Moon Cakes at Chinese Mid-Autumn Moon Festival
Harvest Moon Celebration Features Snowy Chinese Dessert Pastry
Sep 28, 2009
Moon cakes are small pastries filled with thick fillings and come in both traditional baked versions and modern frozen varieties called snowy moon cakes. Boxed moon cakes are given as gifts during the Chinese Moon Festival to share with friends and family.
The Moon Festival, also known as the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, occurs in the fall when the moon is at its fullest to mark the end of summer harvesting. It is a time when food is in abundance and also a period when people can rest from working in the fields.
Chinese Mid-Autumn Moon Festival Moon Cake Origin
The Mid-Autumn Festival has occurred for thousands of years to celebrate the harvest bounty and to spend time with friends and family. The event occurs on the fifteenth day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar. This date varies each year and equates to the end of September or early October in the western calendar.
Mid-Autumn Moon Festival dates for the coming give years include:
- October 3, 2009
- September 22, 2010
- September 12, 2011
- September 30, 2012
- September 19, 2013
While the Moon Festival itself goes back several thousands of years, the origin of moon cakes is considered more recent. Legend has it that moon cakes during the Yuan dynasty in the fourteenth century. During the celebration, rebels made moon cakes and hid messages inside each one on the plan of attack. The moon cakes were distributed and with the successful attack, the ruling dynasty was overthrown.
Traditional Moon Cakes with Lotus Seed or Mung Bean Fillings
Traditional moon cakes are small, usually 3 to 4 inches in width, consist of a thin pastry filled with a thick mixture of ground seeds or nuts. The pastry is either baked or a soft, non-baked chewy dough. To signify the harvest moon, the moon cakes also include a salted duck egg yolk in the center. The top of the pastry can be decorated with messages or characters representing the Moon Festival.
Moon cake fillings vary by location but popular flavors include lotus seed, mung bean, melon seed, or minced nuts. The moon cakes are individually wrapped and sold in boxes or tins. Since moon cakes are thick and rich, it is cut into small pieces and often accompanied by hot tea.
Moon cakes range in price and contain one or more egg yolks inside. Those moon cakes with more egg yolks are also more expensive and more highly prized. A moon cake with four egg yolks will allow each guest to have a whole egg yolk when it is cut into four pieces.
Snowy Moon Cakes, or Frozen Moon Cakes, with Ice Cream or Fruit Puree Fillings
Snowy moon cakes are a modern version of the popular classic. Snowy moon cakes use chewy non-baked dough in place of the pastry and the fillings are altered to include fruit purees, crunchy bits of candy, and even ice cream. While traditionalists may balk at the modern version, children love the frozen treats.
Snowy moon cake flavors and fillings are unlimited, ranging from lychee and durian ice cream to mung bean paste surrounding a mango puree center. In frozen moon cakes, salted duck egg is less common and is replaced with fruit fillings.
Chinese Mid-Autumn Moon Festival October 3, 2009
Chinese markets are filled with a wide selection of moon cakes in anticipation of the Moon Festival which will occur Saturday October 3, 2009. Boxes and tins are stacked high with some stores offering free samples to entice buyers. Both traditional moon cakes and snowy moon cakes are popular.
Leading up to the Moon Festival, people will stock up on moon cakes to share with family or to give as gifts to friends. Finding a favorite flavor can become difficult the longer one waits. As with any holiday, shoppers waiting until the last minute will likely be faced with a poor selection and in some cases, bare shelves.
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