Making lotus seed paste and salted egg yolk mooncakes is actually quite simple and can add a lot of DIY fun. Nowadays, mooncakes made with salted duck egg yolks are even more fragrant. First, process the egg yolks, use a small amount of white wine to remove the fishy smell, then bake them in an air fryer for about 10 minutes, and then let them cool naturally in the air.
One of the key steps in making homemade mooncakes is preparing the dough. I have a bottle of special mooncake syrup and a small bottle of alkaline water at hand. Mix the two in a large bowl, stir well until emulsified, then slowly mix in 200 grams of all-purpose flour to form a smooth dough, cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit for a while. This time, homemade lotus seed paste is used as the filling, paired with the prepared egg yolks, rolled into small balls, each about 5 millimeters in diameter.
Next, divide the dough into small pieces weighing 15 grams each, and roll them into rounds one by one. Take a piece of dough, press it flat, carefully wrap the lotus seed paste and egg yolk ball, gently close it using a pinch technique to ensure the mooncake is round and the skin does not crack.
After all the mooncakes are assembled, lightly spray the surface with oil, use various molds to shape them, gently release them from the molds, and the preliminary shape of the mooncakes is revealed. Then, spray a thin mist of water on the surface of the mooncakes to prevent them from drying out and cracking during baking.
Place the shaped mooncakes in a preheated air fryer at 140 degrees Celsius, bake for 5 minutes to set the shape. Remove, coat with a thin layer of egg wash, and bake again for about 10 minutes until the mooncakes have an appealing golden color on the surface.
Once baked, let the mooncakes cool completely before packaging. If there is a clip sealing machine at home, it’s even better, otherwise a regular sealing machine will suffice. I made a total of 28 mooncakes this time, each weighing 50 grams, with the following proportions: 148 grams of syrup, 3 grams of alkaline water, 60 grams of corn oil, ensuring the mooncakes are fragrant and crispy.
