Soft and chewy snow skin filled wrapped around a lightly sweet, smooth taro and coconut filling. These taro snow skin mooncakes are the ones to make this mid-autumn festival!
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What is a mooncake?
Mooncakes are a traditional Chinese treat prepared and eaten during the mid-autumn festival each year. The mid-autumn festival occurs on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month when the moon is the fullest and brightest. During these times families come together to celebrate the mid-autumn harvest and watch the full moon. An essential part of these activities also includes eating mooncakes!
There are so many different kinds of mooncakes, each originating from different provinces of China. I've uploaded a traditional baked mooncake recipe that originates from Guangdong and Guangxi provinces. This style is characterized by a soft, shiny, and fragrant crust with a sweet filling, most commonly lotus seed paste and salted duck egg yolks.
Other mooncakes include savory mooncakes filled with pork mince, flaky mooncakes with an oil-based buttery crust, or snow skin mooncakes filled with sweet custards and ice cream!
Every year I bring you a new mooncake flavor! Over the last two years, there was...
What is snow skin mooncake?
Snow skin mooncakes are more of a modern take on the classic mooncake. There is no baking required and the skin is a soft mochi-like consistency. The filling can range from bean pastes and custards to cheesecake and ice cream! On top of that, these are so much easier to make than traditional baked mooncakes as there is no baking! If you haven't made mooncakes before, and are a little intimidated by the steps required to make baked mooncakes, I highly recommend these!
Traditionally snow skin mooncakes are made from a flour called gao fen (糕粉) aka cooked glutinous rice flour. As this flour has been cooked, it's fragrant and be eaten raw. When eaten it almost has a melt-in-your-mouth consistency. When using gao fen in snow skin mooncakes the process is a lot simpler and requires fewer ingredients. However, it's can be really hard to find in countries other than Asia.
Instead of using gao fen this recipe uses glutinous rice flour to create a steamed mochi dough. This is a little more complicated, however, the texture is soft and slightly chewy and perfect for any kind of filling!
Tips on shaping the perfect mooncake
Shaping mooncakes isn't too hard when you have a mold, however, there are a couple of tips that can help make your life easier.
Make sure the snow skin has cooled
If the snow skin is still warm, it will be quite sticky and difficult to handle. Once it has cooled completely it'll be easier to form into balls and roll out. It'll also retain the mooncake shape better when formed
Lightly dust your mooncake molds
It is important to lightly dust your mold with cornstarch in between shaping mooncakes. When making mooncakes it is easy for the skin to catch in the crevices of the mold, not only deforming the mooncake you are currently making but also jeopardizing the next mooncake you make, as it will stick to the mold.
A light dusting of flour in between each shaping will prevent this from happening. However, it is important that this is just a light dusting. Too much flour in the mold can blur the pattern pressed onto the snow skin.
Lightly dust your snow skin ball
Dusting both the mold and the snow skin with cornstarch prevents any chances of it catching on the mold and ruining your beautiful pattern!
Hold the base of your mold firmly as you press down
A firm hold on the mold is important to prevent the mooncake from oozing out of the bottom of the mold.
Tips on making the taro filling
As the taro is the main character of these mooncakes it's important that the taro center is perfect!
Here are a couple of tips to ensure you have a smooth and delicious taro filling.
Steam the taro
There are a couple of different ways you can cook taro, but for this recipe, I highly recommend steaming. Steaming reduces the amount of extra moisture added to the taro as it cooks, preventing the center from becoming too mushy.
Cut the taro into 2cm cubes and steam it for 30 minutes, or until fork tender
Cook the taro until tender
Make sure the taro is completely tender before removing it from the heat. The softer the taro is, the easier it is to mash it to a smooth consistency.
If you want to make sure your taro is completely smooth you can process it in a food processor, or even pass the mashed taro through a fine-meshed sieve to remove any stringy bits.
Adjust the coconut milk
The amount of coconut milk you add to the mooncakes will differ depending on the moisture of your taro. Sometimes the taro will have more moisture than other times and as a result, you don't need as much coconut milk.
Check the consistency of your filling as you add the coconut milk, you want it to be firm enough to roll into balls, but not super dry. Adjust the amount of coconut milk as you go, adding more or less as needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do snow skin moon cakes last?
As these are made with glutinous rice flour they will begin to firm up after sitting in the fridge for more than a day, that's why they are best the day they are made.
If there are leftovers keep them stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Can I freeze snow skin mooncakes?
Yes, you can! Snow skin mooncakes are perfect for freezing, especially because it helps to preserve the soft skin texture.
If you are freezing them wrap each one in cling wrap and store them in an airtight container. This keeps the skin softer and fresher!
What mooncake mold should I use?
For this recipe, I used a 50g mooncake mold purchased off eBay.
They are pretty common and I highly recommend finding one with the pushing mechanism at the top. This helps the mooncake pop out easily.
It also has interchangeable plates so you can make mooncakes with a variety of patterns.
Feel free to use whatever shape you like, whether that be these cute flowers, or a more traditional round or square shape.
Can I use a 100g mold?
Yes, you can! If you just divide the skin and filling into 5 portions instead of 10. Then make them as usual.
Let's Get Cooking
If you liked this recipe make sure to leave me a comment and rating down below, I would love to know how you went. Also don't forget to tag me on Instagram @catherine.desserts so I can see and share your desserts.
Follow me on facebook, pinterest, youtube and tiktok for more of my baking creations and updates! Until next time... happy caking!
Print📖 Recipe
Taro Snow Skin Mooncake
Soft and chewy snow skin filled wrapped around a lightly sweet, smooth taro and coconut filling
- Prep Time: 60 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 10 x 50g mooncakes 1x
- Category: Asian Dessert
- Method: Easy
- Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients
Taro filling
- 200g Taro, peeled and in 2cm cubes (7oz)
- 50g Granulated sugar (¼ cup)
- 15g Cornstarch (2 tbsp)
- 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp Coconut milk
Snow skin
- 40g Glutinous rice flour (⅓ cup)
- 40g Rice flour (⅓ cup)
- 20g Wheat starch/corn starch (2 tablespoon 2 tsp)
- 20g White sugar (1 tablespoon 1 tsp)
- 150g Coconut milk, or whole milk (½ cup 2 tbsp)
- 20g Vegetable oil (1 tablespoon 1 tsp)
- A drop of purple gel food colouring
Assembly
- Cornstarch, for dusting
Instructions
Taro filling
- Steam the peeled and cubed taro for 30-40 minutes, or until fork tender
- Place the taro in a large bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher
- Add the sugar, cornstarch, oil, and coconut cream
- Mix until smooth, cover with cling wrap and place in the fridge to cool completely
Snow skin
- Combine the rice flours, wheat/corn starch, white sugar and milk, whisk together until smooth
- Cover the mixture and steam for 20 minutes, or until the centre is fully set
- Remove from the heat and add the oil
- Roughly mix the mixture and allow it to cool completely
- Using your hands knead the dough until the oil is completely absorbed
- Remove one-third of the dough and knead in the purple food coloring
- Divide the white dough and purple dough into 10 equal parts
- Combine the pink and white dough together to form 10 balls and set aside
Assembly
- Once the taro filling has cooled divide it into 10 equal portions (each should weight ~25g)
- Lightly coat a ball of snow skin in cornstarch and dust the mooncake mold (I used a 50g mold)
- Flatten the ball and roll it out with a rolling pin to form a circle
- Place the taro ball in the center and pull the sides of the snow skin in to enclose
- Smoothen the surface of the dough and shape it into a mooncake using the dusted mould
- Repeat with the remaining taro filling and dough
- Refrigerate for 1-2 hours to set before serving
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