Tết Trung Thu, also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, is a traditional celebration shared by various cultures, including Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean, among others. In Korea, the Mid-Autumn Festival ranks among the most significant and revered holidays. Meanwhile, in Vietnam, while it’s a notable festival, it tends to be more festive than formal. The festive spirit is palpable as moon cakes and lanterns become ubiquitous, but it doesn’t carry the same weight as our Tết - Lunar New Year festival.
Unlike Tết, which boasts strict customs and traditions, Tết Trung Thu offers a bit more leeway. If you’re not in the mood for moon cakes one year, it’s no big deal.
Nevertheless, the festival’s presence is felt throughout the entire month. Moon cakes are sold everywhere, starting exceptionally early. As the festival draws to a close, you’ll find incredible discounts on moon cakes, sometimes even a “buy 1 get 5 free” deal. Wondering why? Well, moon cakes are a seasonal delight, exclusively available during this time of year. Once the festival concludes, vendors have no use for leftover cakes. So, they opt to sell them at rock-bottom prices to: 1. combat food waste, 2. clear out stock for a fresh start next year, and 3. because moon cakes don’t have a long shelf life, making them unsuitable for extended sales.
I make it a personal tradition to craft and sell moon cakes each year. While I hadn’t initially planned to continue the tradition in 2023, I ultimately decided to go ahead with it. If you’re a fan of these delectable cakes, check the link in my Instagram bio to place an order.
Now, without further ado, let’s dive right into the recipe for pumpkin moon cakes!
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Preptime: 1 HOUR
Cook Time: 3 HOURS
Total Time: 4 HOURS
Servings: 3 cakes of 75g
Ingredients:
The filling:The crust:
Instructions:
The filling:
Soak the mung bean in cold water in 1 hour
Steam the pumpkin until fork tender
Mix the cooked glutinous flour with the oil and set it aside
After 1 hour, cook the mung bean with 200ml water until soften
Transfer the cooked mung bean into a hand mixer then add the steamed pumpkin
Blend the mung bean and pumpkin until smooth and transfer it to a frying pan
Add the sugar into the mixture
Stir the mixture of mung bean and pumpkin frequently on low heat until all the water evaporates
Slowly add the oil mixture into the filling pan, divide it into 3 times
When the filling is firmed, add the pumkin seeds. This process can take up to 45 minutes
Transfer the filling to a small bowl and cover it with plastic wrap until it's cooled down
The crust:
Mix the dry ingredients well before adding the wet ingredients
Mix the dough thoroughly until you can form a ball
Let it sit for at least 30 minutes
Forming the cakes:
Divide the fillings into 3 balls, each ball is 55g
Divide the dough also into 3 balls, each bal is 20g
Flatten the crust dough with your dough roller
Hold the crust dough in your palm, add the filling ball on top, then flip the crust ball upside down
When the crust dough is flipped, carefully close the crust and cover the whole filling ball
Smoothen the beautifully wrapped moon cake by rolling them with your hand and let it rest until you are done with all three cakes
Dust the moon cake form with a layer of flour then add the moon cake ball one by one into the form
Press down the mould and hold it tightly for at least 3 seconds so the cake can hold its form
Slowly take the cake out of the form and transfer it to a baking tray
Baking:
Preheat your oven to 200°C
Bake the cakes at 200°C in 10 minutes
After 10 minutes are up, take the cakes out, spray some water to help them cool down
When the cakes are totally cooled down, brush some vegan milk on top then pop them again into the oven for another 10 minutes at 180°C
When the cakes are done, let them sit for at least one day before enjoy
