The Mid-autumn festival (Zhongqiu Jie in Chinese) is a traditional celebration that focuses on the full moon and family reunion. It is on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on October 1 in 2020. It is a day when the family gets together to have a feast, light lanterns and admire what’s believed to be the fullest moon of the year.

Mooncake has been the most important food eaten during the Mid-autumn festival since the Ming dynasty (1368 – 1644 C.E.). Historical records show that in the Song dynasty (960 – 1279 C.E.) the mooncake was a round-shape steamed cake that had no filling. And it was an everyday food that could be purchased from street vendors, not a festival speciality. Before the mooncake became a fad, the Chinese used seasonal fruits and newly brewed wines as gifts to each other and offerings to the moon. Round shape fruits, like water melon, pomegranate, and oranges, were preferred as they resemble the shape of the full moon that symbolizes family togetherness and harmony in the Chinese culture.

I came across an old mooncake recipe in a 1792 cookbook–the Suiyuan Shidan (Recipes from the Garden of Contentment). This book was written by Yuan Mei (1716–1798) , a renowned literati of the Qing dynasty. Yuan built the Suiyuan, or the Garden of Contentment, as his retirement home after he resigned his job as an imperial official in his mid-thirties. As a gourmet, Yuan was particular about the way of eating and passionate about collecting recipes. Whenever and wherever he tasted a wonderful dish, he would send his cooks to learn it and replicate it at home.

There are two mooncake recipes in the Suiyuan Shidan. Yuan tasted the mooncakes at his friends’ houses and found them extraordinary. Then he invited their house chefs to his garden to make the mooncakes. One is called Liu Fangbo Mooncake. The mooncake was named after Yuan’s friend Liu (fangbo was an imperial official title), not Liu’s chef who made the mooncake.

The original recipe of the Liu Fangbo Mooncake from the Suiyuan Shidan:

刘方伯月饼

“用山东飞面，作酥为皮，中用松仁、核桃仁、瓜子仁为细末，微加冰糖和猪油作馅。食之不觉甚甜，而香松柔腻，迥异寻常.”  

“Use flying flour from Shandong to make flaky oil crust as the mooncake skin. As for the filling, grind pine nuts, walnuts, and sunflower seeds to fine powder, mixed with some rock sugar and lard. When eaten, it does not taste very sweet and is also fragrant, flaky, soft, and rich—something truly extraordinary. “

Note: flying flour is finely milled wheat flour.

Yuan’s cookbook is rather odd compared to modern cookbooks as it doesn’t provide details about how much each ingredient should weigh and what steps you should to make a dish a success. In order to make the Liu Fangbo Mooncake, I consulted recipes of making Chinese flaky pastry and recipes of making nut-based mooncake fillings. By consulting a few more recent and complete recipes I was able to fill in the unwritten gaps contained within the ancient recipes. After a few trials, I eventually came up with my own version. I’m excited to share it with you.

There are four major steps involved in making the mooncake. First, use wheat flour to make the skin. Second, make the three-nut fillings. Third, wrap the nut fillings within the wheat flour skin. Lastly, bake the mooncakes in a pre-heated oven at 325º F for 30 minutes.

Secrets to make the recipe a success.

1. Use lard. The use of fat in pastry is to coat and separate the flour particles from each other that results in a crumbly and flaky crust. As for the choice of fat, Chinese desserts prefer lard. Lard is pure pork fat that contains no water. Therefore, it produces flakier crusts than butter. Butter has a small amount of water that may cause the dough particles to stick to one another rather than separate into the discrete layers.
2. Give flour doughs enough resting time. When handling the doughs in making the skin, it is important to allow the doughs to rest during the process. Resting allows gluten in the four to relax and the fat to firm up, resulting in a flaky crust.
3. Keep the doughs moist. Always keep the doughs covered by plastic wrap. Take them out only when you need to work on them. This can prevent the doughs from drying out and form a hard crust.

To Make the Mooncake Filling

If you use toasted nuts, skip this step. If you use raw nuts, toast them in a preheated oven at 325º F. Roast the sunflower seeds and the pine nuts together for 5-8 minutes. Roast the walnuts in a separate batch for 15 minutes. Toasting nuts can help them release their oil, which makes them more fragrant and flavorful than in their raw state. 

Take the nuts out immediately when they started turning brown in case they get burned. After taken out of the oven, let nuts cool before use. In a food processor, add the nuts and pulse a few times until they are finely ground.

Toast glutinous rice flour on the stove over medium heat. Toasting flour can get rid of the raw taste and add a nutty and more complex flavor, which helps it blend well with the nuts. Sprinkle the flour evenly in a pan, whisk constantly. Turn off the heat when the flour starts to turn a bit yellow. This will take about 8-10 minutes. Let the flour cook before use.

In a mixing bowl, mix together the nuts, rice flour, and lard, sugar. Add the water a little at a time until the dough looks lumpy but no longer crumbly. Use a scale and divide the nut mix into 10 portions, each portion about 28g. Cover the nut fillings with a plastic sheet and keep in the fridge for later use.

To Make the Mooncake Skin:

1.To make the flaky Chinese crust, we need two types of doughs: water dough and oil dough.

Water dough: mix all ingredients to form a soft and smooth dough. You can do this in a kitchen mixer or by hand. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 15 minutes.

Oil dough: combine 100g flour with 50g lard. Knead until you have a smooth and soft dough ball. Cover with plastic wrap, and let it rest for at least 15 minutes before use.

2. After resting, divide the water dough into 10 equal portions. Each portion is about 24g. Divide the lard dough into 10 equal portions, each portion is about 15g. Roll them into small balls and keep them covered by plastic wrap to prevent drying out. Let the small dough balls rest for at least 15 minutes before step 3.

3. On a slightly floured surface, roll out one water dough into a 3-4 inch disc. Take one oil dough, wrap it inside the water dough. Make sure the opening is completely sealed. Flatten it down a bit by pressing the center with your thumb. Repeat the same steps to combine the rest of the dough balls. Cover the combined dough balls with a plastic sheet and let them rest for at least 15 minutes.

4. Prepare the rolls for fillings. Take one roll, fold it from the center, and press together both ends. With the heel of you palm, gently press the dough down. Roll the dough into a 3-4 inch disc. The outer edge should be slightly thinner than the center. On a flat surface, shape the cake into a round disc that is 1 inch thick.

5. Decorate the mooncakes. Dilute a few drops of red food coloring with a bit water. Dip a brush in the red ink, draw a flower or whatever design you prefer on the center of the mooncakes.

6. Let all mooncakes rest for about 30 minutes before baking in the oven. Preheat your oven to 355 F and bake for 30 minutes. Let the mooncakes cool before you eat them. 😋 Mooncakes tend to be very rich and dense. It’s best to serve them with tea to help with digestion. 

1792 Liu Fangbo Mooncake Recipe

• Servings:10
• Prep Time:3 hours
• Bake Time:30 minutes

Ingredients

For the Filling

• 100g Walnuts
• 60g Pine nuts
• 50g Sunflower seeds
• 50g Sweet rice flour
• 2tbsp Sugar
• 1tbsp Lard
• 2tbsp Water

For the the water dough

• 150g All-purpose flour
• 60g Luke warm water
• 40g Lard

For the lard dough

• 100g All-purpose flour
• 50g Lard

Instructions

1. Start by making the mooncake filling.Roast raw nuts in a preheated oven at 325ºF.Roast the sunflower seeds and the pine nuts together for 5-8 minutes.Roast the walnuts in a separate batch for 15 minutes. Let the nuts cool to room temperature before use. In a food processor, add the nuts and pulse a few times until they are finely ground.
2. Toast glutinous rice flour on the stove over medium heat. Sprinkle the flour evenly in a pan, whisk constantly. Turn off the heat when the flour starts to turn a bit yellow. This will take about 8-10 minutes. Let the flour cook before use.
3. In a mixing bowl, mix together the nuts, rice flour, and lard, sugar. Add the water a little at a time until the dough looks lumpy but no longer crumbly. Use a scale and divide the nut mix into 10 portions, each portion about 28g. Cover the nut fillings with a plastic sheet and keep in the fridge for later use.
4. Make the water dough: mix all ingredients to form a soft and smooth dough. You can do this in a kitchen mixer or by hand. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 15 minutes.
5. Make the oil dough: combine 100g flour with 50g lard. Knead until you have a smooth and soft dough ball. Cover with plastic wrap, and let it rest for at least 15 minutes before use.
6. After resting, divide the water dough into 10 equal portions. Each portion is about 24g. Divide the lard dough into 10 equal portions, each portion is about 15g. Roll them into small balls and keep them covered by plastic wrap to prevent drying out. Let the small dough balls rest for at least 15 minutes.
7. On a slightly floured surface, roll out one water dough into a 3-4 inch disc. Take one oil dough, wrap it inside the water dough. Make sure the opening is completely sealed. Flatten it down a bit by pressing the center with your thumb. Repeat the same steps to combine the rest of the dough balls. Cover the combined dough balls with a plastic sheet and let them rest for at least 15 minutes.
8. Prepare the rolls for fillings. Take one roll, fold it from the center, and press together both ends. With the heel of you palm, gently press the dough down. Roll the dough into a 3-4 inch disc. The outer edge should be slightly thinner than the center. On a flat surface, shape the cake into a round disc that is 1 inch thick.
9. Decorate the mooncakes. Dilute a few drops of red food coloring with a bit water. Dip a brush in the red ink, draw a flower or whatever design you prefer on the center of the mooncakes.
10. Let all mooncakes rest for about 30 minutes before baking in the oven. Preheat your oven to 355 F and bake for 30 minutes. Let the mooncakes cool before you eat them.