Mooncakes are a traditional Chinese delicacy, offered during the Mid-Autumn Festival, one of the four very important Chinese festivals. Mooncakes are a sweet crusty baked pastry with a rich red bean paste or lotus seed paste stuffing, with a round salted egg yolk inside. Usually, it is about 10cm in diameter, and moulded using a traditional stamp motif with special designs on them. It is eaten in pieces during tea as it can be quite heavy. Mooncakes represent togetherness, family, and the start of new beginnings.
The Pastry
My pastry recipe has been adapted from the very famous mooncake pastry recipe from KP Kwan, the author of Taste of Asian. He uses 4 very basic ingredients and writes in detail why each ingredient is necessary for the perfect mooncake. The four ingredients are:
- Flour
- Oil
- Sugar Syrup
- Lye Water
The Stuffing
My stuffing is an original TVW recipe. I created this with the lotus seed/red bean texture in mind. I wanted this mooncake to be vegan friendly but with the traditional components of the mooncake. I wanted this to be easy to re-create as well, so you can make it at home & with your kids. I used:
- Dates
- Cashew Nuts
- Oat Milk
- Peanut Butter
- Chia Seeds (optional)
I usually make this paste into bliss balls at home, as a quick snack. I cover these with crushed nuts and store them in the fridge for about 1 week. This stuffing recipe is high in protein and packed with natural goodness.
The Technique
You may need to watch my video on Instagram to see how I stuffed the pastry. The pastry is not the most flexible, so it can easily break when you’re trying to cover the date paste with it. You need to be
- Patient
- Slow
- Gentle
when handling this kind of pastry. The pastry needs to have this kind of consistency because you want your mooncake to be crusty/pastry-like, not cake/bread-like. The warmth of your hand will help make the pastry more malleable and easy to work with.
The Vegan ‘Egg’ Wash
I don’t like using egg wash on my food, only because it always goes to waste. Also, considering this recipe is vegan, I wanted to be sure there was an alternative for this as well. This alternative turned out pretty well. The vegan egg wash is easy and simple:
- Banana
- Water
Thats all you need. It creates a similar sticky consistency as egg. It may not create as beautiful of a golden sheen on your pastries as egg does, but it is good enough!
I hope you enjoy this recipe. Please feel free to contact me if you need any help creating this.
Easy Vegan Mooncake Recipe
Equipment
- Mooncake Mould (see my amazon store) http://www.amazon.com/shop/theveggiewifey
- Mixing Bowl x 3 (1 small, 2 medium)
- Whisk
- Beeswax Wrap (sustainable solution for storing pastry in fridge)
- Container (to store paste)
- Food Processor
- Spatula
- Oven
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
For The Pastry (adapted from KP Kwan's recipe, from Taste of Asian, see above)
- 200 g All-Purpose Flour (unbleached, organic)
- 120 g Golden Syrup
- 48 g Grape Seed Oil
- 1/2 tsp Lye Water KP Kwan recommends mixing one part baking soda with one part water if you do not have access to any lye water. Read here for his full instructions.
For The Filling
- 200 g Pitted Dates
- 2 tbsps Peanut Butter It is completely your choice for unsweetened, or sweetened. I used one with chia seeds inside. You can add 1 tbsp more if you like a more peanuty flavour
- 50 ml Oat Milk
- 50 g Cashew Nuts
For The 'Egg' Wash
- 1/4 Mashed Banana
- 1-2 tbsp Room Temperature Water
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
For The Pastry
- Whisk the wet ingredients together in a bowl
- Sieve in the flour
- Knead the pastry into dough and store in the fridge for 30 minutes using the beeswax wrap (you can refer to my IG video here)
For The Filling
- Place all the ingredients in a food processor
- Blend and store in a container, in the fridge for 30 minutes, alongside the pastry
Filling The Pastry
- Roll the pastry into a long cylinder and divide into 10 parts
- Roll each pastry part into a ball, the size of your mould. I used a mould that was a smaller, 5cm in diameter, one. If your mould is larger, you may need to divide your pastry into 5 parts instead of 10. See my amazon store for the mould (www.amazon.com/shop/theveggiewifey)
- Scoop a tsp of date paste and roll that into a ball, a little smaller in size compared to your pastry ball
- Using your hands, gently flatten your pastry into a circle, the size of your palm. You don't want it too thin, and you don't want it too thick. You're aiming for a nice level of pastry and a thick filling for your mooncakes. Look at the picture for reference.
- In the center of the pastry, add the date paste ball and slowly surround the date paste with the pastry, covering the entire surface of the date paste. If you have a gap, don't worry. The warmth of your fingers can help push the pastry together, or 'glue' any tears. Be gentle, and use your clean, flat kitchen countertop to help roll it all up into a ball. If you have too much pastry, you can simply squeeze that excess off, and keep aside.
- Place your date-filled pastry into the mould and press into the mould 5-6 times, ensuring you get a beautiful engraving on the pastry.
For The 'Egg' Wash
- In a small bowl, add the mashed banana and water. Mix
- Using a silicone brush, gently brush the surface of your mooncakes 1-2 times ONLY. The more you brush, the design will fade. Be gentle.
Baking The Mooncakes
- Line your baking tray with parchment paper
- Add your mooncakes to the baking tray
- Bake your mooncakes for 15 minutes (or until golden brown)
- Serve hot! You can store this in the fridge for about 5 days until it starts getting soggy.
- If you loved this recipe, please do post/share/tag @TheVeggieWifey
2 responses to “Easy Vegan Mooncake Recipe”
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