Brown Sugar Coconut Cranberry Mooncake
😏 For this recipe, the dough quantity is slightly more than the coconut cranberry filling, so adjust accordingly. I used a 75g mold: 30g dough and 45g filling. This yields approximately 14 dough portions and 12-13 filling portions. I didn't use the traditional Cantonese mooncake skin-to-filling ratio of 2:8 because this coconut cranberry filling has sugar and butter, and too much filling with thin skin can be overwhelming. Many friends have commented that the brown sugar mooncake skin tastes great. Adjust the skin-to-filling ratio based on your preference. The coconut to cranberry ratio is slightly tart. If you prefer a stronger coconut flavor, add 50g more coconut and reduce cranberries by 25g. Adjust to your taste—after all, the best flavor is the one you love most. Egg wash is essential for a glossy finish! Don't skip it just because the dough is dark; otherwise, they'll come out dull. 😂 ➡ The recipe already has minimal sugar; avoid reducing it further. Sugar is the best preservative. With less sugar, the shelf life will be too short. At this ratio, they can last 3-5 days. 💱 Additional tips are in the last steps, addressing common questions. Be sure to read them to improve your success rate before you begin.
Ingredients
Steps
Mix brown sugar inverted syrup, oil, and lye water until well combined, ensuring no obvious separation.
After mixing, add all-purpose flour and whole milk powder, knead until smooth. Cover with cling film and rest at room temperature while preparing the next step (resting time matches the preparation time for the coconut cranberry filling). PS: Do not refrigerate during rest; the dough will harden, making it difficult to wrap.
Mix whole milk, butter, and sugar. Heat with a double boiler until the butter melts. PS: Dried cranberries can be replaced with blueberries, raisins, etc. You can also try crushed Oreo cookies 🌼😏
Cook glutinous rice flour by steaming; it will clump after steaming, so sieve before use. Fried glutinous rice flour may yellow and look unappealing. Be careful to avoid burning. 😳 PS: To steam, place glutinous rice flour in a stainless steel bowl over a steamer, boil water, and steam for 10 minutes. Let cool and sieve before use.
Mix butter, milk, and sugar in a double boiler until melted. Immediately add desiccated coconut and stir until combined. Cool before use. PS: Different brands of desiccated coconut vary in moistness. I've found Kasi brand to be drier, but I haven't tried others (I use a large 10kg pack re-portioned at home, so I forgot the brand 😂).
Pour beaten egg into the cooled coconut butter mixture and stir until combined. Do not add eggs to a hot mixture as it may cook the eggs.
Sift in cooked glutinous rice flour and mix thoroughly.
Add chopped dried cranberries and mix well. You can substitute with an equal amount of other dried fruits like blueberries.
The filling should form a slightly wet dough. If it feels difficult to wrap, refrigerate briefly. PS: If you make too much filling, vacuum seal and freeze; thaw at room temperature before use.
Divide the dough and filling into equal portions.
Wrap the filling with dough. Ensure the dough surrounds the filling evenly to prevent uneven heating. I'll skip detailing mooncake wrapping steps here. Preheat the oven to 200°C (Chamber 52L).
Select your favorite 75g mold. Compress the dough into the mold to emboss a pattern. If sticking occurs, dust the dough lightly with corn starch. Avoid using too much, as it will turn white and look bad after baking. Spray water on formed mooncakes before baking. (If you forget to spray water, don’t do it mid-bake or the patterns may blur.)
First bake at 200°C for 5-10 minutes. Adjust time depending on the mooncake surface setting. Once set, cool slightly before brushing on egg wash. Return to the oven without hot air at 200°C for another 5-10 minutes, adjusting based on the desired sheen. Since brown sugar mooncakes don't color easily, beginners should monitor closely.
Remove from oven, let cool, and store in sealed bags for oil recovery. With this recipe, sealing takes about a day (photo courtesy of a friend, as I forgot to snap my own 😂).
I use vacuum-sealed bags and a sealing machine. This image shows the cakes after one day of oil recovery.
This image shows the cakes after two days of oil recovery—glossy and soft.
Break one open and it's ready to eat! 🤗
2017-09-27 Some friends ask why mooncakes may crack during baking. The issue lies in excess water in the filling, which turns to steam during baking and causes the cake to burst. Since butter, coconut, cranberries, and glutinous rice flour vary in moisture absorption and content, there's no universal solution. Here's what I used: 1. The glutinous rice flour labeled 'Jiangmi Powder' bought from a supermarket. 2. The dried cranberries shown above were too moist, so I spread them to dry on the balcony for a day. 3. President Butter Rolls 4. Desiccated Coconut was bought in bulk and I repackaged it, so I forgot the brand. It seems close to Shukeman’s quality. 5. For dough, I used Zhongyu Snowflake Flour, 5kg steam-type packaging.