Friday 9 September 2011

Mooncakes

some people may not know about these delicious little cakes....so did a quick check of wikipedia to add it here for your interest!

Mooncake is a Chinese bakery product traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival / Zhongqiu Festival. 

The festival is for lunar worship and moon watching; mooncakes are regarded as an indispensable delicacy on this occasion. Mooncakes are offered between friends or on family gatherings while celebrating the festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the four most important Chinese festivals.
 
Typical mooncakes are round or rectangular pastries, measuring about 10 cm in diameter and 4–5 cm thick. A thick filling usually made from lotus seed paste is surrounded by a relatively thin (2–3 mm) crust and may contain yolks from salted duck eggs

 Mooncakes are usually eaten in small wedges accompanied by Chinese tea. Today, it is customary for businessmen and families to present them to their clients or relatives as presents, helping to fuel a demand for high-end mooncake styles. Mooncake energy content can vary with the filling and size; the average moon cake carries 800 to 1200 kcal, mainly from fats and sugar!!
 
The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival or Zhongqiu Festival is a popular harvest festival celebrated by Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese people, dating back over 3,000 years to moon worship in China's Shang Dynasty. It was first called Zhongqiu Jie (literally "Mid-Autumn Festival") in the Zhou Dynasty. In Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines, it is also sometimes referred to as the Lantern Festival or Mooncake Festival.

 Click HERE for more information on the Mid Autumn Festival in Singapore.




1 comment:

Lou said...

Right. I'm on the hunt for mooncake molds now. So pretty. I've been reading up on snowskin mooncakes and this is what I think I'll tackle...