How to make handmade mooncakes

Everyone must be very familiar with mooncakes. During the Mid-Autumn Festival every year, every household eats mooncakes. Although there are many kinds of mooncakes sold on the market now, more and more people prefer to make mooncakes by themselves. You can choose mooncakes made by yourself according to your own taste, and of course you can enjoy the process of making them. Now let’s talk about the method and steps of making handmade mooncakes.

Ingredients:

160g flour, 40g vegetable oil, 110~120g invert sugar syrup (or golden syrup), 1/2 tsp alkaline water (can be replaced with 1/2 tsp baking soda + 1 tsp water), a pinch of salt.

Mooncake filling (880 grams for large mooncakes and 600 grams for small mooncakes), salted egg yolks (8 for large mooncakes and 10 for small mooncakes), 2 tablespoons of wine (rice wine, sorghum wine or rum), decoration (2 egg yolks, 2 teaspoons of water or corn sryup or vegetable oil, mix well).

Production steps:

1. Put oil, syrup, alkaline water and salt in a container and heat in the microwave for several tens of seconds until the syrup becomes thin. Sift in flour and mix well with a rubber spatula. The mooncake skin should be as soft as an earlobe. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for at least four hours. Soak the salted egg yolks in wine for ten minutes to remove the fishy smell, then place the egg yolks on a baking tray and bake directly in the oven at 325F for 7 minutes without preheating the oven. Remove from heat and let cool.

2. Divide the mooncake skin: If you are making large mooncakes, divide the mooncake skin into 8 portions, 40 grams each; if you are making small mooncakes, 15 grams each, for a total of 20 portions.

3. Divide the mooncake filling: If you make large mooncakes, divide the mooncake filling into 8 portions, 110 grams each, wrap them with egg yolk and roll them into balls; if you make small mooncakes, 30 grams each, a total of 20 portions, wrap them with half an egg yolk and roll them into balls.

4. Wrap mooncakes: Place a piece of mooncake skin on your palm, press it flat with both hands, and place a piece of mooncake filling on it. Use one hand to gently push the mooncake filling, and use the palm of the other hand to gently push the mooncake skin, so that the mooncake skin slowly unfolds until the mooncake filling is completely covered. This technique is very important as it can ensure that the mooncake skin and filling do not separate after baking. Sprinkle a little dry flour into the mooncake mold, shake it well, and pour out the excess flour.

5. Lightly spread a layer of dry flour on the surface of the wrapped mooncake, put the mooncake ball into the mold, and gently flatten it with even force. Then tap it up, down, left and right to easily demold it. Finish making all the mooncakes one by one.

6. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly spray a layer of water on the surface of the mooncake and bake it on the top shelf of the oven for five minutes. Remove and brush with egg yolk wash, and lower the oven to 300F. Put the mooncakes back into the oven and bake for seven minutes. Take them out and brush them with egg yolk liquid again. Bake for another five minutes, or until they reach your favorite color.

7. When putting the food into the oven for the last time, you can only use the broiler to make it brown faster. Take out the baked mooncakes and place them on a rack to cool completely. Then put them in a sealed container for two to three days to allow the oil to absorb before eating.