Mixed Nuts Mooncake
Mixed Nuts Mooncake, together with Mung Bean Mooncake, are two most popular mooncakes for mid-autumn festival in Vietnam. The uniqueness of Mixed Nuts Mooncake is its filling, a combination of various nuts, seeds, dried fruits, lime zest and leaves, sugar coated pork fat and sausage.
Although there are some hard-to-find ingredients for mixed nuts mooncake in Vietnamese style, I tried to collect them from Asian stores and made some my own. Don’t worry, you can skip or change the filling’s ingredients freely.
Table of Contents
Let’s discover how a mixed nuts mooncake is made right below.
Ingredients for mixed nuts mooncake
In general, ingredient for mixed nuts mooncake is like traditional version of mooncakes. It includes ingredients for the wrapper and the filling.
The filling
Below is the list of filling I used in my mixed nuts mooncake. Feel free to change or skip some of them if you can’t find it in your region.
- Chinese sausage (lap cheong in Cantonese or “lạp xưởng” in Vietnamese). This is a key element of mixed nuts mooncake in Vietnamese and Cantonese style. You can find it in Asian food stores under one of those three names.
- Sugar-coated pork fat: Another special ingredient for mixed nuts mooncake. No one sells it here in Europe, so I made it myself. It’s not difficult at all: cut a part of pork fat, boil it, pat it dry and cut into cubes. Finally, coat the cubes with sugar and let them rest for a day, that’s it.
- Cashew nut/ Peanut or both: Nuts are an easy-going part of the filling. You can change to other types of nuts like walnut, pine nut, hazel nut and so on.
- Citrus: lime/lemon leaves, orange peel candy and lemon zest contribute the aroma and balance the flavor of other ingredients.
- Seeds: Usually pumpkin seeds, watermelon seeds, and white & black sesame. You can find them in Asian stores; if you can’t one, just skip it.
- Carrot/wax gourd candy: you can make it at home by simmering carrot or wax gourd with sugar following the ratio 2:1. However, it’s alright to buy other types of dried fruits like cranberry to replace it.
- Roasted glutinous rice flour: It acts as a glue to combine all the dry ingredients together into a ball for making mixed nuts mooncake. Note that glutinous rice flour must be cooked. You can roast it in a pan in 5 minutes.
- Water or liqueur: You will need a bit of water or liqueur to interact with glutinous rice flour and become “glue”. Although the traditional liqueur is Mui Kwe Lu, if you don’t have it, just replace it by water, or even limoncello (I used this) or vodka.
The Wrapper
The dough used for the outer wrapper of the mooncake consists of wheat flour, golden sugar syrup (or honey), and egg yolk.
Wheat flour: You can use any type of wheat flour, like all-purpose or bread flour.
Golden sugar syrup: This special ingredient gives the dough a shiny brown color. Honey can be a substitute, but it might affect the color.
How to Make Mixed Nuts Mooncakes
Now, let’s go through the steps to make Mixed Nuts Mooncakes.
Step 1. Combine the fillings
Having all the ingredients in your kitchen, you will need to prepare them a bit, then combine them and roll into filling balls. Follow the list of steps to have it done:
- Roast glutinous rice flour: Add an amount of glutinous rice flour into the pan on low heat. Stir them continuously in 5 minutes, or until a pleasant smell arises. That’s the signal your flour is cooked.
- Roast seeds and nuts: Add all your seeds and nuts to the pan and roast in 5-10 minutes. This step is to make them more crunchy and drier.
- Slice lemon leaves into threads.
- Steam/boil Chinese sausage: To cook the sausage. After that, cut them into small cubes at the same size with sugar-coated pork fat (if any).
- Combine all the ingredients together. Pour 1 tbsp liqueur/water in and mix them well.
- Use plastic wrap to bundle the ingredients into round balls. The size of each ball depends on your desired mooncake size. In my case, I created four filling balls, each weighing 75g. If you like to add salted egg yolk, put it in the middle of the ball.
- Let them rest for 30 minutes in fridge so that all stick together.
Step 2. Making the dough
Prepare the golden sugar syrup by dissolving brown sugar and water in a 1:1 ratio and cooking it on low heat until 80% of the water evaporates. This should take about 40-50 minutes. Avoid stirring once it starts boiling, and add a few drops of lemon juice at the end. It’s best to prepare the syrup a few days in advance or use honey as an alternative.
Combine flour, sugar syrup (or honey), and egg yolk until it forms a glossy brown dough.
Divide the dough into portions, matching the weight of the filling. Roll them into balls.
Step 3: Shaping the Mooncakes
The dough should be two-thirds the weight of the filling. Assemble the wrapper and filling by flattening a wrapper ball and placing a filling ball in the center. Stretch and adjust the dough to cover the filling entirely.
Use a mooncake press to shape the mooncakes. Apply a small amount of oil on the mold to prevent sticking.
Gently press the mooncake with your palm to create the desired shape. Finally, lift the press to reveal the beautiful mooncake under it.
What if you don’t have a mooncake press? You can also make piggy mooncake without mold.
Step 4: Baking Mixed Nuts Mooncakes
Baking Mooncakes requires three rounds to achieve the desired texture and appearance.
Before baking, spray water over the mooncakes and preheat the oven to 230°C (446°F).
- Baking round 1: Bake for 10 minutes. While baking the first round, don’t forget to prepare egg wash by mixing 1 egg yolk with a teaspoon of water.
- Baking round 2: After the first 10 minutes, remove the mooncakes from the oven, apply a thin layer of egg wash, and let it dry. Then, spray water over the cakes and return them to the oven for the second baking round at 200°C (400°F) for 15 minutes.
- Baking round 3: Upon removing the mooncakes from the second round, immediately spray water over them. Let them rest for 15 minutes until they are dry, then apply a second coat of egg wash. Return the mooncakes to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes at 200°C (400°F).
After going through these three rounds of baking, your Mixed Nuts Mooncakes will be ready. Allow them to rest for a day to let the wrappers soften.
Troubleshooting Tips for Making Mixed Nuts Mooncakes
You might face problems while making mixed nuts mooncakes. Here are some common issues and how to fix them:
- The Mixed Nuts Filling Ball can’t be form: You can fix this by adding a bit more water/liqueur. Remember to let it chill in fridge before removing the plastic wrap.
- Wrapper doesn’t cover the filling properly: In case the dough is equal two-thirds of the filling, but still can’t cover it, the problem might be because of the stretching technique. In this case, take a little more dough, make a flat wrapper, and use it to patch any tears on the wrapper. Gently roll the mooncake to make the wrapper stick.
- Mooncake press gets sticky: If the mold becomes sticky because of not enough oil, use a tissue to wipe away any leftover residue. Apply more coconut or vegetable oil to the mold before shaping the next cakes.
- Mooncake doesn’t look right after pressing: it could be because you used too much or too little force on mooncake press. To fix this, pat the wrapper until the pattern disappears, then press the mooncake again.
- Mooncake surface burns or cracks: When the mooncake’s surface gets burnt or cracks, it might be because the heat is too high, or you forgot to spray water on it before baking. Always remember to apply water before putting the cake in the oven.
- Wrapper stays too hard after baking: If the mooncake wrapper remains too hard, like cookies, it could be because you used freshly made golden sugar syrup. Golden syrup should rest for 2-3 days before use to keep the wrapper soft.
By following these steps and tips, you’ll be able to make delicious mixed nuts mooncakes easily. Enjoy your homemade mooncakes with a cup of tea!
Mixed Nuts Mooncake
Equipment
Ingredients
Filling
- 40 g cashew nuts/ peanuts 1.4 oz
- 40 g pumpkin seeds 1.4 oz
- 20 g sesame seeds 1 tbsp
- 40 g candied carrot 1.4 oz
- 2 lime/lemon leaves
- 1 tsp of lemon zest
- 40 g orange peel candies 1.4 oz
- 20 g roasted glutinous rice flour 0.7 oz
- 2 tbsp liqueur (I used limoncello/ water)
Wrapper Dough
- 115 g flour 1/2 cup
- 20 g oil 1 ½ tbsp
- 65 g golden sugar syrup or honey nearly 4 tbsp
- 1 egg yolk
Egg wash
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp water
Addtional tools
- Water sprayer
- Cooling rack
Instructions
Step 1. Combine the filling
- Roast glutinous rice flour: Add an amount of glutinous rice flour into the pan on low heat. Stir them continuously in 5 minutes, or until a pleasant smell arises. That’s the signal your flour is cooked.
- Roast seeds and nuts: Add all your seeds and nuts to the pan and roast in 5-10 minutes. This step is to make them more crunchy and drier.
- Steam/boil Chinese sausage: To cook the sausage. After that, cut them into small cubes at the same size with sugar-coated pork fat (if any).
- Combine all the ingredients together. Pour 1 tbsp liqueur/water in and mix them well.
- Use plastic wrap to bundle the ingredients into round balls. The size of each ball depends on your desired mooncake size. In my case, I created four filling balls, each weighing 75g. If you like to add salted egg yolk, put it in the middle of the ball.
- Let them rest for 30 minutes in fridge so that all stick together.
Step 2. Making the dough
- Prepare the golden sugar syrup by dissolving sugar and water in a 1:1 ratio and cooking it on low heat until 80% of the water evaporates. This should take about 40-50 minutes. Avoid stirring once it starts boiling, and add a few drops of lemon juice at the end. It's best to prepare the syrup a few days in advance or use honey as an alternative.
- Combine flour, sugar syrup (or honey), and egg yolk until it forms a glossy brown dough.
- Divide the dough into portions, matching the weight of the filling. Roll them into balls.
Step 3. Shaping Mixed Nuts Mooncake
- The dough should be two-thirds the weight of the filling. Assemble the wrapper and filling by flattening a wrapper ball and placing a filling ball in the center. Stretch and adjust the dough to cover the filling entirely.
- Use a mooncake press to shape the mooncakes. Apply a small amount of oil on the mold to prevent sticking.
- Gently press the mooncake with your palm to create the desired shape. Finally, lift the press to reveal the beautiful mooncake under it.
- Step 4. Baking Mixed Nuts mooncake
- Baking Mooncakes requires three rounds to achieve the desired texture and appearance.
- Before baking, spray water over the mooncakes and preheat the oven to 230°C (446°F).
- Baking round 1: Bake for 10 minutes. While baking the first round, don’t forget to prepare egg wash by mixing 1 egg yolk with a teaspoon of water.
- Baking round 2: After the first 10 minutes, remove the mooncakes from the oven, apply a thin layer of egg wash, and let it dry. Then, spray water over the cakes and return them to the oven for the second baking round at 200°C (400°F) for 15 minutes.
- Baking round 3: Upon removing the mooncakes from the second round, immediately spray water over them. Let them rest for 15 minutes until they are dry, then apply a second coat of egg wash. Return the mooncakes to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes at 200°C (400°F).
- After going through these three rounds of baking, your Mixed Nuts Mooncakes will be ready. Allow them to rest for a day to let the wrappers soften.
Nutrition
Do you like this recipe? Brighten my day by rating the recipe and clicking the “save” button to have this recipe right on your Pinterest board. Also, let’s be friends on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok!
Other Types of Mooncakes
Beside Mixed Nuts Mooncakes, these are many other types of mooncakes you can try, such as:
