Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Harvest Festival or the Moon Festival, is one of the most popular Asian Festivals that is celebrated not only in China and among the Chinese communities all over the world, but also in Japan where it is known as Tsukimi.
The festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th month in the Chinese lunar calendar.
Since the new moon day is the first day of a Chinese Lunar Month, the Mid-Autumn Festival coincides with the full
moon. In 2024 the Festival is celebrated on September 17.
Mooncakes (Yue Bing) are traditional Chinese pastry that is eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival. They were, and still are, exchanged as gifts. They symbolize unity and harmony and were originally used as offerings to the Moon Goddess Chang'e.
There are dozens of varieties of mooncakes today, from traditional to quite sophisticated that you will find in five star hotels in Hong Kong and Singapore. Mooncakes are normally filled with red bean paste or lotus seed paste. A salted egg yolk or two are sometimes placed in the center. Some mooncakes have nuts, seeds and dried or candied fruit in them. Many pastry chefs use purple sweet potato, durian, pineapple or coconut to make a rather exotic filling. Decorative molds are used to shape them. The pastry is then baked in the oven. There is also a no-bake version, the snow skin mooncakes. The outer shell is made of steamed sweet rice flour dough.
I decided to make raw, vegan mooncakes this year. They turned out perfectly but they require a little patience.
To shape my mooncakes I used a mold-press with about 2 inches (5 centimeters) in diameter. To fill out the mold I used 1 tablespoon of dough and 1 tablespoon of filling. If you have never made mooncakes before you may want to "waste" your first mooncake just to figure out the proper amount of dough and filling that is needed to fill out your mold. Once rolled into a ball, it should fit perfectly into the mold and it should not come out deformed.
The amounts listed were enough to produce 12 small mooncakes.
Tools:
- food processor
- rolling pin
- two dehydrator sheets or non-stick parchment
- mooncake mold
Ingredients:
for the crust
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup raw honey or maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp very soft almond butter (add more as needed)
- 2 Tbsp edible, cold pressed apricot kernel oil or cold pressed sesame seed oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp sunflower lecithin powder (optional)
- 2 Tbsp water (or more if necessary)
- pinch Celtic sea salt
for the filling
- 2-3 medjool dates, seeds removed and roughly chopped
- 5-6 dried figs, soaked in water overnight and roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup raw macadamia nuts
- 1/4 cup raw pistachio nut
- 1/4 cup raw pecan nuts
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup white sesame seeds
- tiny pinch Chinese Five Spices powder or a spice of your choice
- 1/2 tsp vanilla essence (optional)
- 1 Tbsp maca powder (optional)
- 1 tsp açai powder (optional)
- 1/4 tsp Celtic sea salt to balance the flavors
Method:
- Using a food processor equipped with the S blade make the dough. This is a rather tricky part. The dough hardens quickly and you may need to add a little water or more almond butter. When it comes together it should have a thick but pliable consistency, somewhat similar to the marzipan mass. If your food processor is not powerful enough, you might have to finish the process by kneading with hand in a mixing bowl.
- Remove the dough from the food processor and place it in a bowl. Cover the bowl and set aside.
- Process all the filling ingredients into a slightly chunky, firm but sticky mass. Start with the macadamia nuts, add pistachios, then pecans. Add dates and figs, then the pine nuts and the pumpkin seeds. Add spices, salt and vanilla extract and mix for a few seconds. Add the sunflower seeds and sesame seeds when the mass is almost ready, and mix again for a few seconds. Adjust the taste to your personal liking. Transfer the filling in to a bowl and set aside while you are preparing your working station.
- There are two ways to roll out the dough. You can roll out the dough into about 0.4 inch (0.5 cm) thickness and use a cookie cutter to cut rounds. To make it easier, divide the dough into two or three portions and roll it out with a rolling pin between two non-stick sheets. Alternatively, you can portion out exactly what you need for each mooncake and roll it out individually with a rolling pin between two non-stick sheets. I used dehydrator sheets and they were perfect. I prefer to roll each cake shell individually since it it easier to control the thickness. For the mold that I was using, 1 tablespoon of dough was enough for each cake.
- Take the rolled out cake shell into your palm, add the filling, and close the top pulling all edges together. The "top" will become the "bottom" of the mooncake. Remove any excess dough. Roll the ball in your hands to smooth out the surface. Insert the ball into your mold and press. If the dough sticks to the mold, you may want to roll the ball in a small amount of almond flour. I also tried to roll the balls in my ceremonial green matcha tea but this turned out to be very messy.
- Continue rolling the balls until all the dough is used up. You may end up with a little leftover of the filling. Turn it into power balls and save for later.
- Arrange the mooncakes on a platter and serve with green tea. Enjoy in good company!
Tip: These beautiful mooncakes are delicious but very rich. You might be able to eat only a sliver at a time. They will store in fridge for at least a week. Just place them in a air-tight glass container and check every few days to make sure that they are still good. To serve, remove from fridge and allow the flavor to unfold for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Note: Except for the pine nuts and the sesame seeds, I used activated nuts and seeds. I soaked them (separately) in water and dehydrated them in a dehydrator before processing.
In traditional China this festival indicated the end of hard work in the fields with only the
harvest left to attend to. People used this opportunity to
express their gratitude, for the blessings they have enjoyed during the past year, to the Heaven that was symbolized by the
full moon, and the Earth, symbolized by the earth god Tudi Gong (T'u-ti Kung).
At this time the Chinese were also praying to the moon goddess Chang'e for protection, good fortune and unity in the family.
Mooncakes have
always played a central role in the Mid-Autumn Festival tradition.
Once, according to a Chinese legend, moon cakes helped
to bring about a revolution.
It was during the Yuan dynasty (AD 1280-1368),
which was established by the invading Mongol tribes from
the north. The Mongols subjugated the Han Chinese and expanded
their rule over the vast territories of the Middle Kingdom.
According to Chinese folklore, a Han Chinese rebel leader named Liu Fu
Tong, who wanted to bring an end to the oppressive rule of the Yuan
dynasty, devised a scheme to arouse the Han Chinese
to a rebellion against the Mongols . He sought
permission from Mongolian leaders to give gifts to friends
as a symbolic gesture to honor the longevity of the Mongolian
emperor. Delicious moon cakes seemed to be a
wonderfully auspicious gift for the occasion.
The sweet pastry was a perfect way to circulate subversive messages. The
Han Chinese were to begin their rebellion on the
fifteenth night of the eighth month. The message was written on a piece
of paper that was inserted into the cakes. Avoiding suspicion of any kind, Liu was able to deliver this important
message to his people who secretly prepared the rebellion to overthrow
the Yuan dynasty and put an end the humiliating rule of the Mongols.
That's one of the stories that are often told about the mooncakes. Like in the past, mooncakes make a wonderful gift today. They are a perfect treat for any gathering but especially to celebrate the beauty of the perfectly round mid-autumn moon.
Wishing everyone a very happy full moon gazing!
In radiant health, passionately raw - Dominique
Dominique Allmon©2024