Universal pastry recipe for Cantonese mooncakes, filling can be paired as you like, you'll know how to make it at a glance!

Prepare all the materials.

Add lye water to the transformed syrup and gently mix.

Then add peanut oil and mix evenly with a manual whisk until emulsified.

Sift all the flour onto the kneading mat, then pile the flour into a small mound and hollow out the center. (You can reserve a little flour to adjust the dough's hardness)

Pour in the prepared liquid, use a scraper to sprinkle in the flour bit by bit, then repeatedly fold and press to combine, until it gradually comes together into a dough.

Seal the dough and refrigerate it for at least 2 hours, ideally 4 hours.

Divide the prepared dough into small pieces, each weighing 25g. Open and knead the filling, then divide it into portions of 50g each. (The ratio of mooncake skin to filling can be 2:8 or 3:7, depending on personal preference.)

Take out a piece of dough, roll it into a ball, press it flat with a scraper, pick it up and gently press it evenly, then wrap the filling, gradually gathering and pushing it upwards. Your hands must be gentle, do not let the filling show, and try to make the dough evenly thick. (Be sure to wear PVC gloves!)

Press the mooncake mold onto the ball quickly and forcefully twice to imprint the mooncake pattern, then immediately lift the mold, and it's done.

You can lightly spray a little water on the surface of the mooncake, then put it into a preheated oven with the upper heat at 210°C and the lower heat at 190°C (preheated ideally for 15-20 minutes) to bake for 8 minutes to set its shape. (Oven temperatures are not absolute and need to be adjusted according to your own oven; this time we used the Petrus 6080)

After the first baking, the pattern on the mooncake is set. Once it has cooled to room temperature and is no longer hot to the touch, use a wool brush to dip a small amount of egg yolk mixture and quickly brush a layer of egg yolk water on the surface. Do not brush the sides, and make sure the egg yolk water does not run onto the sides, trying to cover only the surface with one layer.

After everything is done, put it into a preheated oven at 180 degrees for about 12 minutes. (Adjust this time according to your own oven)