Are these Caramel Almond Mooncakes traditional? Definitely not. They are a little sweeter, decadent, and unlike a normal Cantonese baked mooncake, I highly recommend you eat them warm. But what really is a mooncake? In the most simplified form it’s a Chinese pastry with a sweet or savory filling blanketed with a “crust" of some sort. Every Mid-Autumn festival I’m inspired but all mooncake tins filled with new flavors and beautiful designs, then I head back into my kitchen and see what I can whip up this year. To be honest, I didn’t grow up making mooncakes. It was more of a tradition to buy mooncakes, cut them into little wedges and share them amongst family. But now, creating new mooncake concepts and teaching others how to make these artful pastries is my favorite Mid-Autumn tradition.

If you’ve ever made my Honey Pistachio Mooncakes or Salted Peanut Mooncakes, then you’ve probably noticed a them here. Nuts! Nuts are in fact a very traditional filling for mooncakes because they make for a very sturdy filling. The success of a mooncake really does come down to a foundation of a good filling. If the filling is too loose then mooncakes tend to “sploot” or look a little droopy after baking in the oven. Here, toasted almonds are blitzed in the food processor (or you can finely chop them up by hand) and then mixed with a salty caramel sauce. I encourage you to make your own caramel sauce because then you’ll realize how simple it is! The combination creates a filling that is easy to work with and assemble beautifully stamped mooncakes. 99% of the time I recommend that you wait to eat your mooncakes for 1 day so that the crust has a chance to soften and absorb the moisture from the fat in the filling. The design also gets more defined as the mooncakes “age”. But with these they are in fact best while still warm so the caramel is pull apart gooey! If you’re saving your mooncakes for a later, just pop them in the microwave for 20 seconds and they will be perfect.

Caramel Almond Mooncakes

makes 12 75g mooncakes

filling:

1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar 

3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter

1/4 cup (65g) heavy cream, at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

200g (1 1/2 cup) roasted unsalted almonds

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp coconut oil or unsalted butter

dough:

300g (2 1/2 cups) all purpose flour
110g (1/2 cup) canola oil

160g (1/2 cup) golden syrup (like Lyle’s Golden Cane Syrup)

8g 1 tsp alkaline water

egg wash:

1 egg
2 teaspoons water

1. Make the caramel: In a medium saucepan (preferably stainless steel), melt the sugar over medium heat, stirring continuously with a flexible spatula, until it’s a light amber color, 7 to 9 minutes. The sugar will initially clump up, but continue to stir and it will eventually melt down. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the butter, it will initially bubble up a little. Stir until the butter is fully incorporated. Add the heavy cream, this will also bubble up a little when you add it, and stir until fully combined. Turn off the heat and allow the soy caramel to cool for a few minutes. Transfer the caramel to a container and store in the fridge until ready to use, up to 2 weeks. The caramel will firm up as it chills, slightly warm up the caramel in the microwave for about 30 seconds before adding to the filling. Or if you’re making the mooncake filling immediately, add the slightly warm caramel to the almonds.

2. Make the filling: In the bowl of your food processor, add the almonds and pulse until crumbly. Add the caramel, cornstarch, and coconut oil. Pulse until well combined. Scoop 1 1/2 tablespoon portions of the filling (a cookie scoop works great here) and place on a parchment lined plate or quarter sheet pan. You should get 12 portions (for 75g mooncakes). Wet your hands slightly and then press each of the filling portions into a firm ball. Chill in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble the mooncakes.

3. Make the dough: In a large bowl, mix to combine flour, oil, syrup, and alkaline water until smooth with a flexible spatula. Cover the bowl with a plate or plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for 30 to 45 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

5. Assemble the mooncakes:  Divide the dough into 12 equal portions (for 75g mooncakes) and roll them into smooth balls. Working with one piece at a time, flatten the dough between your palms into a 3 1/2” round. Place a ball of almond filling in the middle and wrap the dough around the filling. Lightly dust your mooncake mold with flour and place the dough into the mold. Firmly press the mooncake mold against the counter and press down on the plunger. Release the pressure and carefully push the mooncake out of the mold. Place the mooncake on the lined baking sheet and repeat with remaining mooncakes, allowing at least 1 1/2” between the mooncakes.

6. Bake the mooncakes until the edges are just starting to turn golden brown, 10 minutes. Remove the mooncakes and allow the crust to set and cool while the oven is still running, 10 more minutes. In a small bowl, mix to combine egg and water. Lightly brush the tops and sides of the mooncakes with the egg wash. Bake the mooncakes again until overall golden brown, a final 10 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and allow the mooncakes to cool for a few minutes. Enjoy them still warm or transfer to an airtight container once they are fully cooled to store for 1 week. Warm up in the microwave for 30 seconds.