Some people have lamented that I didn't include a mooncake recipe in A Big Mooncake for Little Star. There's a few reasons why I didn't-- there wasn't really enough room in the book to fit it in and mooncakes are pretty difficult to make. I actually don't know anyone (not even my grandmother) who actually makes mooncakes, everyone I know just buys them.
That said, if you do want to give it a shot, there is another children's book, The Shadow in the Moon by Christine Matula & illustrated by Pearl Law about the Moon Festival that does include a mooncake recipe. To make a traditional looking mooncake, you will need a mooncake mold with the designs; but you can also use a silicone cookie mold to have it look more like the smooth cookie from A Big Mooncake for Little Star:
Mooncakes with Red-Bean Filling (from The Shadow in the Moon)
Ingredients
4 tbsp golden syrup (light corn syrup)
water mixture of 1tsp water & 1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
3tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 small can (200 g) sweetened red bean paste
egg wash (1 egg mixed with 1 tbsp of water)
1. In a large bowl, mix golden syrup, water picture, vanilla and old, then add flour. Mix gently. Knead the dough for a minute and set aside for 40 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 F
3. On a floured surface, roll the dough into a cylinder (1 inches in diameter) and cut into 12 equal pieces.
4. Roll each piece into a ball and flatten with your hand to make a small circle, not too thin.
5. Place a large rounded spoonful of the red bean pasties the center of each dough circle, wrap it, in the seams, then gently roll it into a ball shape.
6. Place each ball in the mooncake mold and press. Transfer the mooncakes to a baking sheet.
7. Bake the mooncakes for 7 minutes, remove from the oven and brush on the egg wash with a baking brush.
8. Place the baking sheet back int he oven and bake for another 5 minutes, until golden brown. Let sit for 10 minutes, the remove from baking sheets.
9. Serve when cool.
*See all the Mooncake Activites I have available HERE!
And don't forget to share a photo of A Big Mooncake for Little Star on twitter* or instagram* with the #BigMooncake4LittleStar and to win one of these scarves!