This recipe shows you how to create traditional Cantonese mooncakes from scratch without purchasing golden syrup or kansui. In this recipe, you get a delicious black sesame filling, a dough that has a good mouthfeel and keeps its shape, and thorough step-by-step pictures of the whole process. Moreover, I listed every tip and note I have, to help you make homemade mooncakes successfully. You can also find more information about golden syrup and kansui in my other posts, and learn how to make them with typical household ingredients.
What are mooncakes?
A bit about traditional mooncakes and why people don’t cook them at home
The festival is about lunar appreciation and Moon watching, and mooncakes are regarded as an indispensable delicacy. Mooncakes are offered between friends or on family gatherings while celebrating the festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the four most important Chinese festivals. Mooncakes are usually eaten in small wedges accompanied by tea.
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Mooncakes are a traditional delicacy dedicated to the Moon Festival which falls on the 15th day of the 9th month of the year based on the lunar calendar. Essentially, they are stuffed cakes shaped into full-moon shape with delicate patterns on top. They consist of a rich, sweet filling and a thin, moist crust.
The advent of fall ushers in a variety of seasonal foods — from apple cider doughnuts and pumpkin spice Oreos to sweet potato pie — and for many Asians and Asian Americans, it also means the arrival of the ubiquitous mooncake. Mooncakes are the hallmark food of the Mid-Autumn Festival , a cultural and religious holiday that is celebrated during the fall harvest. The pastries are eaten around the time when the moon is supposedly at its fullest and brightest. The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, which typically coincides with a date in August, September or October. This year, it will be celebrated on Oct. Mooncakes are a type of snack or dessert pastry with a sweet or savory filling. They are primarily round, to reflect the shape of the moon, but can also be square-shaped.
