Pineapple Mooncake Recipe (Mid-Autumn Festival Ceremonial Dessert)

Hi everyone, welcome to SoupDog Recipes. I'm Wendy. Mid-autumn festival is coming soon. I get excited every year because I love making mooncakes. These little desserts are the symbol of reunion. They carry our best wishes for friends and families, so it's culturally important for Chinese people. This year, I'm going to show you a pineapple version, which is incredibly delicious. First, let's make the pineapple filling. Cut off the top, then peel it. There are many ways to do this. Some people like to slice the skin deeply to remove the eyes at the same time. However, I have been taught to slice the skin as thin as possible to minimize waste. Then remove the eyes by using a paring knife. If this is too tedious for you, I will speed ramp the video. It's like a meditation. By the way, don't throw out the top because you can grow a new pineapple from it. We will need 850 grams of pineapple. It is better to use a scale to be precise. Cut off the core. Even though it is very tough, you can still use it. Just cut it into bite-sized pieces, then crush it finely in a blender. Follow up with the rest of the pineapple flesh. The puree doesn't need to be super smooth. Roughly like that is perfect. My big food processor broke today, so I have to work with this small one in multiple batches. If you don't have a food processor, you can dice with a knife, which does take a bit of labor. Transfer all the pineapple puree into a nonstick pot. A lemon. Use a peeler and slice the lemon skin off. Make sure you don't get the white bitter layer. Thinly julienne it, then dice it finely. We need about two tablespoon of lemon zest. Squeeze one and a half tablespoon of lemon juice. I am putting it into a separate bowl first so I can get rid of the seeds. If the seeds escaped by accident, just pick it up with a fork. Continue by adding 125 grams of sugar and 62 grams of honey. Honey is very important. It makes the filling easier to divide, so don't skip it. Next step is to evaporate most of the moisture from the puree. We are making pineapple jam, but much thicker because we want the filling to be firm enough to work on. This process will take 20 to 30 minutes. In the beginning, you don't have to babysit the pot because the puree is wet and runny. You can just keep the heat at medium low and let it simmer on its own. However, you should come back to stir it every five minutes to make sure it's not burning at the bottom. When most of the water is gone, turn the heat to low. Now you have to stir the paste constantly so you don't burn the sugar. This is how I check if the jam is done. Flip it. If you see the bottom shows a slight white color for a second, then fade away. It means most of the moisture is evaporated. You can also check it by weighing the jam with a scale. We used 850 grams of pineapple plus the sugar and the honey. You should get 440 to 460 grams of jam. Less than that, you probably burned the sugar. If you get more than that, the filling will be too soft to wrap. Okay, cover the filling and chill it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or until lukewarm. Next step, we're making the wrapper. This is my classic mooncake wrapper formula. In a big mixing bowl, combine the following ingredients. 125 grams of inverted syrup or liquid honey. Both will work. If you're interested in making your own inverted syrup from scratch, you can check this video. Next, 46 grams of vegetable oil, such as corn oil, soybean oil, and peanut oil. Half teaspoon of salt and 13 grams of lye water. It improves the Maillard reaction and gives the mooncake a nice golden color. However, this is optional. If you decided to skip it, you have to use the same amount of water to ensure the dough to come out with the same consistency. Mix this well. You want the syrup and the oil to be well combined, like that. Then add 235 grams of cake flour. This is what I'm using. If you don't have it, you can use all-purpose flour. Take a rubber spatula and mix this until a smooth dough forms. It will just take a few minutes. Wrap the dough into a plastic wrap and rest it for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, we're going to portion out the filling, which has been chilled. Even though the jam is thick, it is still very sticky. You will make a mess if you try to divide it with your bare hand. Here is my trick. Get a round measuring spoon. I'm using the half tablespoon. One tablespoon will also work. Put it on the scale. Zero it out. Then take a big spoonful. Put it back on the scale to make sure you are getting the right amount, about 25 grams each. Use a small utensil to round it up. Push it onto a clean plate. There you go. Just keep doing that until you portion out everything. If you have OCD, you can roll each one in between your hands and round them up perfectly. Cover them and set them in the fridge for now because you want to keep them cold and firm. Next, let's divide the rubber dough. Each one should be 25 grams. Roll it in between your hands into balls. Now the filling and the dough are all portioned out. Let me show you how to wrap the mooncake. Take a wrapper dough and use your thumb to poke it in the middle. Keep spinning and shape it into a little ball. Place the filling in. Use your forefinger and your thumb to squeeze around and push the wrapper up. When you get to the very end, carefully pinch to close it. Roll it in between your hands to make it perfect. I suggest you wear gloves because the wrapper is a bit sticky. Okay, all 16 of them are done. The filling is 25 grams and the wrapper is also 25 grams. So you will need a 50 gram mooncake presser. I'll link this product in the description. You can check it out later. If you don't have one, you can just bake them round like that. The taste is the same. However, as a traditional dessert, mooncake needs a pretty presentation. Take a ball and dust it with a little bit of cake flour. This will prevent the mooncake from sticking to the mold. Carefully put it into the mooncake presser then gently press it down onto a baking pan that is lined with baking paper. Stay there for a few seconds to establish the shape then release it. Look at that, beautiful. It is satisfying to press mooncakes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray some water onto the mooncakes. Bake for eight minutes. While waiting, quickly mix one egg yolk with one tablespoon of water. Take the mooncakes out and don't be clumsy like me ruining the mooncakes with the oven mitt. Ah, you have no idea how sad I was. Brush the egg yolk on the surface. Don't brush too much at once because it just needs a thin layer. Make sure you get the side as well. If you brush too much by accident, the egg will create a film and ruin the pattern on the mooncake. You can dab it with a kitchen paper carefully. Stick them back into the oven, the same temperature, and bake for eight more minutes. Take it out of the oven again and brush another layer of egg yolk. Put it back into the oven and bake for another eight to 12 minutes. This will be the third and the last time of baking. Every oven is different. You should stay next to the heat and keep an eye on it. The filling is cooked already. We just want the wrapper to be golden brown. Mine took about nine minutes. This is how they look. At this point, you are done, but you cannot serve them right away because they don't taste good. The wrapper is very dry. The color is not correct. The aroma is not developed either. You have to put them in a sealed container and keep them in the fridge for three days. This process is called hui you, and it makes a huge difference in taste and texture. I made this batch three days ago, so I can show you a comparison. This one just came out of the oven. You can see the dark brown color on the pattern. That is from brushing the egg. If you let it sit for a few days, the color will be more even. You can compare the side to see the difference. Freshly baked mooncake is hard and dry. After the hui you process, it becomes soft and moist. Also, the aroma is stronger and more complex. Mm, so delicious. The pineapple flavor goes really well with the citrus aroma. We did put a lot of sugar in this dessert, but the tartness balances the sweet taste perfectly. Mm, mooncakes are a little bit filling, so it is best to enjoy with tea. Mm, perfect. I hope you give this a try soon, and happy Mid-Autumn Festival. These mooncakes represent my best blessing. Wish you a happy family and a bright future. Thank you for watching, and I'll see you next time. Bye.