While most of us are used to eating the traditional baked lotus paste mooncakes during the annual Mid-Autumn Festival, there are actually several more renditions available – some of which we bet you have never even heard of before.
They come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, colours and flavours and each originate from a different Chinese community.
Know your mooncakes and the many different types you can find. Here are 8 Types of Mooncakes for Mid-Autumn Festival.
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#1 CANTONESE MOONCAKES
Out of all the different types of mooncakes, the traditional Cantonese mooncake is definitely the most commonly found version in Singapore. The classic treat is primarily a lotus paste baked round-shape brown mooncake encased in a brown doughy skin and filled with either one or two salted duck egg yolks.
#2 FILIPINO HOPIA
The word ‘Hopia’ means good cakes and these delicacies can be found in Philippines and Indonesia all year round. Hopias are characterised by its flaky skin and stuffed with mung bean paste. The Hopia mooncakes are relatively flat when compared to the Cantonese mooncakes.
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#3 HOKKIEN MOONCAKE
Back in the days, Hokkien mooncakes were actually known as scholar cakes and they were given to those undertaking the Imperial Examination. These white pastry mooncakes – filled with melon seeds, tangerine peel and winter melon – are covered in sesame seeds. There are also the less common savoury options that are stuffed with minced meat instead.
#4 ICE CREAM MOONCAKE
Ice cream mooncakes were an impossible treat in the past due to the absence of freezers – but we are welcoming this modern sweet treat with open arms. Ice cream mooncakes are literally mooncakes made of delicious ice-cream! Available in an assortment of flavours, this is an ultimate crowd-pleaser that would win the hearts of both old and young.
#5 SNOWSKIN MOONCAKE
Originating from Hong Kong, snowskin mooncakes are inherently different from traditional lotus baked mooncakes because the former is non-baked. Also known as crystal mooncakes, the skin – made from roasted glutinous rice flour – is delicate and bears an uncanny resemblance to a soft, chewy mochi. It is stuffed with either red bean paste or sweet lotus paste.
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#6 SHANGHAINESE MOONCAKE
Shanghainese Mooncakes are baked using short crust pastry and the end result is a buttery, crumbly skin wrapping a rich lotus paste and a full orangey salted duck egg yolk. From afar, these Shanghainese mooncakes look like large scones and are at times sprinkled with sesame seeds.
#7 SUZHOU MOONCAKE
Unlike the other sweet mooncakes, Suzhou Mooncakes are savoury and stuffed with minced pork meat. The tasty and flaky pastry is made from sinful pork lard oil, but some bakeries do substitute it with butter instead. The end product is usually stamped with an edible red ink.
#8 TEOCHEW MOONCAKE
The Teochew mooncake is usually filled with yam paste. However, a myriad of other flavours, namely red bean and mung bean paste are available too. A spiral-like flaky crust wraps around the sweet filling and the paste itself usually hides a scrumptious salted egg duck yolk. Yummy!
About the writer:
Hui Jun Ng is a staff writer for ladyironchef. She previously worked in the food and marketing industry. She loves traveling and enjoys exploring underrated destinations. In her free time, you will find her indulging in coffee and her all time favourite local dish – bak chor
This is great! Was looking for something to explain the different sort of mooncakes for the mid-autumn festival. Would you mind amending the pictures for the last two mooncakes? There isn’t a picture for “teochew mooncakes” and the picture for “suzhou mooncakes” shows something else.