A full moon will appear this Saturday October 3rd. The moon will shine its brightest this season bringing about joys of family gatherings. The celebration of the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival is accompanied by lots and lots of food and of course the giving, receiving and eating of Moon Cakes. The most common of its forms is of lotus bean paste wrapped in a thin layer of baked pastry in round shapes embossed with ancient Chinese emblems such as dragons, calligraphy and even rabbits.
emblem of a dragon
I cut myself a sliver of this rich sweet and think about how this simple dessert has evolved over the centuries. The varieties of moon cake are endless and I won’t even try to begin to describe them all. The most traditional is the lotus bean paste pastry sometimes with the yolk of a salty duck egg in the center. It may sound odd but the contrast of the sweet and salty flavours are quite pleasant to the palette.
Can't help myself to have a slice
If you walk into a Chinese or Vietnamese bakery or supermarket you’ll be sure to find a flavour that suits you. I personally love the simplicity of the traditional flavour. Try this one and then use it as a spring board to try all the others. Often you’ll be able to buy them individually at the bakeries but the tins of four you buy them in are just so lovely.
moon cakes are usually sold in boxes of 4
Happy Moon Festival!
Would love to be added to the list too!
We won’t see any moon in this weather… more time to enjoy the cake!
I tried the moon cake with red bean stuffing last weekend and it was amazing! the lotus flavour wasn’t as great but red bean was.