Raymond Tan of Raya Bakery fame shares how to make Cantonese Mooncakes.
Cantonese Mooncakes are the culinary star of Mdi-Autumn Festival, which is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese lunisolar calendar.
The festival generally falls between mid-September and early October.
About Raymond Tan:
Raymond Tan is a self-taught baker based in Melbourne. He is known for making desserts that mix nostalgia, creativity and a love for Southeast Asian flavours.
Born in Selangor, Malaysia, Raymond moved to Australia in 2006 where he discovered his love for baking. It’s a hobby that quickly turned into an obsession. In 2019 he opened Raya Bakery, followed by Dua in 2025.
Raymond released his first cookbook, You’re Welcome!, earlier this year.
Cantonese Mooncakes
WHAT YOU NEED
- 8 salted duck eggs, cooked or raw
- Shaoxing wine (optional) for brushing
- 1 batch of Lotus Seed Paste
- Oil spray for greasing
- 1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 teaspoon water, for egg wash
For the Mooncake dough
- 80g (1/3 cup) golden syrup
- 35g (1 ¾ tablespoons) peanut oil
- 5g (1 teaspoon) alkaline water or lye water
- 170g (60oz) cake flour
WHAT TO DO
Make the dough
Add the golden syrup, peanut oil and alkaline water to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until combined, then add the cake flour and continue mixing until a soft dough forms – about 1-2 minutes.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Prepare the salted egg yolks
*skip this step if you’re using cooked yolks* Preheat the oven to 160°C and line a baking tray with the baking paper. Crack each egg, remove and discard the white and reserve the cured egg yolk. Place all the yolks on the baking tray. Gently brush or spray each one with Shaoxing wine. Bake in the oven until the bottoms of the egg yolks start bubbling, about 8 minutes. Remove and cool to room temperature.
Assemble and bake the mooncakes
Preheat the oven to 170°C and line two baking trays with baking paper. Cut the egg yolks in half lengthwise, then place one half on a set of scales. Add the Lotus Seed Paste until the combined weight of the yolk and paste reaches 30g. With your hands, roll the paste into a ball, flatten it to form a disc, then place the halved yolk in the middle. Bring the sides of the paste together to completely encase the yolk, pinching it to seal. Repeat with remaining egg yolk halves.
Divide the dough into 20g portions. Take one portion and cover the rest with plastic wrap while you work to prevent them from drying out. Roll out the dough until 3mm thick. Place a bean paste and egg yolk parcel in the middle of the rolled dough and bring the sides of the dough together to completely encase the parcel, pinching it to seal.
Thoroughly grease a mooncake mould with cooking spray. Place a dough ball in the mould, then place the mould on a lightly oiled bench and press the handle to make the pattern on the surface. Lift up the mould, then push the handle to press and release the mooncake onto the oiled bench. Cover with plastic wrap and repeat with remaining filled dough balls.
Place the mooncakes on lined baking trays. Bake for 7 minutes, then remove the trays from the oven and brush the top of each mooncake with eggwash. Return the mooncakes to the oven and bake until golden on top and brown on the bottom, about 10-12 minutes.
Cool to room temperature on trays, then transfer the mooncakes to an airtight container to age. The mooncakes are ready to eat once they’re soft to the touch and the skin looks glossy, about 1-2 days. They’ll keep at room temperature for 2 weeks.
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