Five Kernel Mooncake
Traditional Cantonese mooncake with a thin crust and generous filling of assorted nuts and dried fruits, offering a rich, complex texture.
Ingredients
Medium gluten flour (for crust)
100 g
Milk powder (for crust)
5 g
Invert syrup (recipe on page 226, for crust)
75 g
Lye water (for crust)
1 g
Peanut oil (for crust)
25 g
Walnut kernels (for five kernel filling)
40 g
Sunflower seed kernels (for five kernel filling)
60 g
Cashews (for five kernel filling)
40 g
Watermelon seed kernels (for five kernel filling)
60 g
White sesame seeds (for five kernel filling)
40 g
Preserved winter melon (for five kernel filling)
40 g
Preserved orange peel (for five kernel filling)
20 g
Rose sugar (for five kernel filling)
10 g
Fine granulated sugar (for five kernel filling)
80 g
Water (for five kernel filling)
80 g
High-proof Chinese liquor (for five kernel filling)
10 g
Refined vegetable oil (or edible blended oil, for five kernel filling)
30 ml
Cooked glutinous rice flour (for five kernel filling)
115 g
Egg yolk wash (1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tbsp egg white, for surface brushing)
to taste
Instructions
1
Make the five kernel filling
All dried fruits and nuts need to be roasted before use. Place the nuts in the middle rack of the oven, roast at 160°C for about 5 to 8 minutes until fragrant (roast white sesame seeds until they turn yellow). Let the roasted nuts cool completely, then chop the walnut kernels and cashews into small pieces. Cut the preserved orange peel and preserved winter melon into small cubes and set aside. Add all the prepared nuts, preserved orange peel, and winter melon to a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Pour in the fine granulated sugar, rose sugar, Chinese liquor, vegetable oil, and water, and stir until well combined with chopsticks. Finally add the cooked glutinous rice flour, knead into a uniform dough, and the five kernel filling is ready. Cover the finished filling with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.
2
Make the mooncake crust
Pour the invert syrup into a bowl, add the lye water and peanut oil, and stir until well mixed. Sift in the medium gluten flour and milk powder. Knead into a smooth dough by hand. Cover the kneaded dough and let it rest for 1 to 2 hours.
3
Wrap the filling and shape
After the dough has rested, divide the crust dough and five kernel filling in a 3:7 or 1:4 ratio. Take a piece of crust dough, flatten it, place the five kernel filling in the center, then cradle the dough in the tiger's mouth position of your left palm. Use the thenar eminence of your right thumb to push and stretch the dough crust. Turn the dough gently while pushing, so the crust gradually wraps around the filling evenly, then seal the opening tightly.
4
Bake
Dust a small amount of flour inside the mooncake mold to prevent sticking. Put the wrapped dough into the mold, press firmly with the mold to form the mooncake shape. Spray a little water on the surface, then place it in an oven preheated to 200°C and bake for 5 minutes until the pattern sets. Take the mooncakes out, brush a layer of egg yolk wash (only brush the top surface, not the sides), then return them to the oven and bake for about 15 minutes until the surface turns golden brown, then remove from the oven.
