Mooncakes have been eaten in China during the Mid-Autumn Festival annually from generation to generation. The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth month on the Chinese calendar (in our calendar, it is always around September and October. This year, it’s on September 22nd 2010). Around this time of year, my family always receives boxes and boxes of mooncakes, and we as well buy and give them as gifts to relatives and friends. It is something to be shared with everyone. I personally love eating these delicious treats. They come in many different flavors such as red bean, durian, taro, and mixed nuts, but my favourite flavor is the lotus seed paste.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is based on a legend. But, the mooncakes weren’t originally created for this celebration. The legend, from what my grandmother told me, is the celebration of the first woman on the moon.
My grandmother told me that the tradition of eating mooncakes originally started during the Yuan dynasty when the Mongolian people ruled China. It was the time of the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the Chinese planned a rebellion. The group of rebels wrote and described a plan of attack in small scrolls and decided on the date, the fifteenth of the eighth month, and baked the scrolls into small cakes and called them “mooncakes”, pretending they were just innocent treats going around to celebrate this festival. The plan was successful and China became free from the Mongolians. Therefore, today, the mooncakes are eaten within the Mid-Autumn Festival as part of the celebration.
Recipe (makes 24 mooncakes)
Ingredients
Filling:
– 1 can lotus seed paste (the can should be about 17 ½ ounces and can be found in your local grocery store)
– ¼ cup walnuts, finely chopped
Dough:
– 4 cups all-purpose flour
– ½ cup non-fat dried milk powder
– 3 tsp baking powder
– ½ tsp salt
– 3 eggs
– 1 cup sugar
– ½ cup solid shortening, melted and cooled
– 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
– mooncake mold (you can find it in many Chinese stores in Chinatown)
Procedure
- Mix lotus seed paste and walnuts together in a bowl and set it aside.
- Sift the flour, milk powder, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl together.
- With an electric mixer, beat eggs in a large bowl on medium speed until it’s light (the color should turn yellow).
- Add the sugar and beat for 10 minutes or until the mixture falls in a thick ribbon.
- Add melted shortening and mix lightly.
- With a spatula, fold in flour mixture.
- Turn dough out on a lightly floured board and knead for 1 minute or until smooth and satiny.
- Divide dough in half; roll each half into a log. Cut each log into 12 equal pieces.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- To shape each moon cake:
- Roll a piece of dough into a ball.
- Roll out on a lightly floured board to make a 4 inch circle about 1/8 inch thick.
- Place 1 tablespoon of lotus seed paste mixture in centre of dough circle.
- Fold in sides of dough to completely enclose filling, press edges to seal.
- Place it seam side up in the floured moon cake mold and flatten the dough to take the shape of mold.
- Bang one end of mold lightly on your working surface to remove the moon cake and place the cake on a baking sheet.
- Repeat for the remaining cakes. - Brush the tops of the cakes with egg yolk.
- Bake the moon cakes for 30 minutes or until golden brown. When done, transfer the cakes on to a rack, let cool and enjoy!
Photo source: http://aromacookery.com/2009/09/26/mooncakes-from-kia-hiang-restaurant-%E5%98%89%E9%A6%99%E5%A4%A7%E9%85%92%E6%A8%93/
