These Teochew Mooncakes feature a flaky, spiral pastry filled with a sweet matcha mung bean filling that is often enjoyed during Mid-Autumn Festival.
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
Unlike Cantonese-style mooncakes, Teochew mooncakes are similar to Suzhou mooncakes, which feature a flaky, layered crust made with two types of dough (water dough and oil dough), wrapped around a sweet taro or mung bean filling.
They're crisp on the outside, tender inside, and can sometimes be filled with salted egg yolk for extra richness.
Why you'll love this recipe
Flaky layers: the combination of water dough and oil dough creates beautiful, delicate layers.
No need for mooncake mold: unlike Cantonese mooncakes which get their distinctive shape from a wooden or plastic mold, there's no mold required for these mooncakes.
Not too sweet: the matcha mung bean filling is earthy, creamy, and lightly sweetened.
It's a delicious alternative to baked Cantonese mooncakes or snow skin mooncakes.
Ingredients you'll need
Matcha mung bean filling:
- dried mung bean: soaked overnight
- granulated sugar: for sweetness
- coconut oil: or lard
- tapioca starch: thickens the filling
- matcha powder: choose a high-quality matcha powder for the best flavor
- salted egg yolks: optional; cut in half
- Shaoxing wine or brandy: for the salted egg
Water dough:
- all-purpose flour: regular plain flour
- icing sugar: or confectioners' sugar/powdered sugar
- matcha powder: or red yeast rice powder for red variation
- clarified butter (ghee): or unsalted European butter with 36% fat content
- cold water
Oil Dough:
- cake flour: or all-purpose flour + corn starch
- clarified butter: or pork lard
Where to find?
You can find these ingredients at Asian supermarkets.
How to make Teochew mooncakes
Make the matcha mung bean filling:
Steam mung beans for 30 min until soft.
Blend mung beans, sugar, coconut oil, and tapioca starch until smooth.
Cook in a pot until dry, stir constantly, then mix in matcha. Cool completely.
(Optional) Cut salted egg yolks in half, splash with Shaoxing wine/brandy, microwave 15-20 seconds until about 80% cooked. Cool.
Divide mung bean paste into 6 balls (43-45 g).
Flatten, place yolk inside, seal and roll smooth. Chill.
Make the water dough:
Mix flour, icing sugar, matcha (or red yeast rice), and clarified butter.
Add water, knead until smooth, elastic.
Divide into 3 balls (38 g each). Rest 20-30 min.
Make the oil dough:
Mix cake flour and clarified butter until it forms a ball.
Divide into 3 balls (24 g each).
Assemble:
Flatten a water dough ball, wrap an oil dough ball inside. Rest 15 min.
Roll into an oval, then roll up Swiss-roll style. Rest 15 min.
Roll into rectangle, Swiss roll again into a short log.
Cut in half, flatten cut side down, flip cut side up.
Place filling in center, wrap and seal into a smooth ball. Chill 15 min.
Bake:
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
Bake pastries 30 min until golden.
How to serve & store
Enjoy the mooncakes once cooled -- they're best enjoyed on the first day while they're crisp and flaky.
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Reheat in a 350F temperature oven for 20-30 minutes to refresh crispness.
Variations
Filling: try sesame paste, red bean paste, taro paste, or lotus seed paste.
Vegan: swap lard for coconut oil.
Salted egg yolk: omit if it you don't like the taste.
Other mooncake recipes you may like
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know if you try out this recipe -- I love seeing your creations! Tag me on Instagram @siftandsimmer and be sure to leave me a comment/rating below!
Teochew-Style Spiral Mooncakes
For accuracy and precision in baking recipes, use weight (metric) measurements when available.
Ingredients
Matcha Mung Bean Filling:
- 100 g dried mung bean soaked overnight
- 60 g granulated sugar
- 25 ml coconut oil
- 10 g tapioca starch
- 1 g (½ tsp) matcha powder
Salted egg yolks: (optional)
- 3 salted egg yolks cut in half
- ½ teaspoon Shaoxing wine or brandy
Water dough:
- 60 g all-purpose flour
- 6 g icing sugar
- 2 g matcha powder or red yeast rice powder for red variation
- 21 ml clarified butter ghee or unsalted European butter with 36% fat content
- 28 ml cold water
Oil Dough:
- 48 g cake flour or 43g all-purpose flour + 5g corn starch
- 24 ml clarified butter or lard
Instructions
Prepare the mung bean filling: (You can make this a day ahead.)
- Steam the mung bean for 30 minutes, or until softened.
- Place cooked mung bean, sugar, coconut oil and tapioca starch into a food processor. Blend until very smooth.
- Pour the mung bean paste in a small pot, turn on heat and cook the paste until very dry. Stir with a wooden spoon and reduce the heat to prevent burning.
- Add in matcha powder and mix well. Remove from heat and let it cool completely.
- Cut salted egg yolks into half, if using.
- Place ½ teaspoon of Shaoxing wine or brandy on the yolks.
- Microwave the yolks for 15-20 seconds or until the yolks has oil appear and become solid, not completely cooked, about 80% cooked. Cool completely.
- Divide the cooked mung bean mixture into 6 portions, about 43-45g each and form into balls.
- Make a well with your thumb and place one ½ egg yolk in the well.
- Enclose the yolk with your thumb and index finger to seal the yolk inside. Roll it until it is smooth and round. Repeat with the remainder.
- Rest, cover and chill in the fridge until ready to use.
Make the water dough:
- Mix all-purpose flour, icing sugar, matcha powder (or red yeast rice powder) and clarified butter into a bowl.
- Add water and knead into very smooth and elastic dough.
- Divide it into 3 portions, about 38g each.
- Cover and let rest for 20-30 minutes.
Make the oil dough:
- Mix together cake flour and clarified butter until it can be squeezed together into a ball.
- Divide into 3 portions, about 24g each. Form into balls.
- Flatten a water dough ball with your palm and place an oil dough ball in the center, enclose it and form a ball. Repeat with the remainder.
- Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
Assemble:
- Flatten a dough ball with your palm and roll it flat into an oval shape with a rolling pin.
- Start rolling the dough at an angle and roll diagonally into a long Swiss roll. Let rest for 15 minutes.
- Flatten the Swiss roll with your palm slightly and roll flat into an rectangular long piece with rolling pin.
- Swiss roll the piece into a stubby short roll.
- Cut the roll in half with a serrated knife.
- Flatten one piece with the cut side down using a rolling pin (to the size of your palm).
- Flip the dough over with the cut side up.
- Place a ball of filling under the dough and enclose it by closing your thumb and index finger. Keep rotating the pastry until the filling is completely encased. Pinch and seal the ball.
- Repeat the with the remainder and let rest for 15 minutes in the fridge before baking.
Bake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C.
- Bake the pastries on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool.
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
Very creative with the addition of matcha. I'm not sure whether the filling is my cup of tea, but regardless, the cakes look beautiful and inviting!
Michelle
Thanks Ben, you can definitely change up the filling with any other paste 🙂
David @ Spiced
What a beautiful pastry, Michelle! These could be the centerpiece dessert at a fancy party. And the flavors sounds absolutely fantastic, too!
Michelle
Thanks David, these mooncakes take a little effort but the texture is so divine!
Healthy World Cuisine
Oh my goodness that flaky Teochew style crusts on the mooncakes are gorgeous. So flaky and delicious. Mung bean is one of our favorite fillings too! It's like you created this recipe just for us. Thank you
Michelle
Thanks so much Bobbi! We love how flaky and delicious this style of mooncake is!