A snowskin mooncake recipe made for first-timers! This no-bake dessert recipe features a soft, chewy, QQ outer layer made with a rice flour mixture (similar to mochi), with a smooth mung bean paste filling and optional salted duck yolk for an extra layer of flavor.
I used my chef and dietitian training to test this recipe extensively to find the best methods for a delicious result. You can follow the detailed step-by-step photos or skip straight to the printable recipe!
Mooncakes are traditionally gifted to loved ones during the Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節).
The snow skin type (called bīng pí yuèbǐng, 冰皮月餅 in Mandarin), like this one has become popular in recent years because they're a lot easier to make at home.
✨ why you'll love this recipe
- It's a lot easier to make than traditional mooncakes from Hong Kong or the flakey Taiwanese ones
- It's no-bake!
- I put my dietitian hat on and used cooking methods and filling ingredients with protein, but you can fill it with any type of filling you enjoy
- They look beautiful
- There are layers of flavors (subtle sweetness, nutty, and savory)
If you're into desserts made with sweet rice flour (mochiko), I think you'll also love these mochi muffins.
In case you're curious about the significance of mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is during a full moon on the 8th month of each year (according to the Lunar Calendar) – It's no coincidence that mooncakes from various Asian cultures are typically round, like a full moon.
In Taiwan, the circular shape also symbolizes togetherness with family.
📋 key ingredients
The filling ingredients are shown at the top, all with labels with a dark blue outline, while the wrapper (snow skin) ingredient labels have a pastel green outline.
filling
- dried peeled mung beans - can be found at Taiwanese and Chinese grocery stores (such as 99 Ranch), or online at Weee! (affiliate link)
- salted duck egg yolks (frozen) - can be found at Taiwanese and Chinese grocery stores (such as 99 Ranch), or online at Weee!
- other pantry ingredients - granulated cane sugar, salt, canola oil, and water
wrapper
- sweet rice flour (mochiko) - also called glutinous rice flour (even though it doesn't contain gluten!). You can find it at your local Japanese, Taiwanese, Korean, and Chinese grocery stores, or online (paid affiliate link).
- regular rice flour - this is different than sweet rice flour and is needed so the mochi-like skin isn't too sticky. You can also find this at your local Taiwanese and Chinese grocery stores (such as 99 Ranch), or online (paid affiliate link).
- corn starch - other recipes use wheat starch, but corn starch works equally well and is a more common pantry item in the US
- whole milk
- other pantry ingredients - granulated cane sugar, sweetened condensed milk (you only need a little), and canola oil
- optional ingredients for fun colors - matcha powder (paid affiliate link) for green, grated beets, dragon fruit powder, or natural food dye for red/pink
See the recipe card for quantities.
📖 variations
Swap out the filling for your favorite. Some common ones include:
- custard
- red bean paste - you can use pre-made ones online (paid affiliate link) to save a step!
- lotus seed paste
🔪 instructions
I’m going to go through each step in detail below, including step-by-step photos of how to shape the mooncakes. In a hurry? You can jump straight to the printable recipe.
prepare the filling
important day before prep: make sure to soak 7 ounces of mung beans in water overnight, or for at least 6 hours.
Drain and rinse the soaked mung beans, then transfer to a small baking dish and add the water.
To steam, place a metal steam rack inside a 14-inch or larger wok. Add water to the wok until it’s just below the top of the steam rack. Then, place the baking dish with the mung beans and water on top of the steam rack.
Alternatively, the mung beans can be simmered in a small 1.5-quart saucepan, covered.
Cover the wok with a domed lid and turn the heat on high until the water boils, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Steam for 20 minutes and turn off the heat.
While the mung beans steam, toast 15 grams of sweet rice flour in a small skillet over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 2 minutes. Set aside for dusting the mooncakes.
The cooked mung beans should squoosh easily between your fingers when done.
Transfer the steamed mung beans to a medium (11-inch) non-stick skillet. Cook over medium heat to dry, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula, about 15 minutes.
The filling will slowly become smoother and paste-like.
At this point, turn the heat down to medium-low and continue to stir until the paste becomes dough-like and no longer sticks to your spatula, about 20 more minutes.
As you can see in the photo above, the paste is a lot smoother now.
Transfer to a rectangular baking dish, distribute evenly with a spatula, and score the filling into 12 square portions. Cover and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
pro tip
Scoring the filling here will allow it to cool a lot faster! However, you'll want to start shaping the filling while it's still warm to the touch.
prepare the wrapper dough
Prepare the snow skin wrapper dough while the filling cools.
In a microwave-safe medium mixing bowl, whisk the remaining 35 grams of sweet rice flour, rice flour, corn starch, and sugar until thoroughly combined.
Add the milk, condensed milk, and canola oil to the bowl of dry ingredients and whisk until the ingredients are well combined.
Cover the bowl with a microwave-safe plate and microwave for about 2 minutes or until the dough becomes mostly opaque and has a firm gel texture (keep in mind the time may vary by microwave).
Stir the dough with a spatula to allow for quicker cooling.
Once cooled to the touch, knead the dough until it is smooth. Using the palm of your hands, roll it out into a log shape.
To prevent the dough from drying out, make sure to cover it with plastic wrap if not used right away.
To portion for the smaller 'mini' mooncake molds (sold as '25-gram' ones):
Cut the dough into 12 portions. Weigh each portion on a kitchen scale. Each one should be 20 grams. Roll each piece into a ball, then set it aside, and cover with plastic wrap.
Once the filling is cooled to the touch, weigh each portion on a kitchen scale. Each one should be 15 grams. Roll each piece into a ball, then set aside, and cover.
wrapper to filling amounts based on mold sizes
25-gram mold size (traditional pattern example - affiliate link):
- with 1 yolk
- wrapper size (by weight): 20 grams
- filling size (by weight): 15 grams
in between 25-gram to 50-gram mold size (rabbit mold design example - affiliate link):
- with 1 yolk
- wrapper size (by weight): 20 grams
- filling size (by weight): 15 grams
25-gram mold size (traditional pattern example & rabbit mold design example - affiliate link):
- no yolk
- wrapper size (by weight): 25 grams
- filling size (by weight): 25 grams
50-gram mold size (dragon mold design - affiliate link):
- with 1 yolk
- wrapper size (by weight): 30 grams
- filling size (by weight): 20 grams
mooncake assembly
Start by flatting a portion of the mung bean paste filling with the palm of your hand. Place one salted duck egg yolk in the center and wrap the paste around the yolk.
Gently roll it in between your palms to form a ball. Repeat this step for 11 more portions.
Place a portion of the snow skin dough on a flat surface and flatten it with the palm of your hand. Roll the dough out into 3-inch diameter wrappers, with the edges slightly thinner than the center.
Place the filling in the center of the wrapper and gently fold the outer edges of the wrapper over the ball. Gently push the sides so the wrapper sticks to the filling without air pockets.
Then, pinch the ends of the wrapper together to seal. Roll the mooncake into a ball.
Lightly dust the ball with the toasted sweet rice flour.
Place it into a mooncake mold, with the smooth side facing the stamp plate.
Place the mold, opening face down, on a clean flat surface and gently press the spring-loaded handle down. Lift the mold while pushing the handle down to release the mooncake.
Keep it covered in a container.
If needed, clean the molds in between use with a toothpick.
fun color options
option 1: Sprinkle each piece of dough with matcha powder, fold the dough, knead, and repeat until the color is distributed evenly.
option 2: You can combine half white and half dyed wrapper dough to make a gradient.
Mix to your desired color and roll into a ball.
The photos above show examples of the different colors.
Don't worry if you don't have molds. You can shape mooncakes by hand (I show a cute rabbit shape above). They'll taste equally delicious!
Serve immediately with your favorite tea or share them with loved ones as a gift.
🍲 equipment
Note: Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means we do make a small profit from your purchases (your price is not affected by this commission). We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. If you click on an affiliate link, you consent to a cookie being placed on your browser for purposes of tracking commissions.
I found a few different modern mooncake press molds online. They vary in size, from 25-gram ones to 50-grams. The traditional and rabbit patterns will work every year, while I got the intricate dragon one for the year of the dragon.
- traditional pattern molds (25 grams size)
- modern rabbit pattern press (between 25 grams to 50 grams in size) – it holds just slightly more than the 25 gram one when including a salted duck yolk in the filling
- intricate dragon design press (50 grams, also holds less when including a salted duck yolk)
❄️ storage
Store the assembled mooncakes in a covered container in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. The wrapper should remain soft, but it'll lose its elasticity (that really satisfying QQ bite).
They don't stand up well to freezing, unfortunately.
💭 Cindy's top expert tip
Have fun making these, knowing they'll taste just as good even if the designs take practice. You can experiment with different fillings, larger molds, or omit the salted yolk based on personal preference.
🍵 more dessert recipes
Here are more Taiwanese and East Asian desserts to try.
👨🍳 COOKING WITH KIDS
What can kid chefs help with?
- help with rolling out the wrapper dough
- assembling the mooncakes
- shaping the mooncakes, either free-form or with the molds
Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below.
Happy cooking! ~ Cindy 周昀
Please give this recipe a star rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ if you make it. I would love to hear from you! If you have any questions at all, let me know in the comments below.
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snowskin mooncake
ingredients
for the filling
- 3 ounces skinless dried mung beans, soaked in water for 6 hours or overnight
- ⅔ cups water
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 35 grams sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, use half the amount if using sea salt
- 12 salted duck egg yolks, defrosted
for the skin/wrapper
- 50 grams sweet rice flour, divided (also called glutinous rice flour or mochiko)
- 35 grams rice flour
- 25 grams corn starch
- 30 grams sugar
- 135 grams whole milk
- 15 grams sweetened condensed milk
- 20 grams canola oil
- ½ teaspoon matcha powder, optional
*The Instacart button above is an affiliate link, which means we do make a small profit from your purchases (your price is not affected by this commission).
instructions
make the filling and toast sweet rice flour
- Drain and rinse the soaked mung beans, then transfer to a small baking dish and add the water.
- To steam, place a metal steam rack inside a 14-inch or larger wok. Add water to the wok until it’s just below the top of the steam rack. Then, place the baking dish with the mung beans and water on top of the steam rack. Alternatively, the mung beans can be simmered in a small 1.5-quart saucepan, covered
- Cover the wok with a domed lid and turn the heat on high until the water boils, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Steam for 20 minutes and turn off the heat.
- While the mung beans steam, toast 15 grams of sweet rice flour in a small skillet over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 2 minutes. Set aside for dusting the mooncakes.
- Transfer the steamed mung beans to a medium (11-inch) non-stick skillet. Cook over medium heat to dry, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula, about 15 minutes. The filling will slowly become smoother and paste-like. At this point, turn the heat down to medium-low and continue to stir until the paste becomes dough-like and no longer sticks to your spatula, about 20 more minutes. Transfer to a rectangular baking dish, distribute evenly with a spatula, and score the filling into 12 square portions. Cover and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- Prepare the snow skin wrapper dough while the filling cools.
- Once the filling is cooled to the touch, weigh each portion on a kitchen scale. Each one should be 15 grams. Roll each piece into a ball, then set aside, and cover.
make the snow skin dough
- In a microwave-safe medium mixing bowl, whisk the remaining 35 grams of sweet rice flour, rice flour, corn starch, and sugar until thoroughly combined.
- Add the milk, condensed milk, and canola oil to the bowl of dry ingredients and whisk until the ingredients are well combined.
- Cover the bowl with a microwave-safe plate and microwave for about 2 minutes or until the dough becomes mostly opaque and has a firm gel texture (keep in mind the time may vary by microwave). Stir the dough with a spatula to allow for quicker cooling.
- Once cooled to the touch, knead the dough until it is smooth. Using the palm of your hands, roll it out into a log shape, then cut it into 12 portions. Weigh each portion on a kitchen scale. Each one should be 20 grams. Roll each piece into a ball, then set it aside, and cover with plastic wrap.
adding color to the skin (optional)
- Sprinkle each piece of dough with matcha powder, fold the dough, knead, and repeat until the color is distributed evenly.
assemble the mooncakes
- Start by flatting a portion of the mung bean paste filling with the palm of your hand. Place one salted duck egg yolk in the center and wrap the paste around the yolk. Gently roll it in between your palms to form a ball. Repeat this step for 11 more portions.
- Place a portion of the snow skin dough on a flat surface and flatten it with the palm of your hand. Roll the dough out into 3-inch diameter wrappers, with the edges slightly thinner than the center.
- Place the filling in the center of the wrapper and gently fold the outer edges of the wrapper over the ball. Gently push the sides so the wrapper sticks to the filling without air pockets, then pinch the ends of the wrapper together to seal. Roll the mooncake into a ball.
- Lightly dust the ball with the toasted sweet rice flour and place it into a 25-gram (smaller-sized) mooncake mold, with the smooth side facing the stamp plate. Place the mold, opening face down, on a clean flat surface and gently press the spring-loaded handle down. Lift the mold while pushing the handle down to release the mooncake. Keep it covered in a container.
- Repeat steps 1-4 above for the remaining mooncakes. If needed, clean the molds in between use with a toothpick.
- Serve immediately with your favorite tea or share them with loved ones as a gift.
notes
🌡️ food safety
- Don't soak the mung beans longer than overnight at room temperature, otherwise, they may start to ferment
- Wash hands before handling ready-to-eat foods and ingredients, such as the wrapper dough and cooked filling ingredients
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
- See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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