Easy Snowy Mooncake Recipe (Purple Sweet Potato Filling)

Hi everyone! The mid-autumn festival is coming soon, so it's time to make mooncakes again. These little treats are the symbol of reunion and carry our best wishes to friends and family. Today, we're making a simple snowy style mooncake with purple sweet potato filling, which is creamy and custardy inside, while the wrapper is soft, chewy, and slightly gooey. It's also gluten-free and requires no baking. It's the easiest mooncake you can make at home, so let's get started with the filling. You will need some purple sweet potato. If you don't have it, use taro, because taro filling is also a popular mooncake variety. However, taro is not as sweet, so you will have to add more sugar to adjust the taste. Measure the sweet potatoes after they are peeled so the weight is accurate. I will steam them whole because they are really small. If you use large sweet potatoes, cut them into bite-sized pieces so they can cook faster. This soft silicone steamer basket is really convenient. I'll link it in the pinned comment, you can check it out if you want. Steam over medium-low heat for 25 minutes, or until you can easily poke through them using a chopstick. Transfer the purple sweet potato into a food processor. Add 2.5 tbsp of unsalted butter, 1 tsp of vanilla, 2 tbsp of dry whole milk powder. This is optional, you can skip it if you don't have it, but it does add a nice milky taste to the filling. Blend until smooth. Next, I will sweeten the paste by adding my special ingredient, rose jam, which is made with rose petals and sugar. Don't give up on this recipe just because you don't have rose jam, you can replace it with other sweeteners. I actually tested one batch with honey and another batch with strawberry jam. They all work beautifully and taste delicious. In case you're wondering why the two colors are different, that is because strawberry jam has a slight sour taste, and the purple sweet potatoes contain anthocyanin A, which turns red in acidic condition. Well, fun science fact to explain to your kids. Anyway, I stick with rose jam today is because I adore the fragrance. It adds a lovely touch of romance to mooncakes. I'll link it in the pinned comment, you can check it out if you want. You may notice I just mix the jam instead of blending it fully into the paste, because I want to preserve the petals. This way not only you can taste the rose, but also see it. It's something small but nice to wow your friends and family. Once well mixed, evaluate the texture, because every sweet potato and jam or honey has different level of moisture. If the paste is non-stick, you can chill it in the fridge directly, but mine is a little sticky today, so I will have to evaporate it a little bit before putting it into the fridge. Just constantly stir it over low heat. As the moisture evaporates, the paste will gradually become non-stick and separate from the cookware. The total stirring takes about five to six minutes. The spatula is clean now, that means your filling is done. Transfer it into a container and cover well. Let it chill in the fridge until it cools and firms up a little bit, which will take at least three hours. The filling can stay good in the fridge for up to five days, so feel free to make it in advance. Next, we're moving on to the wrapper. I have made many mooncakes with different types of wrappers, including the pastry style, snowy style, cookie style, and the traditional Cantonese style. If you're interested, here is a playlist, check them out. For today's wrapper, we're also making a snowy style, but it's a gluten-free version. You will need 57 grams of glutinous rice flour. Don't be confused, glutinous rice flour is gluten-free. It will give you that classic sticky, gooey texture. 43 grams of cornstarch. This is actually the gluten-free replacement for wheat starch. 43 grams of tapioca starch. It will improve the elasticity and the transparent appearance as well. Continue by adding 4 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of unsalted and melted butter, and 210 milliliters of milk. Stir until no lumps. We will use the same pot. Turn the heat to medium and steam the wrapper mixture for 30 minutes or until cooked through. Feel free to check anytime by poking the mixture. If you see running liquid, let it steam a little longer. When all the liquid is solidified, you can take it out and let it cool to a temperature that your hands can handle it. The next step is to knead the dough until smooth. Since we added rose jam to the filling, I'm going to color the wrapper using some organic rose petal powder. This is totally optional, so you can skip it. Or if you used strawberry jam to sweeten the filling, maybe it's best to color the wrapper with strawberry powder. The kneading doesn't take long, but do wear gloves to prevent sticking. I find this silicone rolling mat really useful when working with sticky dough. It makes the whole process much easier. I'll link it in the pinned comment. Check it out. In about 5 minutes, the dough should be smooth. Divide it into 16 even pieces. Each of them is 25 grams. Roll each piece in between your hands into a round smooth ball. Cover and set them aside. Take the filling out of the fridge and portion it into 16 even pieces, 25 grams each. Again, roll each filling into a round smooth ball. Cover them so they don't dry out. Before we start wrapping the mooncakes, let's stir 2 tablespoons of glutinous rice flour in a dry pot over medium-low heat for 3-5 minutes. We will use it to prevent sticking when pressing the mooncakes. Since snowy mooncakes don't require any further baking, we don't want to use raw rice flour. This toasting process makes it safe to use as a dusting flour. To wrap the mooncake, grab a wrapper dough, put it in between parchment paper so it doesn't stick to your rolling pin. Press it into a patty, then roll it into a thin round. The diameter should be about 4.5 inches. Put one ball of filling in the middle. Flip it over and carefully push the edge down to wrap the filling. Flip it back up and gently squeeze the wrapper around. When you get to the end, pinch until the filling is completely enclosed. Roll it in between your hands to make it thinner. Set it aside. Continue to finish the rest. This is such a fun project to do with your kids. Think of it like the edible playdough. Each mooncake contains 25 grams of wrapper and 25 grams of filling, which is what I think is the perfect balance. So I will use a 50 gram mooncake mold. If you want to buy it, check the link in the pinned comment. If you don't have a mooncake presser, you can just serve them like this. The taste is the same. However, as a traditional dessert, presentation is ceremonially necessary. Dust the ball with the roasted glutinous rice flour to prevent it sticking. Carefully put it into the mooncake presser. Push the bottom a few times so it doesn't bulge up. Then gently press it down onto a working surface with steady force. Release the press. Look at that. Beautiful. Continue to do the rest. Once done, you can eat them right away. These mooncakes can stay good in a sealed container in the fridge for one week. This is so gooey and tender. Purple sweet potato filling is one of my favorite dessert fillings. It's creamy, custardy, and just melts in your mouth. So delicious. Happy Mid-Autumn Festival and may your future be pretty and perfect just like these mooncakes. I hope you give this a try soon. As always, the recipe link is in the pinned comment. Go check it out. Thank you for watching, and I'll see you next time. Bye!