pumpkin spice mooncakes

a classic baked mooncake with a pumpkin spice paste interior

for the dough

for the filling

for the wash

helpful tools

prepare the dough

make lye water in advance: preheat oven to 250℉. bake 1 tsp of baking soda on a small metal tray for 1 hour (you can also make a bigger batch in one go, and store it in a little jar). after it cools, mix 1 tsp of baked baking soda with 1 tbsp room temp water. stir until completely dissolved.
combine flour, golden syrup, oil, and lye water in a bowl.
knead to form a cohesive dough. shape into a disk.
cover completely in saran wrap or store in a bowl with a lid.
let rest at room temp for at least 40 min, up to 4 hours. do not store in fridge (this will cause the dough to stiffen)

make the filling

drain and rinse the can of chickpeas. if you see any skin peeling off, you can either throw them out or leave them (i've done both, and it's about the same)
add the chickpeas in a food processor, and blend until texture resembles wet sand. add pumpkin puree and blend until completely mixed.
add the puree to a (preferably non stick) pan, and start cooking on low to medium heat.
slowly add and mix in the oil until fully incorporated.
then, stir in the maple syrup and sugar until fully incorporated.
continue cooking over low to medium heat, stirring continuously, until texture once again resembles stiff wet sand and can pile onto itself, ~40 min
you don't have to hover over the stove the entire time, but you will want to make sure it's not sticking to the bottom or burning (maybe every ~5-10 min?)
when paste is ready, remove from heat and stir in the desired amount of pumpkin spice, to taste.
allow to cool completely before using.

assembly

preheat oven to 350℉
roll dough into balls of 20g, and roll pumpkin filling into balls of 25g. +/- 1g should be fine, you don't need to perfect with it.
place dough ball between two small pieces of parchment paper and flatten with fingers.
continue flattening until about 1mm thick, you'll want thickness to resemble a corn tortilla. you can use the bottom of a glass, a tortilla press, or your fingers.
carefully remove the dough wrapper from the parchment paper (it'll be fragile!) and place on palm of non-dominant hand (left hand for most people).
using your right hand, slowly pinch the dough wrapper around the filling ball, removing excess as you go. patch up the top with the extras at the end if needed.
place the wrapped dough and filling ball seam side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
make sure the ball is shaped in a way that your stamp mold can encompass it. cover the ball with your mold, and tamp down firmly but gently.
remove by pushing the completed mooncake through the stamp, and gently wiggling the mooncake out if needed.
repeat until you've used up all the filling balls!

bake

place baking tray on top third of oven, and bake for 10 min, or until edges are lightly golden.
let cool for 10-15 minutes.
while cooling, make egg wash by beating 1 egg and 2 tbsp of water.
after cooling, brush a thin layer of egg wash over the tops and sides of the mooncakes.
bake for an additional 10 minutes.

serve

let cool completely before serving. mooncakes will have a crunchier exterior on the first day.
store in an airtight container for at least 1 day for the more traditional, soft and chewy exterior.
store in airtight container for up to 5 days.