Summary of 11 Common Mistakes When Making Mooncakes and How to “Fix” Them

1 The cake crust is dry and hard

Signs: The condition encountered is that the cake crust after baking remains hard and dry even after a day.

Causes

• Baking the cake too much, or baking at too high a temperature;
• The syrup for the baked cake is cooked too thick;
• Not carefully selecting the flour;
• Making the cake crust too thick;
• If it’s a bean paste cake, the filling does not contain enough oil, causing it to dry and not allowing oil to seep into the cake crust, making the cake hard.

Solutions

Depending on the size of the cake, choose the appropriate baking temperature, usually ranging from 190 – 200 degrees Celsius. If your oven is too hot when baking, you can cover the top of the cake with aluminum foil.

Check the syrup to see if it is too thick by dropping some into a bowl of water; if the syrup clumps together and does not dissolve, it means it is too thick, and you need to make a new syrup before making the baked cake.

When choosing wheat flour, you should select type 11 flour (also known as all-purpose flour). Avoid using type 13 flour as the protein content in this flour is high, which will cause the cake to be dry and hard.

If it’s a bean paste cake, check if the filling has enough oil; the bean filling should be soft, pliable, smooth, and not dry after cooking.

The crust and filling should be wrapped in a 2:1 ratio, with the cake crust only 0.4 – 0.6 cm thick to ensure that the cake does not need to be baked multiple times due to the crust being too thick, which makes the cake hard.

2 The cake crust is wet

Signs: The cake after baking left outside for 1 – 2 days shows signs of being wet, feeling sticky when touched.

• The syrup has not been cooked to the required level, it was used to make mooncakes too soon after cooking;
• When baking, too much water was sprayed inside the oven;
• The mixture for brushing the surface of the mooncake used too much syrup;
• Choosing flour number 8 to make the cake crust;
• When cooking the filling, too much oil was added.

Solutions

The syrup used for making mooncakes should be prepared 1 – 2 weeks in advance before use. If you don’t have much time, you can buy ready-made syrup.

When baking, limit spraying too much water in the oven to keep the cake moist. The mixture for brushing the surface of the cake should be limited or contain very little syrup.

Flour number 8 has a relatively low protein content, so the cake crust will be softer and more doughy compared to flour number 11 (all-purpose flour).

When cooking the mooncake filling, it is always necessary to add a little oil to make the filling moist and smoother. However, if too much is added, the oil will exude during baking and soak into the cake crust, making the cake wet.

3 Cracked cake crust

Signs: After baking, the surface or body of the cake shows cracks.

• The dough was kneaded too dry;
• The egg mixture was brushed on the cake too thickly, applied while the cake was still wet;
• The temperature during baking was too high.

Solutions

Knead the dough according to the recipe, providing just enough liquid (oil, egg yolk,…) to avoid making the cake crust too dry.

Depending on the size of the cake and the type of oven, adjust the temperature accordingly. Generally, when baking mooncakes, you only need to bake at about 180 – 220 degrees Celsius!

When brushing the egg mixture on the surface of the cake after the first baking, apply a thin layer and wait for the surface of the cake to be completely dry before brushing.

4Filling separates from the crust

Signs: After baking, the filling is loose, not tightly adhering to the crust.

• The dough was not kneaded evenly.
• The crust does not tightly wrap the filling, leaving air inside, so after baking, the filling and crust will separate.
• The filling is dry, not enough for the crust to adhere tightly to it.

How to fix

Ensure the filling is smooth, soft, and not dry.

When shaping, try to mold the cake tightly and evenly, pressing out all excess air between the filling and the crust.

5Mixed filling is loose and not sticky

Signs: The mixed filling falls apart and does not stick together when rounded to shape.

• Ingredients are cut too large;
• No sticky dough is added to the mixed filling.

How to fix

You should cut the ingredients into small, evenly sized cubes (0.2 – 0.3 cm) when making the mixed filling. However, do not puree this part.

When mixing the filling, you can add a little sugar water and some sticky dough to help the filling stick better. Depending on the recipe, adjust the amount accordingly.

6 Bean filling is oily

Signs: The bean filling of the cake is oily.

• Adding too much oil while frying the filling
• Frying the filling over too high heat, and adding all the oil at once
• Grinding the beans with too little water
• Adding oil too late while frying the filling
• Adding oil all at once, causing the filling not to blend properly

How to fix

It is advisable to measure the correct amount of oil in the recipe.

Fry the filling over medium to low heat, and divide the oil into 2 – 3 portions, adding the oil gradually, frying for a while before adding more oil to continue frying.

7 The baked mooncake is puffed up

Signs: The cake puffed up after baking. The cake deformed after baking.

Causes

• The filling has not been sautéed properly, the filling is still wet;
• Baking the cake at too high a temperature;
• Applying a thick layer of egg wash on the cake before baking.

Solutions

Sauté the cake filling for the correct amount of time, ensuring it is soft, smooth, sticky, and not oily.

Bake the cake at an appropriate temperature, and you can cover the surface of the cake with aluminum foil.

Before baking the cake, just apply a thin layer of egg wash for a nice color without needing to apply too thick a layer.

8The cake is difficult to shape, droops when baked, not sharp

Signs: The cake is wet and mushy when shaped and cannot hold its form. After baking, the cake loses all its patterns, droops, and deforms.

• The cake dough is too mushy and wet;
• Applying egg wash too thickly causes the patterns on the cake’s surface to disappear.

Solutions

Apply a very thin layer of egg wash on the surface of the cake.

Knead the dough according to the recipe, limiting the addition of too much liquid (oil, egg yolk…), if the dough is too mushy, you can add a little flour to fix it.

9The baked cake does not have a nice color

Signs: The baked cake has a pale color, not beautifully golden.

• Baking the cake for insufficient time
• Using syrup that was just cooked to bake the cake

How to fix

Bake the cake for the correct amount of time; when baking, you can mix a brushing mixture using cooking oil, fresh milk, a little egg yolk, a little syrup or honey to give the cake a beautiful brown color.

Use syrup that has been cooked 1 – 2 weeks before making the cake; do not use freshly cooked syrup to make the cake.

For green tea cakes, if you want to keep the fresh green tea color, you should cover the surface of the cake with aluminum foil while baking.

10 The chewy cake is dry or too wet

Signs: The cake crust is dry and hard, causing choking, or too wet and soggy.

• The dough mixing is not up to standard;
• The amount of oil is too much or too little when mixing the dough.

How to fix

Measure the correct amount of liquid in the recipe, do not arbitrarily add or subtract ingredients from the recipe such as cooking oil, flour,…

11The cake spoils quickly, becomes sour, moldy

Signs: The cake smells bad, spoils, and has mold on the surface after being left for 1 – 2 days.

• The ingredients used to make the cake may not be fresh;
• The amount of sugar used in the cake is too low;
• The cake is wet; when stored in a plastic bag that does not allow air to escape, it also causes the cake to spoil quickly;
• Poor storage of mooncakes.

How to fix:

When making mooncakes, you must choose the freshest, most delicious, and cleanest ingredients to ensure the quality of the mooncakes.

Use the correct amount of sugar in the mooncake recipe; if you don’t like it too sweet, you can reduce it, but don’t cut back too much. After that, store the mooncakes in the refrigerator instead of leaving them outside as usual.

When storing mooncakes in a plastic bag, you can place them in a damp steaming bag to absorb some of the moisture released, helping the mooncakes last longer.

You need to store mooncakes in a dry place, avoiding direct sunlight exposure for a long time. Better yet, you can wrap the mooncakes in a sealed bag and add a moisture-absorbing packet.

Above are 11 common mistakes when making mooncakes. Hopefully, through this article, you will gather quite a bit of experience in the process of baking for yourself. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to share them with TasteVN!