🕷️ Crawler Inspector

URL Lookup

Direct Parameter Lookup

Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 131 (from laksa046)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa131.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://food52.com/recipes/89581-easy-mooncakes\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://food52.com/recipes/89581-easy-mooncakes\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/food52.com\/recipes\/89581-easy-mooncakes","crawl_time":1775531575,"first_indexed_time":1694109086,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,food52!\/recipes\/89581-easy-mooncakes s443","src_root_hash":"1095975619679898931","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"Easy Mooncakes","meta_descriptions":[],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Mooncakes are Chinese pastries made and eaten during Mid-Autumn Festival. They come in a variety of fillings like lotus paste and red bean, and in the middle, there’s often a salted egg yolk (sometimes two!) to symbolize the moon. To those unfamiliar with mooncakes, they might seem like one tricky pastry to make, with intricate patterns that often adorn their tops. And fact is, they do require a special mold to make, and do take some deft technique to get right. But for the average home baker like myself, there’s actually a variant of these festive bites that are simpler and quicker to whip up. And they’re called Shanghai mooncakes!\nYes, you’ll still need salted eggs and lotus paste for these, as is the traditional filling for any mooncake. (Although red bean paste or mung bean paste would work too.) While not common in much of Western cuisine, these ingredients are available at many Asian grocers, especially when Mid-Autumn Festival nears. These two nicher ingredients aside though, the rest of the ingredient list consists of pantry staples. So gather them up, and you’ll be ready to make mooncakes.\nShanghai mooncakes start off identical to traditional mooncakes — crack the salted eggs, cook the yolks, and wrap the yolks in lotus paste. But where traditional mooncakes wrap this lotus paste-salted egg filling in a lye water-based dough that’s then squished into a mold to shape, Shanghai mooncakes use a butter-based dough that’s akin to sweet pastry dough (or pâte sucrée). So just rub butter, flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt together, bind it with egg and knead it, then you can wrap the salted egg-lotus paste balls in it.\nGive it a 30-minute bake, and you’ll get these gleaming, golden pastry balls that taste sweet and savory with a floral, nutty tinge from the lotus paste, just like the best mooncakes. And when you cut them in half, you’ll see the moon! Happy Mid-Autumn, everyone!","attrs_markdown":"- [Recipes](https:\/\/food52.com\/pages\/recipes)\n  - ### [Popular](https:\/\/food52.com\/pages\/recipes)[Quick and Easy](https:\/\/food52.com\/recipes\/quick-and-easy) [5 Ingredients or Fewer](https:\/\/food52.com\/recipes\/5-ingredients-or-fewer) [Cocktails](https:\/\/food52.com\/recipes\/cocktail) [Appetizers](https:\/\/food52.com\/recipes\/appetizer)\n  - ### [Ingredients](https:\/\/food52.com\/pages\/recipes)[Chicken](https:\/\/food52.com\/recipes\/chicken) [Steak](https:\/\/food52.com\/recipes\/steak) [Salmon](https:\/\/food52.com\/recipes\/salmon) [Pasta](https:\/\/food52.com\/recipes\/pasta) [Potato](https:\/\/food52.com\/recipes\/potato) [Rice](https:\/\/food52.com\/recipes\/rice)\n  - ### [Meals & Dishes](https:\/\/food52.com\/pages\/recipes)[Breakfast](https:\/\/food52.com\/recipes\/breakfast) [Lunch](https:\/\/food52.com\/recipes\/lunch) [Dinner](https:\/\/food52.com\/recipes\/dinner) [Salad](https:\/\/food52.com\/recipes\/salad) [Sweet Treats](https:\/\/food52.com\/recipes\/dessert)\n  - 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[Sheet Pan](https:\/\/food52.com\/recipes\/sheet-pan)\n    - [No Bake](https:\/\/food52.com\/recipes\/ice-cream-frozen-desserts)\n    - [Grill](https:\/\/food52.com\/recipes\/grill-barbecue)\n- Food\n  \n  - [All Food](https:\/\/food52.com\/food)\n  - [Recipes](https:\/\/food52.com\/food\/recipes)\n  - [How To & Hacks](https:\/\/food52.com\/food\/how-to-and-hacks)\n  - [Meal Planning](https:\/\/food52.com\/food\/meal-planning)\n  - [Baking](https:\/\/food52.com\/food\/baking)\n  - [Trending & Seasonal](https:\/\/food52.com\/food\/trending-and-seasonal)\n  - [Drinks](https:\/\/food52.com\/food\/drinks)\n  - [Community](https:\/\/food52.com\/food\/community-food)\n  - [Hotline](https:\/\/food52.com\/pages\/hotline)\n  - [Shop all Food](https:\/\/food52.com\/food)\n- Life\n  \n  - [All Life](https:\/\/food52.com\/life)\n  - [Travel](https:\/\/food52.com\/life\/travel)\n  - [Hosting & Entertainment](https:\/\/food52.com\/life\/hosting-and-entertaining)\n  - [Parenting](https:\/\/food52.com\/life\/parenting)\n  - [Pets](https:\/\/food52.com\/life\/pets)\n  - [Kitchen Sink](https:\/\/food52.com\/life\/kitchen-sink)\n  - [Crafts & Hobbies](https:\/\/food52.com\/life\/crafts-and-hobbies)\n  - [Community](https:\/\/food52.com\/life\/community)\n  - [Shop all Life](https:\/\/food52.com\/life)\n- Home\n  \n  - [All Home](https:\/\/food52.com\/home)\n  - [Style & Design](https:\/\/food52.com\/home\/style-and-design)\n  - [Cleaning & Organizing](https:\/\/food52.com\/home\/cleaning-and-organizing)\n  - [Outdoors](https:\/\/food52.com\/home\/outdoors)\n  - [Renovation](https:\/\/food52.com\/home\/renovation)\n  - [Home Tours](https:\/\/food52.com\/home\/home-tours)\n  - [Shop all Home](https:\/\/food52.com\/home)\n- [Watch](https:\/\/food52.com\/watch)\n- [Shop](https:\/\/food52.com\/pages\/shop)\n- [Account](https:\/\/food52.com\/recipes\/89581-easy-mooncakes)\n\n##### 0 Items in your Cart\nYour shopping cart is empty.\n\nContinue Shopping\n\n# Easy Mooncakes\nByJun\n\n![Easy Mooncakes](https:\/\/images.food52.com\/BulcsdTGq2d4qlJpUsayoScCVGw=\/26b8a684-a7d9-4b8f-b3cb-d21cb96c546e--DSC03931.jpeg?w=3840&q=75)\n\nPhoto by Jun\n\nPrint\n\nServes\n\n8 pieces\n\nPrep Time\n\n1 Hour\n\nCook Time\n\n30 Minutes\n\nMooncakes are Chinese pastries made and eaten during Mid-Autumn Festival. They come in a variety of fillings like lotus paste and red bean, and in the middle, there’s often a salted egg yolk (sometimes two!) to symbolize the moon. To those unfamiliar with mooncakes, they might seem like one tricky pastry to make, with intricate patterns that often adorn their tops. And fact is, they do require a special mold to make, and do take some deft technique to get right. But for the average home baker like myself, there’s actually a variant of these festive bites that are simpler and quicker to whip up. And they’re called Shanghai mooncakes\\!  \n  \nYes, you’ll still need salted eggs and lotus paste for these, as is the traditional filling for any mooncake. (Although red bean paste or mung bean paste would work too.) While not common in much of Western cuisine, these ingredients are available at many Asian grocers, especially when Mid-Autumn Festival nears. These two nicher ingredients aside though, the rest of the ingredient list consists of pantry staples. So gather them up, and you’ll be ready to make mooncakes.  \n  \nShanghai mooncakes start off identical to traditional mooncakes — crack the salted eggs, cook the yolks, and wrap the yolks in lotus paste. But where traditional mooncakes wrap this lotus paste-salted egg filling in a lye water-based dough that’s then squished into a mold to shape, Shanghai mooncakes use a butter-based dough that’s akin to sweet pastry dough (or pâte sucrée). So just rub butter, flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt together, bind it with egg and knead it, then you can wrap the salted egg-lotus paste balls in it.   \n  \nGive it a 30-minute bake, and you’ll get these gleaming, golden pastry balls that taste sweet and savory with a floral, nutty tinge from the lotus paste, just like the best mooncakes. And when you cut them in half, you’ll see the moon! Happy Mid-Autumn, everyone\\!\n***\n## Ingredients\n- 1⅔ cup (200g) all-purpose flour\n- 3 tablespoon (30g) cornstarch\n- 2 tablespoon (25g) caster sugar\n- ½ teaspoon (3g) salt\n- 1 stick (113g) unsalted butter\n- 2 large eggs, divided\n- 1 egg yolk\n- 8 salted egg yolks\n- 10 ounce (283g) lotus paste\n- 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, to garnish\n\nFeatured Video\n\n[See all Food52 videos](https:\/\/food52.com\/watch)\n***\n## Directions\n- Step 1\n  Put the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, sugar and salt, and butter in a large bowl, then mix everything together, rubbing the butter into the dry ingredients until sandy. Add in one full egg, an egg yolk, and knead everything together until they come together into a smooth dough. If the dough is very flaky and doesn’t come together at this point, add a bit of water to it, a teaspoon at a time. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes.\n- Step 2\n  Meanwhile, place the salted egg yolks on a small plate or tray, and steam this over high heat for 10 minutes. Alternatively, you can also bake this for 10 minutes in an oven set to 320°F (160°C). When done, take the salted egg yolks out of the steamer or oven, and let it cool to room temperature.\n- Step 3\n  Divide the lotus paste into 35g pieces. Then, roll each piece into a ball. Working with one piece at a time, use your palm and fingers to flatten the lotus paste ball into a disc roughly 3 inches in diameter. Place the salted egg yolk in the middle of the disc, and fully wrap the egg yolk in the lotus paste. Once completely covered, gently roll it to smoothen it out into a ball. Repeat for the rest of the egg yolks and lotus paste.\n- Step 4\n  Heat an oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a baking tray with baking paper or a silicon mat.\n- Step 5\n  Divide the dough into 50g pieces and roll them into balls. Then, working with one piece of dough at a time, roll the dough with a rolling pin into a disc at least 4 inches in diameter. Then, wrap the dough around a lotus paste salted egg yolk ball, pinching the ends together to completely enclose the ball. Give it a roll to make it a smooth ball, then place on the lined baking tray. Repeat for the rest of the dough pieces.\n- Step 6\n  Crack and beat the remaining 1 egg in a bowl. Brush the top half of the mooncakes with this eggwash. Then, take a pinch of sesame seeds and sprinkle it on top of the mooncakes. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.\n- Step 7\n  When the mooncakes are fully baked, take them out of the oven and let cool to room temperature. Then, eat! These can keep well for up to 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature, or up to a week in the fridge.\n\n### Recent Recipes\n- [1Negroni Sour](https:\/\/food52.com\/recipes\/negroni-sour-recipe)\n- [2Pasta Napolitan](https:\/\/food52.com\/recipes\/japanese-ketchup-pasta-recipe)\n- [3Shoofly Pie](https:\/\/food52.com\/recipes\/best-shoofly-pie-pennsylvania-dutch-recipe)\n\n### Our best tips for eating thoughtfully and living joyfully, right in your inbox.\n- ###### Company\n- [About Us](https:\/\/food52.com\/pages\/about)\n- [DEI Vision](https:\/\/food52.com\/pages\/dei-vision-statement)\n- [Press](https:\/\/food52.com\/pages\/press)\n- [Jobs](https:\/\/food52.com\/pages\/food52-jobs)\n- [Affiliate Program](https:\/\/food52.com\/pages\/affiliate-program)\n\n- ###### Get Help\n- [Help Center](https:\/\/support.food52.com\/hc\/en-us)\n- [Advertising Inquiries](https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLSeO0his3WpS136akoddGhXRFXAU4go00eIGOFhXt7dx6xR6Xw\/viewform?usp=send_form)\n\n- ###### Social\n- [Facebook](https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/food52\/)\n- [Instagram](https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/Food52\/)\n- [Pinterest](https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/food52\/)\n- [TikTok](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@food52)\n- [YouTube](https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/food52)\n\n© 2026 Food52, Inc. All Rights Reserved.\n\n- [Privacy Policy](https:\/\/food52.com\/pages\/privacy)\n- [Terms & Conditions](https:\/\/food52.com\/pages\/terms-conditions)\n- [Code of Conduct](https:\/\/food52.com\/pages\/code_conduct)\n- [Accessibility Policy](https:\/\/food52.com\/pages\/accessibility-policy)\n\nThis website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience.\n\nWhen you visit our website, we collect and use personal information about you using cookies. You may opt out of selling, sharing, or disclosure of personal data for targeted advertising (called \"Do Not Sell or Share\" in California) by enabling the [Global Privacy Control](https:\/\/globalprivacycontrol.org\/) on a compatible browser. See our [Privacy Policy](https:\/\/food52.com\/pages\/privacy) for further information.\n\nAccept\n\n![](https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/tr?id=237676769763423&ev=PageView&noscript=1)\n\n![](https:\/\/ct.pinterest.com\/v3\/?event=init&tid=2613095551193&pd[em]=<hashed_email_address>&noscript=1)","attrs_readable_markdown":"Mooncakes are Chinese pastries made and eaten during Mid-Autumn Festival. They come in a variety of fillings like lotus paste and red bean, and in the middle, there’s often a salted egg yolk (sometimes two!) to symbolize the moon. To those unfamiliar with mooncakes, they might seem like one tricky pastry to make, with intricate patterns that often adorn their tops. And fact is, they do require a special mold to make, and do take some deft technique to get right. But for the average home baker like myself, there’s actually a variant of these festive bites that are simpler and quicker to whip up. And they’re called Shanghai mooncakes\\!\n\nYes, you’ll still need salted eggs and lotus paste for these, as is the traditional filling for any mooncake. (Although red bean paste or mung bean paste would work too.) While not common in much of Western cuisine, these ingredients are available at many Asian grocers, especially when Mid-Autumn Festival nears. These two nicher ingredients aside though, the rest of the ingredient list consists of pantry staples. So gather them up, and you’ll be ready to make mooncakes.\n\nShanghai mooncakes start off identical to traditional mooncakes — crack the salted eggs, cook the yolks, and wrap the yolks in lotus paste. But where traditional mooncakes wrap this lotus paste-salted egg filling in a lye water-based dough that’s then squished into a mold to shape, Shanghai mooncakes use a butter-based dough that’s akin to sweet pastry dough (or pâte sucrée). So just rub butter, flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt together, bind it with egg and knead it, then you can wrap the salted egg-lotus paste balls in it.\n\nGive it a 30-minute bake, and you’ll get these gleaming, golden pastry balls that taste sweet and savory with a floral, nutty tinge from the lotus paste, just like the best mooncakes. And when you cut them in half, you’ll see the moon! Happy Mid-Autumn, everyone\\!","meta_canonical":null}

3. Robots.txt Check

Query:

Response:

4. Spam/Ban Check

Query:

Response:

5. Seen Status Check

ℹ️ Skipped - page is already crawled

📄

INDEXABLE

✅

CRAWLED

8 days ago

🤖

ROBOTS ALLOWED

Page Info Filters

Filter	Status	Condition	Details
HTTP status	PASS	`download_http_code = 200`	HTTP 200
Age cutoff	PASS	`download_stamp > now() - 6 MONTH`	0.3 months ago
History drop	PASS	`isNull(history_drop_reason)`	No drop reason
Spam/ban	PASS	`fh_dont_index != 1 AND ml_spam_score = 0`	ml_spam_score=0
Canonical	PASS	`meta_canonical IS NULL OR = '' OR = src_unparsed`	Not set

Page Details

Property	Value
URL	https://food52.com/recipes/89581-easy-mooncakes
Last Crawled	2026-04-07 03:12:55 (8 days ago)
First Indexed	2023-09-07 17:51:26 (2 years ago)
HTTP Status Code	200
Meta Title	Easy Mooncakes
Meta Description	null
Meta Canonical	null
Boilerpipe Text	Mooncakes are Chinese pastries made and eaten during Mid-Autumn Festival. They come in a variety of fillings like lotus paste and red bean, and in the middle, there’s often a salted egg yolk (sometimes two!) to symbolize the moon. To those unfamiliar with mooncakes, they might seem like one tricky pastry to make, with intricate patterns that often adorn their tops. And fact is, they do require a special mold to make, and do take some deft technique to get right. But for the average home baker like myself, there’s actually a variant of these festive bites that are simpler and quicker to whip up. And they’re called Shanghai mooncakes! Yes, you’ll still need salted eggs and lotus paste for these, as is the traditional filling for any mooncake. (Although red bean paste or mung bean paste would work too.) While not common in much of Western cuisine, these ingredients are available at many Asian grocers, especially when Mid-Autumn Festival nears. These two nicher ingredients aside though, the rest of the ingredient list consists of pantry staples. So gather them up, and you’ll be ready to make mooncakes. Shanghai mooncakes start off identical to traditional mooncakes — crack the salted eggs, cook the yolks, and wrap the yolks in lotus paste. But where traditional mooncakes wrap this lotus paste-salted egg filling in a lye water-based dough that’s then squished into a mold to shape, Shanghai mooncakes use a butter-based dough that’s akin to sweet pastry dough (or pâte sucrée). So just rub butter, flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt together, bind it with egg and knead it, then you can wrap the salted egg-lotus paste balls in it. Give it a 30-minute bake, and you’ll get these gleaming, golden pastry balls that taste sweet and savory with a floral, nutty tinge from the lotus paste, just like the best mooncakes. And when you cut them in half, you’ll see the moon! Happy Mid-Autumn, everyone!
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Continue Shopping # Easy Mooncakes ByJun ![Easy Mooncakes](https://images.food52.com/BulcsdTGq2d4qlJpUsayoScCVGw=/26b8a684-a7d9-4b8f-b3cb-d21cb96c546e--DSC03931.jpeg?w=3840&q=75) Photo by Jun Print Serves 8 pieces Prep Time 1 Hour Cook Time 30 Minutes Mooncakes are Chinese pastries made and eaten during Mid-Autumn Festival. They come in a variety of fillings like lotus paste and red bean, and in the middle, there’s often a salted egg yolk (sometimes two!) to symbolize the moon. To those unfamiliar with mooncakes, they might seem like one tricky pastry to make, with intricate patterns that often adorn their tops. And fact is, they do require a special mold to make, and do take some deft technique to get right. But for the average home baker like myself, there’s actually a variant of these festive bites that are simpler and quicker to whip up. And they’re called Shanghai mooncakes\! Yes, you’ll still need salted eggs and lotus paste for these, as is the traditional filling for any mooncake. (Although red bean paste or mung bean paste would work too.) While not common in much of Western cuisine, these ingredients are available at many Asian grocers, especially when Mid-Autumn Festival nears. These two nicher ingredients aside though, the rest of the ingredient list consists of pantry staples. So gather them up, and you’ll be ready to make mooncakes. Shanghai mooncakes start off identical to traditional mooncakes — crack the salted eggs, cook the yolks, and wrap the yolks in lotus paste. But where traditional mooncakes wrap this lotus paste-salted egg filling in a lye water-based dough that’s then squished into a mold to shape, Shanghai mooncakes use a butter-based dough that’s akin to sweet pastry dough (or pâte sucrée). So just rub butter, flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt together, bind it with egg and knead it, then you can wrap the salted egg-lotus paste balls in it. Give it a 30-minute bake, and you’ll get these gleaming, golden pastry balls that taste sweet and savory with a floral, nutty tinge from the lotus paste, just like the best mooncakes. And when you cut them in half, you’ll see the moon! Happy Mid-Autumn, everyone\! * ## Ingredients - 1⅔ cup (200g) all-purpose flour - 3 tablespoon (30g) cornstarch - 2 tablespoon (25g) caster sugar - ½ teaspoon (3g) salt - 1 stick (113g) unsalted butter - 2 large eggs, divided - 1 egg yolk - 8 salted egg yolks - 10 ounce (283g) lotus paste - 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, to garnish Featured Video [See all Food52 videos](https://food52.com/watch) * ## Directions - Step 1 Put the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, sugar and salt, and butter in a large bowl, then mix everything together, rubbing the butter into the dry ingredients until sandy. Add in one full egg, an egg yolk, and knead everything together until they come together into a smooth dough. If the dough is very flaky and doesn’t come together at this point, add a bit of water to it, a teaspoon at a time. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes. - Step 2 Meanwhile, place the salted egg yolks on a small plate or tray, and steam this over high heat for 10 minutes. Alternatively, you can also bake this for 10 minutes in an oven set to 320°F (160°C). When done, take the salted egg yolks out of the steamer or oven, and let it cool to room temperature. - Step 3 Divide the lotus paste into 35g pieces. Then, roll each piece into a ball. Working with one piece at a time, use your palm and fingers to flatten the lotus paste ball into a disc roughly 3 inches in diameter. Place the salted egg yolk in the middle of the disc, and fully wrap the egg yolk in the lotus paste. Once completely covered, gently roll it to smoothen it out into a ball. Repeat for the rest of the egg yolks and lotus paste. - Step 4 Heat an oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a baking tray with baking paper or a silicon mat. - Step 5 Divide the dough into 50g pieces and roll them into balls. Then, working with one piece of dough at a time, roll the dough with a rolling pin into a disc at least 4 inches in diameter. Then, wrap the dough around a lotus paste salted egg yolk ball, pinching the ends together to completely enclose the ball. Give it a roll to make it a smooth ball, then place on the lined baking tray. Repeat for the rest of the dough pieces. - Step 6 Crack and beat the remaining 1 egg in a bowl. Brush the top half of the mooncakes with this eggwash. Then, take a pinch of sesame seeds and sprinkle it on top of the mooncakes. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown. - Step 7 When the mooncakes are fully baked, take them out of the oven and let cool to room temperature. Then, eat! 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Readable Markdown	Mooncakes are Chinese pastries made and eaten during Mid-Autumn Festival. They come in a variety of fillings like lotus paste and red bean, and in the middle, there’s often a salted egg yolk (sometimes two!) to symbolize the moon. To those unfamiliar with mooncakes, they might seem like one tricky pastry to make, with intricate patterns that often adorn their tops. And fact is, they do require a special mold to make, and do take some deft technique to get right. But for the average home baker like myself, there’s actually a variant of these festive bites that are simpler and quicker to whip up. And they’re called Shanghai mooncakes\! Yes, you’ll still need salted eggs and lotus paste for these, as is the traditional filling for any mooncake. (Although red bean paste or mung bean paste would work too.) While not common in much of Western cuisine, these ingredients are available at many Asian grocers, especially when Mid-Autumn Festival nears. These two nicher ingredients aside though, the rest of the ingredient list consists of pantry staples. So gather them up, and you’ll be ready to make mooncakes. Shanghai mooncakes start off identical to traditional mooncakes — crack the salted eggs, cook the yolks, and wrap the yolks in lotus paste. But where traditional mooncakes wrap this lotus paste-salted egg filling in a lye water-based dough that’s then squished into a mold to shape, Shanghai mooncakes use a butter-based dough that’s akin to sweet pastry dough (or pâte sucrée). So just rub butter, flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt together, bind it with egg and knead it, then you can wrap the salted egg-lotus paste balls in it. Give it a 30-minute bake, and you’ll get these gleaming, golden pastry balls that taste sweet and savory with a floral, nutty tinge from the lotus paste, just like the best mooncakes. And when you cut them in half, you’ll see the moon! Happy Mid-Autumn, everyone\!
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