Snow skin mooncake with custard filling (冰皮月饼) (2024)

According to the Chinese lunar calendar, Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhōng Qiū Jié/中秋节) is on the 15th day of the 8th month of the year which is a full moon day (It falls on Saturday, the 10th of September in 2022). Apart from the tradition of moon gazing, eating mooncakes is an absolute must for Chinese around the world.

As its name suggests, mooncake (Yuè Bǐng, 月饼) is a cake that resembles the shape of the moon. Comprising a crust and a filling, they are made with different tastes and appearances using various methods across China.

Every year, I make two types to celebrate this special occasion. One is the traditional Cantonese mooncakes with salted egg yolk. The other is the modern snow skin mooncakes which are much simpler to make.

What is snow skin mooncake

Known as Bīng Pí Yuè Bǐng/冰皮 in Chinese, snow skin mooncake is believed to have originated in Hong Kong (although some argue that it’s from Singapore). It has become increasingly popular in Chinese bakeries, as well as in family kitchens, thanks to its diverse appearance and simple cooking procedure.

The original version of snow skin mooncake has a white, chewy, mochi-like outer layer and is served cold. That’s how it got the name “snow skin”. Nowadays, you can find colorful ones which are even more attractive.

They can be stuffed with regular mooncake fillings, such as red bean paste, lotus paste, black sesame paste, etc. The custard filling that I’m introducing today is the most popular type I’d say.

Key features

Compared to traditional mooncakes, here are a few features of snow skin mooncakes:

• No baking is involved
• They’re less tricky to make thus novice-friendly
• They can be easily colored with natural ingredients
• You can improvise with the filling, e.g. try ice cream!

Recipe summary

Before I discuss more detailed instructions and tips, here is a summary of how to make snow skin mooncake with custard filling:

1. Heat all the ingredients for the filling in a pan until they turn into a paste. Refrigerate to firm up.
2. Mix all the ingredients for the skin into a batter. Steam (or microwave) to harden. Then knead briefly into a dough.
3. Divide the dough and the filling into equal pieces. Wrap the filling with the dough to form a ball. Use a mooncake mold to shape. Then you’re ready to serve!

Equipment required

Apart from regular kitchen tools like pans, bowls, plates, spatula, etc, you’ll need the following:

Mooncake molds

I prefer the modern plastic mooncake molds which have springy handles. They’re easy and neat to use. Also, each mold comes with several plates with different patterns. The traditional wooden ones would work too if you already have one.

You can find mooncake molds in some Chinese stores, especially around Mid-Autumn Festival time. They’re also available on major online shopping platforms, such as Amazon, eBay, etc.

Kitchen gloves

The mooncake skin tends to stick to your hands. So a pair of food-grade gloves would help a lot.

Make the custard filling

Custard filling (奶黄馅) is very popular in Chinese sweet treats (think dim sum style Steamed Custard Buns). Its creamy, soft texture pairs perfectly with this type of mooncake skin.

Ingredients for the filling

Here are what you’ll need to make custard filling:

• Wheat starch, or cornstarch/tapioca starch
• Powdered sugar (aka icing sugar)
• Condensed milk (or milk powder)
• Unsalted butter, melted
• Eggs

Cooking steps

1. Mix all the ingredients above until they’re fully incorporated. Pour the mixture into a saucepan.
2. Cook it over low heat. The mixture will start solidifying at the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring and folding with a flexible spatula to avoid burning.
3. Once it turns into a solid mass, transfer it to a bowl. Put cling film tightly over the cooked filling. Once completely cool, refrigerate it for 2 hours to firm up further.

🛎 Pro tips:

• Remember to keep the heat very low. Do not boil. Otherwise, the filling will become lumpy.
• Do not overcook. The filling should hold in shape but not too dry (It’ll become harder once chilled). For the desired consistency, please refer to the video in the recipe card below.

Other filling options

Many common sweet fillings for Chinese treats can go into snow skin mooncakes. I’ve written a post on how to make red bean paste. Also, you can find instructions on homemade lotus seed paste in my recipe for Cantonese Mooncake with Salted Egg Yolk, and black sesame paste (黑芝麻馅) commonly used in Glutinous Rice Balls.

Prepare the skin

The outer part of snow skin mooncakes has a chewy, sticky and springy mouthfeel which I find very pleasant. It’s similar to the texture of mochi but a bit firmer, as it needs to be pressed to a particular shape and pattern.

Ingredients for the skin

You’ll need the following to make the dough:

• Glutinous rice flour (糯米粉)
• Regular rice flour (粘米粉)
• Wheat starch (澄粉), or cornstarch/tapioca starch
• Powdered sugar (aka icing sugar )
• Milk (full-fat or semi-skimmed)
• Condensed milk
• Neutral cooking oil (e.g. canola, vegetable, rapeseed, sunflower, etc.)

A trip to a Chinese store would be necessary to purchase glutinous rice flour, regular rice flour and wheat starch. Condensed milk adds a rich flavor to the skin and it’s widely available in mainstream supermarkets.

🛎 Pro tips:

• Don’t omit regular rice flour: Some recipes suggest that you use only glutinous rice flour. I don’t suggest you skip regular rice flour. As I explained in my post on Sichuan Leaf-wrapped Rice Cakes, it helps the dough to stay in shape and to avoid it being overly sticky.
• For a gluten-free diet: use cornstarch or tapioca starch instead of wheat starch which usually contains a very small amount of gluten (Unless your wheat starch is clearly labeled as gluten-free). They produce almost an identical result.

Cooking steps

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk all the ingredients for the skin until well combined. Pour the mixture into a deep plate.

2. To cook it, you have two options. Both work well. After cooking, the batter should turn completely solid (The time required may vary a little depending on your device. Adjust if necessary).

• OPTION 1: Microwave – Cover with a plate to avoid splashing. Cook on high power for 4 minutes.
• OPTION 2: Steam – Cover with a plate to avoid dripping water. Steam over medium-high heat for 20 mins.

3. With a flexible spatula, scrape the hardened dough off the plate. Transfer it to another plate to cool quickly.

4. Once no longer hot to touch, combine and knead it with gloved hands until it becomes smooth and elastic.

🛎 Pro tips:

• Knead the dough very well. This helps to reduce stickiness.
• Cover the kneaded dough tightly with cling film. To make assembly easier, chill it in the fridge for 1 hour.
• If you double the quantity of the recipe, microwave the mixture in two batches. If steaming, increase the time to 30 minutes.

Shape the mooncakes

Before assembly, make sure the dough and the filling have been chilled so they are reasonably firm to touch. This way, they are much easier to handle.

To prevent the mooncakes from sticking to the mold, you also need a little dusting flour. You can make it by toasting some glutinous rice flour over low heat for about 4 minutes. Leave to cool for later use.

To assemble the mooncakes, follow these steps:

1. Divide the dough and filling into equal pieces (a kitchen scale helps). Roll each into a ball.

2. Flatten a piece of dough into a disc. Place a piece of filling in the middle.

3. Gently push the wrapper upwards to tightly cover the entire filling. Seal well on the top.

4. Roll the assembled ball in the toasted glutinous rice flour to gain a thin coating.

5. Put it into a mooncake mold. Place the mold on a flat, lightly dusted surface. Press the springy handle to shape the mooncake.

6. Lift the mold up. Press the handle again to push the mooncake onto the surface.

🛎 Pro tips:

• Remember to wear gloves to avoid sticking.
• If your mooncakes don’t come off the mold easily, lightly dust the mold beforehand.
• If using a traditional mold, dust it well then put the ball in. Press to flatten. Tilt the mold while tapping it gently until the mooncake falls off.

Make them colorful

When possible, I like coloring my food with natural ingredients (I did so in my recipe for Colorful Dumplings, Mango Pancakes, and Glutinous Rice Balls). If you wish to make your mooncakes colorful, follow these tips:

• Natural ingredients work well, such as matcha powder or spinach powder for green; purple sweet potato powder for purple; beetroot juice for pink, etc.
• Simply sprinkle the powder or juice over the cooked dough, then knead well to distribute the color until it becomes even.
• Add the coloring powder/juice little by little until the desired color shade appears.
• You can also mix two or three different pieces of dough to create a marble effect.

Serve & store

Right after assembling, your mooncakes are ready to be served! Enjoy them as an afternoon snack or a dinner treat.

If you plan to eat them later, here is how you store them:

• In the fridge: Place them in air-tight containers and consume within 72 hours. Make sure you add a layer of parchment paper between each layer if you have to stack them up.
• In the freezer: Freeze them as soon as they’re assembled in air-tight containers/plastic bags for up to 1 month. Leave to thaw in the fridge.

How to rescue hardened mooncakes?

The outer layer of snow skin mooncakes tends to harden over time. If they’re made just a day ago, simply bring them back to room temperature.

If they’ve been stored for longer, use one of the following methods to soften them up:

• Microwave method: Wet them with a very thin layer of water then put in a microwave-safe plate/bowl. Cover with cling film or a plate. Microwave on high power for 15 seconds. Check the softness and cook 10 more seconds at a time until they have your preferred softness. You may need to flip the mooncakes once if you find one side stays hard.
• Steamer method: Steam the mooncakes for 2 minutes. Check the softness. Cook a little longer if needed. They’ll become quite sticky on the surface right after steaming. Leave to cool for a while then serve.

Recipe FAQs

Other festive treats

Fancy more Chinese sweet treats? Check these recipes:

📋 Recipe

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