir well. Sieve in 200g of all-purpose flour and gently combine. Once combined, knead into a smooth dough, wrap it in a plastic bag, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. For making mooncakes, depending on the size of the mold, to facilitate easy handling by beginners, the ratio of filling to dough is 6:4. Take the mooncake dough and press it into a circle. Place a bean paste ball in the center. Gently lift the mooncake dough up and fold it over to tightly enclose the bean paste ball.
Finally, close the dumpling skin and gently knead it into a ball. - Place some flour on your hands and roll the dumplings with it, then sprinkle with a bit of dry flour before covering the dumpling sphere with a mooncake mold and pressing down gently on the handle to remove it from the mold - The molding process is simply lifting the mold off the baking pan, lightly pressing down on the handle to release the dumpling, which is ready to be served. - Preheat the oven and place the baking pan filled with the dumpling dough in the oven at 220°C for about 8-10 minutes until done. Remove the baking pan and let it cool for 5 minutes before brushing with egg yolks and then returning it to the oven at 200°C for another 8-10 minutes.
After the mooncakes have completely cooled, place them in a sealed bag to let them absorb oil.
Although the process of making mooncake skin is relatively cumbersome, it can still be done with enough patience. Once you add various delicious fillings, you will definitely be able to make a mooncake that everyone will find appealing.
Every Mid-Autumn Festival, a variety of Guangdong mooncakes flood the market with their unique shapes and flavors. To grab the business opportunities, vendors ingeniously design their packaging and create various mooncakes. This has left consumers overwhelmed by choice. So, how are these many variations of mooncakes made? How should one make the mooncake dough tasty? The traditional Guangdong mooncake dough is made with peanut oil mixed with flour. The ratio of high-gluten flour to low-gluten flour can be adjusted to 1:9.
The water can be ready-made or prepared with a ratio of edible soda ash: water =1:3.
Conversion of Syrup: Boil 250g water, then add 500g sugar and mix until dissolved. Add one fourth a lemon juice and continue to simmer on low heat until it reaches about 113 degrees Celsius, which takes approximately one hour. During this time, do not stir the mixture. Once the syrup has been cooked, it should be able to stretch out by about 1cm before breaking. It is important to note that it is best to leave the syrup for one week before use for the best results.
The dough for the pie crust must be allowed to relax properly before it can be easily handled.
Once the key ingredient, the dough for the mooncake is prepared, it's time to add the filling. The more delicious the mooncake becomes. Regarding the filling, no matter which type, it must be a low-water content variety to avoid cracks in the baked mooncakes due to excessive moisture. The homemade filling needs to be stir-fried until it can form a ball in the pan.
The completion of the two key processes essentially sets the stage for a round of baking and oiling, which is quite involved. If you're looking to make your own mooncakes, remember that patience is key! Bingbing mooncakes, originating from Hong Kong, were first introduced to mainland China in 1989. The Hong Kong-based Bakery Bingbing was the pioneer behind these delectable treats, revolutionizing the traditional Chinese pastry market with their groundbreaking innovation. These mooncakes quickly became immensely popular across the globe, captivating Chinese communities worldwide.
The reason why the "ice-skinned mooncake" is named is mainly because it violates the traditional method of making mooncakes. Since all traditional mooncakes are made with sugar syrup and have a yellow color, whereas the ice-skinned mooncakes use glutinous rice as one of their ingredients. The mooncakes made from this type of dough are white in color and kept in the freezer until sold, which is stored in a cold cabinet.
Due to operational costs and other factors related to temperature maintenance, it has not yet been promoted nationwide.
Despite this, the desire for ice-skin mooncakes continues to prevail, with people willing to spend a lot of money and adopt various methods to purchase real Hong Kong-made ice-skin mooncakes.
The difference between ice-skinned mooncake and Guangzhou mooncake or Suzhou mooncake lies in that it is baked without any energy, has simple processing technology and saves energy. Its taste is soft and smooth, slightly elastic, white as snow, so it is very popular.
Its preparation is relatively simple. In terms of material preparation, only 120 grams of cake powder, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder, 30 grams of unsalted butter and 120 milliliters of cold boiled water are required.
For the filling: cream cheese 100 g, red bean paste 50 g, cocoa powder 1 and a half teaspoons, sugar 50 g, Oreo cookies 3 pieces.
After the ingredients are prepared, first mix the cake dough ingredients such as flour, sugar, and cocoa powder evenly. Then add room temperature softened butter and knead it into a smooth dough. Finally, add cold boiled water to make the dough into a smooth surface, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Then, put the Oreo cookies in a plastic bag and break them with a rolling pin.
Next, let the cream cheese come to room temperature. Add the cookie crumbs, coffee powder, sugar and jam; mix well. Place in the fridge for 40 minutes.
Finally, sprinkle an appropriate amount of glutinous rice flour into the mooncake mould to make it easier to remove the mould. Then take a suitable amount of dough and press it into a circle, place an appropriate amount of mooncake filling inside, wrap it up, press it down into the mooncake mould, and then remove the mould. Place the made mooncakes in a storage box, put them in the refrigerator for storage before eating.
How to deal with uneaten mooncakes? Every year, during the traditional Chinese festival of Mid-Autumn, families must eat mooncakes and people exchange them with each other to express their good wishes.
Some people dislike sweets, and some families have only a few members but have several boxes of mooncakes. It feels like the mooncakes are not meant to be consumed in one sitting. If the mooncakes can be eaten within two or three days, they can be stored at room temperature. However, if it takes more than two or three days to consume all the mooncakes, it is best to store them in the refrigerator along with their wrappers.
Low-sugar mooncakes and those with soft textures are more prone to spoilage without preservatives, easily molding or going off due to exposure to moisture. Pay attention to the expiration date on the packaging and storage recommendations; it's best not to freeze mooncakes as freezing can alter their taste.
Additionally, if attention is paid to nutritional balance and attempts are made to control the amount of mooncakes consumed, they can also be integrated into a healthy diet.
Given the convenience and high energy content of mooncakes, if there are leftovers, they can be slowly consumed as breakfast snacks with a single piece each time, complemented by milk or soy drinks.
You can also add a slice of whole wheat bread and some fruit for an equally delicious meal.
If you like sweets, you can also turn leftover mooncakes into other delicacies.
Cut the moon cake into slices and eat it with unoiled coarse grains, or take out the date paste and soy sauce filling and mix it with porridge of eight treasures and oatmeal porridge. It is also a delicious meal on the table.
Apart from the above mentioned ways of eating, friends and fellows have other suggestions for me to share. Please let me know if you have any ideas so that our "endless mooncakes" can be more valuable.
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In case of discomfort, it is recommended to seek medical attention immediately. The diagnosis and treatment should be based on the examination conducted in person by a medical professional.