Kitchen Recipe Collection
Traditional Baked Mooncake (Yue Bing)
The indispensable delicacy of the Mid-Autumn Festival. A dense, rich pastry with a beautiful, intricately patterned soft crust, stuffed with sweet lotus seed paste and salted egg yolks.
- Prep
- 120 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 140 min
- Servings
- 12
- Difficulty
- hard
- Cuisine
- Chinese
Ingredients
Scaled for 12 servings
- Dough: 150g all-purpose flour, 110g golden syrup (or invert sugar), 40g peanut oil, 1/2 tsp lye water (alkaline water)
- Filling: 500g sweet lotus seed paste (store-bought)
- 12 salted duck egg yolks
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine or rose wine (to prep yolks)
- Egg Wash: 1 egg yolk + 1 tbsp water
Equipment
- Mooncake mold (50g or 100g size)
- Baking sheet
Instructions
- 1
Prep Egg Yolks
Soak the raw salted duck egg yolks in the wine for 10 minutes to remove fishiness. Bake them at 350°F (175°C) for 8 minutes. Let cool.
- 2
Make Dough
In a bowl, whisk the golden syrup, peanut oil, and lye water until emulsified. Fold in the flour until it forms a soft dough. Do not overmix. Wrap in plastic and rest for 1 hour.
- 3
Portion Filling
Divide the lotus paste into balls. (For a 50g mold: use 35g of filling, which includes the weight of the egg yolk).
- 4
Stuff Paste
Flatten a ball of lotus paste, place a baked salted egg yolk in the center, and wrap the paste completely around the yolk.
- 5
Portion Dough
Divide the rested dough into 15g balls.
- 6
Wrap Filling
Flatten a dough ball between two pieces of plastic wrap into a thin circle. Place the filling ball in the center. Gently push and stretch the dough until it completely encloses the filling. The dough layer will be very thin.
- 7
Mold
Lightly dust the mooncake mold with flour. Place the wrapped ball inside.
- 8
Press
Press the mold firmly down onto a parchment-lined baking sheet to imprint the pattern, then release.
- 9
First Bake
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Spray the mooncakes lightly with a mist of water to prevent cracking. Bake for 5 minutes to set the pattern.
- 10
Egg Wash
Remove from oven. Let cool for 5 minutes. Gently brush the top patterns with a very thin layer of egg wash.
- 11
Second Bake
Return to the oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes until golden brown.
- 12
Hui You (Aging)
Cool completely. Store in an airtight container for 2-3 days before eating. The oil from the filling will seep into the crust, making it soft, glossy, and perfect.
Cooking Tips
- Golden syrup and lye water are absolutely mandatory. They give the crust its signature deep brown color, soft texture, and ability to hold the intricate mold pattern.
- Freshly baked mooncakes have a hard, dry crust. The 3-day resting period ('Hui You' or 'returning oil') is when the magic happens.
Variations
- Snow Skin Mooncake: A modern, no-bake version eaten cold, with a mochi-like wrapper and fruity or ice cream fillings.
Nutrition Estimate
380 calories · 6g protein · 45g carbs · 18g fat · 2g fiber per serving
