Curious about all the intricately decorated desserts that have cropped up over the last few weeks? It’s all part of the Mid-Autumn Festival this weekend on September 30. This festival, also known as the Mooncake Festival
or the Moon Festival, is celebrated by the Chinese and Vietnamese. On
this day, families and friends gather together to carry around beautiful
paper lanterns underneath the moonlight and enjoy different types of
mooncakes.
Mooncakes are a delicious Asian dessert for anyone with a sweet tooth, but watch out because most traditional mooncakes are made with peanut oil nowadays. However, those with peanut allergies can still enjoy the snow skin (or ice skin) and Teochew mooncakes.
The outside layers of mooncakes are different depending on what type you get, but the insides are generally filled with a soft, but dense and sweet paste. Make sure not to have too many of these tasty bites because one mooncake can be up to a whopping 1,000 calories.
Traditional mooncakes: These have a soft, chewy shiny outer layer that crumbles slightly when you bite into it. The skin is created mainly from a mixture of flour, alkaline water, golden syrup and oil. The insides can be filled with a variety of different things such as red bean paste or lotus paste with a savoury preserved duck egg yolk in the middle or sometimes an assortment of nuts and seeds.
Snow skin mooncakes (aka Ice skin mooncakes): The outer layer or skin of this mooncake is made of glutinous rice, powdered sugar and lard. This mixture creates a very smooth, velvety texture similar to Japanese mochi, but without the chewiness. The insides filled with anything from the traditional lotus paste to more interesting things such as Durian or yam paste, strawberry flavor or black sesame seed paste.
Teochew spiral mooncakes: These are the round, flaky mooncakes composed mainly of flour, shortening and sugar. This delicate pastry can be filled with any of the typical mooncake fillings, but can also be stuffed with exotic green tea or taro flavours as well.
Mooncakes are a delicious Asian dessert for anyone with a sweet tooth, but watch out because most traditional mooncakes are made with peanut oil nowadays. However, those with peanut allergies can still enjoy the snow skin (or ice skin) and Teochew mooncakes.
The outside layers of mooncakes are different depending on what type you get, but the insides are generally filled with a soft, but dense and sweet paste. Make sure not to have too many of these tasty bites because one mooncake can be up to a whopping 1,000 calories.
Types of Mooncakes
With new varieties coming out every year, selecting a flavour or even a type of mooncake can be overwhelming. Here’s a breakdown of the most popular types of mooncakes available:Traditional mooncakes: These have a soft, chewy shiny outer layer that crumbles slightly when you bite into it. The skin is created mainly from a mixture of flour, alkaline water, golden syrup and oil. The insides can be filled with a variety of different things such as red bean paste or lotus paste with a savoury preserved duck egg yolk in the middle or sometimes an assortment of nuts and seeds.
Snow skin mooncakes (aka Ice skin mooncakes): The outer layer or skin of this mooncake is made of glutinous rice, powdered sugar and lard. This mixture creates a very smooth, velvety texture similar to Japanese mochi, but without the chewiness. The insides filled with anything from the traditional lotus paste to more interesting things such as Durian or yam paste, strawberry flavor or black sesame seed paste.
Teochew spiral mooncakes: These are the round, flaky mooncakes composed mainly of flour, shortening and sugar. This delicate pastry can be filled with any of the typical mooncake fillings, but can also be stuffed with exotic green tea or taro flavours as well.
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