Pineapple Mooncakes Recipe

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1. cookingwithRobin September 8, 2021

   A mooncake is a Chinese pastry served during the mid-autumn festival which is the second biggest festival in China after Chinese new year. The date is usually in September or October depending on the lunar calendar (It is September 21st this year). On this night, the moon is supposed to be the biggest and roundest of the year. To celebrate, Chinese families will often get together to enjoy a delicious dinner followed by riddle guessing and moon watching. Many types of fillings can be found in traditional mooncakes, such as salted eggs with lotus seed paste, sweet red bean paste, jujube paste, etc.

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   [A video with detailed instructions can be found here.](https://youtu.be/L_fTMSFAISY)

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   **Ingredients (8 mooncakes):**

   – 400g fresh pineapple chunks

   – 30g maltose syrup or corn syrup

   – 45g sugar

   – 125g cake flour or all-purpose flour

   – 75g honey

   – 35g oil

   – 5g alkaline water or water

   – A 50g mooncake mold (A wide selection can be found on Amazon for less than $10)

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   **Directions:**

   1. Mix the honey, oil, alkaline water, and flour together to form a dough. Cover it with a plastic wrapper and let it rest at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.
   2. Blend the fresh pineapple chunks, add some sugar and maltose or corn syrup, and cook it using medium heat until sticky. Let it cool down.
   3. Divide the pineapple filling into 8 pieces (20g each) and make them into a ball shape.
   4. Divide the dough into 8 pieces (30g each) and make them into a ball shape.
   5. Press down the dough in your palm to a flat round shape. Place one filling in the center. Slowly move the dough up and seal the seam. Shape it into a smooth ball and then press it into a mooncake using the mold.
   6. Bake for 5 minutes at 400oF.
   7. Take the mooncakes out from the oven. Brush on a very thin layer of the egg wash (1 egg yolk + 1 tbsp water).
   8. Bake for 15 minutes at 325oF.
   9. The freshly baked mooncakes are hard and dry. Store them in a sealed container at room temperature for 2-3 days before serving. It takes time for the skin to become silk smooth and soft. Please be patient and enjoy!

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   **Notes:**

   1. Alkaline water doesn’t change the taste, it is only used to darken the mooncake skin color. I used the regular filtered water, so my mooncakes are not as orange as the ones sold in markets.
   2. 400g pineapple chunks can make 160g filling. If the filling is too wet, the steam will break the mooncake skin during baking.
   3. Make sure to brush on a VERY THIN layer of the egg wash. Thick egg wash will blur the mooncake’s look.

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