Chinese Mixed Nut Mooncakes are a traditional Cantonese-style mooncake filled with a combination of nuts, seeds, and dried fruits. The nutty filling is bound together with honey or maltose syrup, which gives it a chewy, sticky texture that contrasts beautifully with the tender, baked pastry skin.
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Mixed nut mooncake is an old-style mooncake that's been around for centuries -- nutty, chewy, and full of texture in every bite.
It's similar to Cantonese-style mooncakes, which are baked, but differs from Suzhou mooncakes and Teochew-style mooncakes which have a flaky exterior.
Why you'll love this recipe
Nutty & crunchy: packed with a variety of nuts and seeds for texture.
Unique flavor: it's a delicious treat enjoyed during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Customizable filling: you can adjust the mix of nuts, seeds, and dried fruit to your taste.
Special equipment you'll need
- 50g mooncake mold: you can find it Asian specialty stores or online; I recommend using plastic ones with a plunger for ease
Ingredients you'll need
Mooncake pastry dough
- golden syrup: helps create a soft and pliable dough, and helps mooncakes stay fresher longer
- peanut oil: or neutral oil
- lye water: keeps the crust tender and helps the mooncake brown
- all-purpose flour: regular plain flour
- egg wash: egg yolk + ½ teaspoon water: for golden color
Mixed nut filling
- walnuts, almonds: or other nuts of choice
- pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds
- dried fruits: candied winter melon, raisins, dried cranberries, dried apricot
- prosciutto: or Chinese cured ham for a little salty umami flavor
- honey: or maltose, golden syrup
- peanut oil: or neutral vegetable oil
- cooked glutinous rice flour (koh fun): to bind the filling
Feel free to mix up the filling ingredients according to your taste.
Where to find?
You can find these ingredients at Asian supermarkets.
How to make Chinese mixed nuts mooncake
Make the mooncake dough:
Mix golden syrup, peanut oil, and lye water.
Add flour and gently combine.
Cover and rest the dough in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.
Make the filling:
Roast nuts and seeds, bake prosciutto until crisp, then chop everything.
Mix with candied fruits and a blend of oils, honey, and brandy.
Add glutinous rice flour and water until the mixture holds together.
Shape into small balls using plastic wrap.
Assemble:
Divide mooncake dough into small balls, flatten each, and wrap around a filling ball.
Shape into ovals, dust lightly with flour.
Press into mooncake molds and release onto a baking tray.
Bake:
Spray with water and bake for 10 minutes.
Cool slightly, brush with thin egg wash twice, then bake again for 15 minutes until golden.
Cool completely and store in an airtight container.
Let sit for 2 days at room temp before serving to allow flavors to develop.
Expert tips
Use fresh nuts: rancid or stale nuts will affect the flavor.
Golden syrup is key: it gives the the pastry a beautiful amber color, and keeps the crust tender.
Don't skip the resting period: freshly baked mooncakes can be too firm; leaving the mooncakes to sit for a couple of days allows "回油" which helps the crust soften and makes all the difference.
Other Chinese mooncake recipes you may like
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Chinese Mixed Nut Mooncakes
Equipment
- 1x 50g mooncake mold
For accuracy and precision in baking recipes, use weight (metric) measurements when available.
Ingredients
Mooncake dough:
- 60 g golden syrup
- 25 g peanut oil
- 2 g (¼ tsp) lye water
- 100 g all-purpose flour
Egg wash:
- 1 egg yolk + ½ teaspoon water
Mixed nut filling:
- 40 g walnuts roasted, chopped
- 40 g almonds roasted, chopped
- 40 g pumpkin seeds
- 20 g white sesame seeds
- 20 g black sesame seeds
- 40 g candied winter melon chopped
- 30 g candied orange or dried cranberries chopped
- 30 g (4) thin slices prosciutto ham
- 20 ml peanut oil
- 4 ml sesame oil
- 40 ml honey
- 2 teaspoon brandy
- 60 g cooked glutinous rice flour koh fun
- 30 ml water adjust if needed
Instructions
Make the mooncake dough:
- In a glass bowl, mix together golden syrup, peanut oil and lye water.
- Add in all-purpose flour and gently mix until well combined, do not over mix.
- Cover the dough with cling wrap and let it rest for 1-2 hours or overnight, in the fridge.
Make the mixed nut filling:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF/177°C.
- Roast the walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, white sesame seeds, black sesame seeds and prosciutto ham on 2 different baking pans, lined with parchment paper.
- Roast the nuts and seeds for 8-10 minutes and let cool.
- Flip the ham over and to bake for 16-18 minutes or until dry and slightly crisp.
- Chop the nuts and ham coarsely.
- Add the walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, candied winter melon, candied orange, and prosciutto together in a glass bowl.
- Mix together peanut oil, sesame oil, honey and brandy in another glass bowl and whisk until emulsified.
- Combine the wet mixture into the nuts and seeds mixture and stir together.
- Sprinkle cooked glutinous rice flour (koh fun) into the nut mixture gradually in small batches. Mix well with your hands.
- Then add water little by little until the nut mixture holds together when squeezed in your palm.
- Measure out 35g of mixed nut filling in a bowl, and use a piece of plastic wrap to enclose and twist tightly into a firm ball.
- Repeat with the remainder.
Assemble:
- Divide the mooncake dough into 12 even portions, about 15g each. Form into balls.
- Use a rolling pin to flatten a piece of dough into a very thin sheet (covered in between plastic wrap).
- Place a ball of filling in the middle, and use the plastic wrap to enclose the filling inside.
- Roll it into an oval shape.
- Lightly dust the oval in a small dish with one teaspoon of flour. Brush off any excess flour.
- Insert into a 50g mooncake mold and push the pastry into the mold with one end of a rolling pin.
- Gently press the pastry with your thumbs to fill in the corners of the mold.
- Invert the mold on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Press the plunger 3-4 times firmly, and then release it out of the mold.
- Repeat with the remainder.
Bake:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF/177ºC.
- Lightly spray the mooncakes with water just before baking.
- Bake the cakes at 350ºF/177ºC for 10 minutes. Remove out of the oven and let cool for 15 minutes.
- Brush egg wash very thinly on the cakes, not on the indented area (to retain design).
- Wait for 2 minutes to allow them to dry before brushing another thin coat of egg wash again.
- After 15 minutes, return the mooncakes back into the oven for 15 more minutes, until golden in color.
- Remove cakes out of the oven and let them cool completely on a rack.
- Store the mooncakes in an airtight container, lined with a parchment paper.
- Let the mooncakes sit for 2 days at room temperature for the "oil return" (回油) process before serving.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided should be considered as approximate and is not guaranteed. Please use your best judgment to ensure food is safely prepared and/or a good fit for your diet.
Ben | Havocinthekitchen
These Mooncakes look terrific, and I love the nutty filling; the addition of prosciutto is such a fun element.
Michelle
Thanks Ben -- it's a very unique mooncake flavor! 🙂
Heidi
These are so beautiful and I absolutely love the sweet and savory flavor profile. I also love how versatile these can be. They're perfect for a fancy weekend snack and a must-have for the upcoming holidays!
Michelle
Thank you Heidi! Definitely a must during Mid-Autumn festival! 🙂
David @ Spiced
I'm not familiar with this recipe, but it's a good one! I love that you can customize the nut filling. In many ways, this reminds me of baklava...and I love baklava!!
Healthy World Cuisine
Way better than any store bought mooncake. Love the Cantonese style nut filled ones. I always like to share them- cut them in half- because they are so rich and delicious.