Spring Moon Restaurant's Mini Custard Mooncake Recipe 嘉麟樓迷你奶黃月餅
Text and Photographs by MellyEatsWorld
Recipe by Chef Yip Yun-fat who was a Chinese pastry chef at the Peninsula Hong Kong in the ‘80s
葉潤發師傅※八十年代是九龍酒店及半島酒店的中菜部點心籌劃
Spring Moon’s (i.e. the famed Cantonese-style restaurant at The Peninsula Hong Kong) Mini Egg Custard Mooncake are iconic. This is the “first generation” recipe, modifications were made to it throughout the years. This is my attempt at recreating these famous mooncakes. They have remained hugely popular and coveted during the Mid-Autumn Fsetival season each year. It's a fairly easy recipe and if you want to give it a go, I encourage you to do so! English translations and Chinese original below.
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Mooncake filling/custard (Makes 16) 月餅餡 (16個)
Granulated White Sugar 砂糖 — 60g
Pastry Flour 低筋麵粉 — 18g
Custard Powder 吉士粉 — 18g
Milk Powder 奶粉 — 18g
Coconut flour 椰子粉 — scant 少許
Condensed Milk 煉奶 — 23g
Egg 雞蛋 — 30g
Coconut Milk 椰汁 — 90g
Evaporated Milk 花奶 — 7g
Cold Butter, Cubed 牛油 — 45g
Cooked Salted Egg Yolks 鹹蛋黃 — 4
Mooncake skin/dough 月餅皮
Granulated White Sugar 砂糖 — 67g
Room Temperature Butter, Cubed 牛油 — 130g
Egg 雞蛋 — 22g
Evaporated Milk 花奶 — 25g
Pastry Flour 低筋麵粉 — 252g
Custard Powder 吉士粉 — 17g
“The words on the mooncakes are “花好月圓” from a Song poem which conveys well wishes for happy endings. The phrase is used at weddings and for Mid-Autumn Festival.”
1. Make the mooncake filling/custard first: Combine sugar, flour, custard powder & coconut flour and mix well. Then add condensed milk, egg, half of the coconut milk and mix well. Then add the other half of the coconut milk and evaporated milk, mix well. Lastly, add cubed cold butter (no need to mix since the butter will be melted down in the next step).
先做月餅餡：將糖和麵粉、吉士粉、奶粉及椰子粉撈勻，加煉奶、雞蛋、一半椰汁，撈勻後再加另一半椰汁和花奶撈勻，然後加牛油（不用撈勻）。
2.Steam (over boiling water) for 15-20 minutes. Once done, stir to ensure mixture is well combined. Spread the custard out on a shallow dish and put it in the fridge to firm up overnight.
滾水落鍋蒸 15 至 20 分鐘。拿出撈勻，攤凍即成奶黃餡，放入雪櫃雪一晚。
3.Make the mooncake skin/dough: In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter together. Then mix in the egg and evaporated milk. Add in the flour and custard powder and mix until mixture forms a dough. Let the dough rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
做月餅皮︰大碗中，加入砂糖、牛油搓勻，然後加雞蛋、花奶，撈勻後加麵粉及吉士粉，搓勻。放入雪櫃雪半小時。
4.Take the custard filling out from the fridge and knead it slightly. Divide and shape the custard filling into 16 little balls (19g per custard ball). Take a custard ball and flatten it. Wrap the flattened custard dough around ¼ of a cooked salted egg yolk. Roll into a ball again (total weight with the salted egg yolk is 20g per ball). Repeat same process for rest of the custard balls.
奶黃餡從雪櫃取出，再略搓勻，分成 19 克一粒。每粒壓平成圓形，包入 1/4 隻已蒸熟的鹹蛋黃。
5.Take mooncake dough out of the fridge. Divide and shape the dough into 16 balls (30g per dough ball). Flatten dough ball into a disc (the edges of the disc should be slightly thinner than the centre), then wrap the dough disc around the custard balls from previous step. Total weight for each finished ball should be 50g.
月餅皮粉團分成 30 克一粒，每粒壓平成圓形，邊稍薄，將餡包入餅皮中。
6.Lightly dust the finished balls from previous step with flour and insert into mooncake mould/press (which should also be lightly dusted with flour to prevent dough from sticking to it). Smooth side of the balls should face the inside of the mould (i.e. the pretty smooth side will be the top of the mooncakes. The less pretty pinched side will be the bottom of the mooncakes)
月餅先撲上小量麵粉，光滑一面向下放入餅模中造型。留意餅模要灑上極少麵粉，以免黏着月餅皮。
7.Bake in a 250°C/482°F preheated oven for 5 minutes. Take the mooncakes out of the oven and brush them lightly with egg wash. Let the mooncakes cool down for 10 minutes, then brush on another layer of egg wash. Bake for another 4 minutes. Take the mooncakes out of the oven and brush on a layer of simple syrup. Bake for another 1 minute. All Done.
預熱焗爐 250 度。先焗 5 分鐘，取出掃薄薄一層蛋漿，吹乾約 10 分鐘後，再掃一層蛋漿，然後焗 4 分鐘，取出掃一層糖漿，最後焗一分鐘。大功告成。
Tips from Chef Yip 葉師傅小貼士:
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The mooncake skin/dough cannot be flattened too thinly in Step 5. If the dough is too thin, it will lose its crispness/crumbliness. 月餅皮不能太薄，太薄就不酥了。
Mooncakes can be kept at room temperature for 3 days or 3 weeks in the fridge. 室溫存放3 日，放雪柜可存放3 星期。
Mooncakes taste best slightly warmed up in a 160°C/320°F oven for 6 minutes. 食前最出用焗爐以160 度焗6 分鐘為最佳食用方法。
Mooncakes can also be warmed up in the microwave for 10 seconds. However, the skin of the mooncakes will turn soft and lose its crispness/crumbliness. 若要用微波爐可叮十秒，不過會令餅皮會軟腍了無咁鬆化。
If using newly purchased wooden mooncake mould. The wooden mooncake mould should be soaked in mild-favoured vegetable oil overnight, then rinsed with warm water and thoroughly dried before using. 新買的木製餅模，第一次使用前，應倒入味淡的菜油浸一晚，然後用暖水清洗。
Measure your dough & custard balls accurately (Steps 4 & 5). Finished mooncake balls should fit snuggly into a 50g mooncake mould/press. 月餅皮和餡分量要準確，剛好填滿一兩半裝餅模。
If using mooncake mould (instead of press), make sure to press the mooncake balls firmly (with both hands) against the mould to get clear imprints. 用餅模造型時，要雙手壓實，餅模紋理才清楚壓在月餅上。
Mooncakes must be baked first before brushing on the egg wash (Step 7), otherwise the imprints/pattern will blur/melt. 千萬不要未焗先掃蛋漿，否則餅皮花紋會塌。
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