Air Fry Black Sesame Lava Mooncakes with Cookie Crust

Welcome to Part 4 of our mooncake series, showcasing the Black Sesame Lava Mooncakes. Unlike the initial phase of the series, which focused on snow skin mooncakes, let’s venture into the realm of oven or air fryer-baked mooncakes. In this segment, we’re crafting the irresistible black sesame lava mooncakes – where luscious black sesame custard envelops a velvety black sesame lava filling. With each bite, anticipate a buttery crust, a creamy, nutty center, and a delightful oozing moment from the lava filling.

What are Mooncakes?

Mooncakes are iconic treats traditionally associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival, celebrated across many Asian cultures. These delectable pastries are rich in symbolism, often round or square in shape, symbolizing the unity and togetherness of families and friends during this festival. Mooncakes boast a variety of flavors and fillings, from sweet to savory, encased in a tender, sometimes intricately designed crust. They offer a delightful blend of taste and tradition, making them a cherished delicacy enjoyed during this festive time of year.

As mooncakes become more popular as gifts and the demand increases, their prices go up. Creating mooncakes at home is a budget-friendly option that also lets you decide what goes into them, making them healthier by avoiding things like artificial colors and preservatives.

Key Tools for Mooncake Making

Mooncake Mold

The most important tool for making these sweet treats is mooncake mold. It’s an indispensable tool that shapes the mooncakes into their iconic patterns. These molds come in various sizes and designs, allowing you to create stunning visual effects. For all my mooncake recipes, I use a 50g mooncake mold press, which is commonly found on Amazon. One pack usually comes in multiple styles and patterns. You can simply put the dough in the press and easily create a photogenic snow skin mooncake.

Silicone Filling Mold

A silicone filling mold isn’t required when working with fillings that can be easily shaped into balls, like custards and mung bean paste. However, when dealing with lava fillings, a silicone filling mold is a handy tool to ensure precise and consistent measurements. It helps create a uniform shape for the filling before it’s wrapped in the dough. You can find these molds on Amazon; that’s where I obtained mine.

Kitchen Scale

A kitchen scale is essential for accurately measuring ingredients, ensuring the proper balance of flavors and textures in your mooncakes. Measuring spoons will also be used in this process.

The Process

1. Prepare the Black Sesame Lava Filling

The first part of this mooncake recipe is to prepare the black sesame lava filling. They need to be set in the freezer overnight, and you only need five ingredients – black sesame paste, milk, whipping cream, condensed milk, and cornstarch.

Here are the steps on how to make it:

1. Prepare the black sesame paste, as detailed in my previous blog post. Rest assured, you’ll be able to use up all the black sesame paste in the end, so there’s no need to worry about any waste.
2. Combine black sesame paste with lukewarm milk. Mix well.
3. In a saucepan, combine whipping cream, milk, condensed milk, and cornstarch. Stir until thoroughly combined.
4. Pour the black sesame milk mixture into the saucepan. Gently boil over low heat until it thickens, stirring constantly. Allow it to cool down.
5. Transfer the mixture into a piping bag. Pipe it into the silicone filling mold. Freeze for overnight.

2. Prepare the Cookie Crust Dough

The second part of this mooncake recipe involves preparing the cookie crust dough. After mixing, it should rest in the fridge for one hour to allow the dough to relax. I don’t recommend making the dough the night before, as prolonged refrigeration can cause the dough to lose its moisture, making it prone to cracking or breaking during shaping and wrapping.

Here are the steps on how to make it:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine softened unsalted butter and icing sugar.
2. Add whipping cream and egg. Mix well.
3. Stir in the black sesame paste until fully incorporated.
4. Sift in all-purpose flour and cornstarch. Alternatively, you can use 120g of cake flour. Gently use the cut-and-fold method to blend until a dough forms. Be cautious not to overmix the dough, as excess air can cause it to rise and collapse during baking in the oven or air fryer.
5. Cover the dough with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for one hour to let the dough relax.  A relaxed dough is more elastic and easier to work with. This prevents it from breaking or cracking easily during shaping and wrapping.

3. Prepare the Black Sesame Custard Filling

The third step of this mooncake recipe involves preparing the black sesame custard filling. Unlike cream cheese custard filling, custard filling can withstand high temperatures, making it a versatile option for baked mooncakes. The ingredients are readily available – eggs, sugar, milk, milk powder, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, unsalted butter, and black sesame paste.

Avoid using the cream cheese custard as a filling for baked mooncakes. This filling is not suitable for the baking process as it can’t hold its shape, leading to the mooncake collapsing.

Here are the steps on how to make it:

• In a mixing bowl, combine eggs, sugar, milk, milk powder (optional), all-purpose flour, and cornstarch. Make sure to measure each ingredient accurately with a kitchen scale. The milk powder enhances milk flavour; if unavailable, you can substitute it with an equal amount of all-purpose flour.
• Sift the mixture into a non-stick saucepan and add unsalted butter.
• Turn on medium-low heat while stirring continuously until it forms a dough. Remove from heat.
• Once cooled, knead it with the black sesame paste.

4. Assemble the Mooncake

The ratio of pastry to filling is crucial. A well-balanced mooncake boasts a delicate crust complemented by generous fillings. I adhere to a 25g pastry to 25g filling ratio. The filling weight encompasses both the custard paste and the black sesame lava filling. Thanks to the silicone filling mold, you’ll have a 5g lava filling automatically, leaving you to work with 20g of the custard paste.

Wrap the Lava Filling inside the Custard Paste

This assembly step requires speed, as the lava filling melts quickly (within minutes). I recommend wrapping a maximum of two portions at a time. Although the custard paste isn’t sticky, I prefer handling it with disposable gloves.

1. Prepare the custard paste in advance and roll each portion into a ball.
2. Take out two portions of lava filling from the silicone filling mold, and return the rest to the freezer.
3. Gently flatten the custard paste into a disk shape.
4. Position the lava filling in the center.
5. Wrap the custard paste around the lava filling.
6. Seal the top by pushing up the paste to the top. 
7. Roll it into a ball. Set it aside. It’s crucial to ensure there are no cracks, so the lava filling won’t leak out.

Wrap the Filling with the Cookie Crust Dough

Allowing the dough to rest in the fridge for about an hour makes wrapping the filling with the cookie crust dough easier, as seen in other recipes. I strongly suggest using disposable gloves when working with the dough to avoid it sticking to your hands.

I’ve tested this recipe multiple times and haven’t encountered any cracking or breaking while assembling. It’s perfect for beginners.

1. Roll the dough into a ball.
2. Carefully flatten it into a disk shape, gradually thinning the edges to create a larger surface area.
3. Put the filling in the middle.
4. Seal the top by pushing the paste upwards.
5. Roll the mooncake between your palms (with gloves) to make a ball. This step guarantees the pastry sticks completely to the filling, preventing any gaps. This is crucial to prevent the filling from separating from the pastry during baking.

4. Molding and Baking the Mooncake

Shaping the Mooncake

1. Gently dust the dough with all-purpose flour, shaking off any excess. Also, sprinkle some flour onto the mooncake mold. This step prevents the dough from sticking to the mold while shaping.
2. Put the filled dough into the mooncake mold. Prepare a flat surface, such as a plate, baking sheet, or silicone mat. Press the mold down onto the flat surface. The dough will take on the mold’s shape, imprinting the pattern onto its surface.
3. Lightly press the mold into the dough multiple times, about 3-4 times, to ensure a perfect shape. This step is vital to prevent uneven mooncakes with unclear patterns.

Baking the Mooncake

Instead of using an oven, which requires preheating, we’ll be using an air fryer. Bake at 290°F (143°C) for 6-7 minutes. Unlike traditional Cantonese-style mooncakes, there’s no need to brush the surface with egg wash. Instead, lightly spray some water onto the mooncake before baking. This prevents cracks from forming during baking. Make sure to spray from a distance to avoid excessive water landing on the mooncakes.

If you prefer to bake them in the oven, bake at 320°F (160°C) for 13-15 minutes.

Avoid moving or touching the mooncakes until they have cooled to room temperature. Once they have cooled in the air fryer basket or on the baking sheet, you can then transfer them to an airtight container and store them in the fridge.

5. Serving the Mooncake

Allow the mooncake to reach room temperature for 10 to 20 minutes before enjoying it. If you prefer to eat it warm, you can microwave it for a maximum of 10 seconds.

Other Mooncake Filling Ideas

You can be creative with the fillings. While mung bean paste is a common choice, it takes time and patience to make. I prefer going for simple and delicious fillings, with minimal preparation. Here are some of the mooncakes I made over the past years:

• Snow Skin Mooncakes with Shredded Coconut & Purple Yam Lava
• Purple Yam Snow Skin Mooncakes
• Taro Mochi Swirl Mooncakes
• Tiramisu Snow Skin Mooncakes

Alternatively, you can revisit the blog posts from the Mooncake Series:

• Part 1: 4 Easy Mooncake Filling Ideas to try for Mid-Autumn Festival
• Part 2: No-Bake Black & Pink Oreo Cream Cheese Snow Skin Mooncakes
• Part 3: Genmaicah Lava Kinako Snow Skin Mooncakes
• Part 4: Coconut Latte Snow Skin Mooncakes
• Part 5: Fruit Jelly Mooncakes

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