It’s going to be Moon Festival soon! Are you going to buy or make mooncakes by yourself this year?
Snow skin mooncake is delicately beautiful and delicious, but at the same time overpriced. For example, Lady M this year charges $78 for 6 snow skin mooncakes – that’s $13 each before tax!!
This recipe teaches you how to make snow skin mooncake (冰皮月饼) at home step by step.😉
With the cost of 1 store-bought mooncake, you can make 18 snow skin mooncakes at home!
I packed my homemade snow skin mooncakes to share with my new neighbors. Let’s see if your neighbors have the luck to taste this Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival celebration dessert from you!😁
White strawberry and white chocolate filling
I like the chewy snow skin wrappers and the creamy egg custard filling of Chinese snow skin mooncakes.
However, for most of the time, old fashioned desserts could taste too sweet and kinda “boring” to me.
This year, I tried to use white chocolate to substitute the butter and sugar to give the custard filling a richer flavor.
What’s more, by wrapping fresh white strawberries into the custard filling, I successfully made my snow skin mooncakes taste much more refreshing.
I also added matcha powder into the skin dough to give my snow skin mooncakes a green and white marble pattern.
Snow Skin Mooncake & Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival
Mooncake is a traditional Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival celebration food.
During Mid-Autumn Festival (15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunar calendar), which as also known as Moon Festival, Chinese families and friends would gather to appreciate the full moon and eat mooncakes together.
Traditional mooncake dough is made from golden syrup, lye water, vegetable oil, and plain flour.
In 1988, Taipan Bakery in Hong Kong invented a brand new type of mooncake – Snow Skin Mooncake.
Snow skin mooncakes’ wrapper is made from glutinous rice flour, rice flour, and milk, which contains much less oil and sugar than traditional mooncakes.
Snow skin mooncakes have a colorful mochi-like chewy skin and a variety of dessert-like filling, such as vanilla custard, fruits, ice cream, purple yam, and chocolate… No wonder it has surpassed traditional mooncake as the most popular Mid-Autumn Festival celebration food among young people in China.
How to Make Snow Skin Mooncakes
EQUIPMENT
INGREDIENTS
Preparation
- 2 tbsp glutinous rice flour
- 18 small strawberries (about 8g each; I used white strawberries. But I think red strawberries would actually look better in this recipe.)
White Chocolate Snow Skin Mooncake Custard Filling
- 60 g milk powder
- 35 g wheat starch (can be substituted with cornstarch)
- 120 g milk (can be substituted with soymilk or coconut milk)
- 3 eggs (extra large, about 60g each with shell on)
- 125 g white chocolate
Snow Skin
- 60 g glutinous rice flour
- 60 g regular rice flour (can be substituted with same amount of glutinous rice flour)
- 30 g wheat starch (can be substituted with cornstarch)
- 30 g sugar
- 220 g milk (can be substituted with soymilk or coconut milk)
- 30 g condensed milk (can be substituted with 15g sugar)
- 30 g unsalted butter
- ⅓ tsp matcha powder (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Preparation
1. Rinse and dry 18 small strawberries, then remove the stem and leaves with a knife. Set aside.
2. In a small pan, toast 2 tbsps of glutinous rice flour over medium heat for about 5 minutes, whisking constantly, until it smells like popcorn. Set aside to cool down. (We will use this cooked flour to prevent from getting sticky later.)
Make White Chocolate Snow Skin Mooncake Custard Filling
1. Crack 3 extra large eggs in a bowl, whisk until the yolk and whites are thoroughly combined.
2. Add 60g milk powder, 35g wheat starch (or cornstarch), 120g milk, and the egg mixture to a large mixing bowl, whisk until well combined.
3. Place a strainer over a large non-stick pan, pour the mixture through the strainer to the pan to filter out any lumps.
4. Break a bar of white chocolate (125g) into smaller pieces, put the chocolate pieces into a small glass/ceramic bowl, set the bowl in a small pot of hot water, gently stir the chocolate chips until melted.
5. Pour the melted chocolate into the pan to be mixed with the egg milk mixture.
6. Set the stove to medium heat, use a rubber spatula to fold and stir the mixture continuously for about 8 minutes until the mixture is thickened.
7. Transfer the custard filling to a bowl, cover it with a plastic food wrap. Let the custard cool under room temperature. Cover the container with the lid, chill in the fridge.
Make Snow Skin Wrappers
1. Add 60g glutinous rice flour, 60g regular rice flour, 30g wheat starch, 30g sugar, 220g milk, and 30g condensed milk to a large mixing bowl, whisk until well combined.
2. Place a strainer over a heat-resistant bowl, pour the mixture through the strainer to the bowl to filter out any lumps.
3. Cover the bowl with plastic food wrap, use a toothpick to poke about 16 holes on the wrap.
4. Steam the mixture over high heat for 25 minutes until there is no liquid in the bowl.
5. Take the bowl out from the steamer, remove the plastic wrap, make some cuts into the dough to make it cools down faster. Put 30g butter on top of the dough, wait until the butter is melted and the dough is cooled down a bit (warm but not too hot to be handled).
6. Transfer the dough with the butter to a large kneading bowl or a nonstick kneading mat, put on food safe rubber gloves, knead the dough for about 5 minutes until it has absorbed all the butter in and turns smooth.
7. Optionally, divide the dough into two equal portions. Add 1/3 tsp of matcha powder to one them, knead the dough until the color is evenly distributed.
8. Roll each dough into a rope about 10 inches long. Twist the two doughs together and roll the twisted dough into one rope.
9. Cut the dough into 18 pieces, each piece should weigh about 20g. Roll each piece into a ball, then flatten into a round wrapper (about 4 inch diameter). Cover the wrappers with plastic food wrap to prevent them from drying.
Assemble the mooncakes
1. Take the custard filling out from the fridge, roll the filling into 18 small balls. Each ball should weigh about 20g.
2. Flatten each custard filling ball into a circle, place a strawberry in the middle, push the custard circle upwards to cover the strawberry. Repeat until you get 18 strawberry custard filling balls.
3. Place a strawberry custard filling ball in the middle of a snow skin wrapper, pull the edge of the snow skin wrapper upwards to cover the filling ball, seal the top.
4. Roll the assembled mooncake in the toasted glutinous rice flour, gently pat off the excess flour from the surface, so that the mooncake is coated with a thin layer of glutinous rice flour.
5. Put the mooncake ball on your working surface with the sealed side facing down. Place the mooncake mold over the mooncake ball, press the handle down until you can feel a tension from the mooncake. Press and hold the handle for 10 seconds to make clear prints.
6. Lift up the mooncake mold. If the mooncake doesn’t fall out, you can press the handle again to release the mooncake. Serve immediately.
Storage
- Short term storage: lay your leftover mooncakes in a single layer in an airtight container, store in the fridge, consume within 3 days.
- Long term storage: Keep each snow skin mooncake in a small food storage bag, keep in the freezer for up to 1 month. Thaw under room temperature for 20 minutes before consuming.
My other Chinese Food Recipes you will also like:
Snow Skin Mooncake – White strawberry white chocolate custard filling
Equipment
- Steamer
- Nonstick pan
- Mooncake mold set (50g size)
- Kneading Mat
- Food safe rubber gloves
Ingredients
Preparation
- 2 tbsp glutinous rice flour
- 18 small strawberries (about 8g each; I used white strawberries. But I think red strawberries would actually look better in this recipe.)
White Chocolate Snow Skin Mooncake Custard Filling
- 60 g milk powder
- 35 g wheat starch (can be substituted with cornstarch)
- 120 g milk (can be substituted with soymilk or coconut milk)
- 3 eggs (extra large, about 60g each with shell on)
- 125 g white chocolate
Snow Skin
- 60 g glutinous rice flour
- 60 g regular rice flour (can be substituted with same amount of glutinous rice flour)
- 30 g wheat starch (can be substituted with cornstarch)
- 30 g sugar
- 220 g milk (can be substituted with soymilk or coconut milk)
- 30 g condensed milk (can be substituted with 15g sugar)
- 30 g unsalted butter
- ⅓ tsp matcha powder (optional)
Instructions
Preparation
- Rinse and dry 18 small strawberries, then remove the stem and leaves with a knife. Set aside.
- In a small pan, toast 2 tbsps of glutinous rice flour over medium heat for about 5 minutes, whisking constantly, until it smells like popcorn. Set aside to cool down. (We will use this cooked flour to prevent from getting sticky later.)
Make White Chocolate Snow Skin Mooncake Custard Filling
- Crack 3 extra large eggs in a bowl, whisk until the yolk and whites are thoroughly combined.
- Add 60g milk powder, 35g wheat starch (or cornstarch), 120g milk, and the egg mixture to a large mixing bowl, whisk until well combined.
- Place a strainer over a large non-stick pan, pour the mixture through the strainer to the pan to filter out any lumps.
- Break a bar of white chocolate (125g) into smaller pieces, put the chocolate pieces into a small glass/ceramic bowl, set the bowl in a small pot of hot water, gently stir the chocolate chips until melted.
- Pour the melted chocolate into the pan to be mixed with the egg milk mixture.
- Set the stove to medium heat, use a rubber spatula to fold and stir the mixture continuously for about 8 minutes until the mixture is thickened.
- Transfer the custard filling to a bowl, cover it with a plastic food wrap. Let the custard cool under room temperature. Cover the container with the lid, chill in the fridge.
Make Snow Skin Wrappers
- Add 60g glutinous rice flour, 60g regular rice flour, 30g wheat starch, 30g sugar, 220g milk, and 30g condensed milk to a large mixing bowl, whisk until well combined.
- Place a strainer over a heat-resistant bowl, pour the mixture through the strainer to the bowl to filter out any lumps.
- Cover the bowl with plastic food wrap, use a toothpick to poke about 16 holes on the wrap.
- Steam the mixture over high heat for 25 minutes until there is no liquid in the bowl.
- Take the bowl out from the steamer, remove the plastic wrap, make some cuts into the dough to make it cools down faster. Put 30g butter on top of the dough, wait until the butter is melted and the dough is cooled down a bit (warm but not too hot to be handled).
- Transfer the dough with the butter to a large kneading bowl or a nonstick kneading mat, put on food safe rubber gloves, knead the dough for about 5 minutes until it has absorbed all the butter in and turns smooth.
- Optionally, divide the dough into two equal portions. Add 1/3 tsp of matcha powder to one them, knead the dough until the color is evenly distributed.
- Roll each dough into a rope about 10 inches long. Twist the two doughs together and roll the twisted dough into one rope.
- Cut the dough into 18 pieces, each piece should weigh about 20g. Roll each piece into a ball, then flatten into a round wrapper (about 4 inch diameter). Cover the wrappers with plastic food wrap to prevent them from drying.
Assemble the mooncakes
- Take the custard filling out from the fridge, roll the filling into 18 small balls. Each ball should weigh about 20g.
- Flatten each custard filling ball into a circle, place a strawberry in the middle, push the custard circle upwards to cover the strawberry. Repeat until you get 18 strawberry custard filling balls.
- Place a strawberry custard filling ball in the middle of a snow skin wrapper, pull the edge of the snow skin wrapper upwards to cover the filling ball, seal the top.
- Roll the assembled mooncake in the toasted glutinous rice flour, gently pat off the excess flour from the surface, so that the mooncake is coated with a thin layer of glutinous rice flour.
- Put the mooncake ball on your working surface with the sealed side facing down. Place the mooncake mold over the mooncake ball, press the handle down until you can feel a tension from the mooncake. Press and hold the handle for 10 seconds to make clear prints.
- Lift up the mooncake mold. If the mooncake doesn't fall out, you can press the handle again to release the mooncake. Serve immediately.
Storage
- Short term storage: lay your leftover mooncakes in a single layer in an airtight container, store in the fridge, consume within 3 days.
- Long term storage: Keep each snow skin mooncake in a small food storage bag, keep in the freezer for up to 1 month. Thaw under room temperature for 20 minutes before consuming.
Video
