Mung Bean Paste Custard Mooncakes
For Mid-Autumn Festival, I made mooncakes again. With plenty of homemade custard filling (jinsha naihuang) and mung bean paste on hand, I mixed and matched the ingredients in different combinations and ended up making 9 varieties of mooncakes by accident. Switching among different mooncake molds made them as beautiful as they were delicious, and I thoroughly enjoyed the hands-on craft of mooncake making.
Today's recipe to share is the mung bean paste and custard mooncake. The mung bean paste is naturally pale yellow; the green color visible in the photo comes from natural spinach powder. The custard filling in the middle turns into a creamy, paste-like texture after high-temperature baking, with a rich, milky aroma.
In short, let's get started. At the end of the article, you'll also find simple recipes for custard (molten-center) balls and milky mung bean paste. For detailed instructions, check out the related posts on my homepage, complete with step-by-step photos and illustrations, well worth saving.
Ingredients
all-purpose flour
50g
mung bean paste
180g (30g × 6 pieces)
invert syrup
35g
corn oil
12g
lye water (kansui)
1g
golden sand molten filling balls
6 pieces (5g × 6 pieces)
egg yolk wash for brushing the surface
a small amount
Instructions
1
Step 1
Prepare all ingredients; the golden sand molten filling balls do not need to be returned to the freezer for now; the mung bean paste is made with added spinach powder.
2
Step 2
Add corn oil, invert syrup, and lye water to a bowl, and whisk until well combined.
3
Step 3
Add the flour and fold with a spatula until a dough forms.
4
Step 4
Weigh the dough wrappers at 15g each, and the mung bean paste at 30g each; since the molten filling balls weigh 5g, the three combined weigh exactly 50g. Roll each into balls separately.
5
Step 5
Wear disposable gloves throughout the process to prevent sticking. Take one mung bean paste ball, shape it into a bowl, place a golden sand molten filling ball inside, wrap it tightly, and repeat with the remaining balls.
6
Step 6
Take a mooncake dough wrapper, flatten it, place the mung bean paste with molten filling on top, and gather the dough up around it into a bowl shape.
7
Step 7
Wrap tightly.
8
Step 8
Sprinkle a little flour onto a plate, and place each wrapped ball on the flour to keep it from sticking to the plate.
9
Step 9
Coat the dough ball with a thin layer of flour and place it into a 50g mooncake mold.
10
Step 10
Press down firmly on the plate to release the molded shape. If using a flat baking tray, you can press directly onto the tray to minimize moving the mooncake and prevent deformation.
11
Step 11
Switch to a different pattern plate and press out a new design.
12
Step 12
Switch to another pattern plate and press out yet another design.
13
Step 13
Place each molded mooncake on a baking tray lined with an oil cloth, leaving space between them. Important note: for a molten filling, freeze the mooncakes until firm inside and out before baking; for a non-flowing custard paste texture, they can go straight into the preheated oven after wrapping.
14
Step 14
Spray a fine mist of water onto the surface of the mooncakes, then place them in the middle rack of a preheated oven at 160°C top and bottom heat, and bake for 5 minutes first.
15
Step 15
Remove from the oven and use a wool brush dipped in egg yolk wash to lightly brush the surface of the mooncakes a few times.
16
Step 16
Return to the oven and bake at 160°C for 15 minutes.
17
Step 17
The mooncakes are very soft when they come out of the oven, so do not move them right away. Let them cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Once completely cool, store in an airtight container and consume within 3 days at room temperature or within 10 days if refrigerated.
18
Step 18
Mung bean paste custard mooncakes — rich in milky aroma, nutritious, healthy, and delicious!
