Snow Skin Mooncake Recipe (冰皮月饼)

The first batch I made had perfectly correct skin. The dough steamed correctly, rested correctly, handled smoothly. The problem was the lotus paste filling, I had left it at room temperature. When I pressed the mooncake into the mould, the soft filling squashed sideways under the pressure. The skin, thin and elastic, could not contain it. Two mooncakes tore before I understood what was happening. The filling needs to be cold enough to hold its shape under the brief but firm pressure of moulding. Room temperature lotus paste is too soft. Refrigerated overnight, it behaves like cold butter, pliable enough to shape but firm enough to stay round. Every subsequent batch was assembled with cold filling and not one tore.

Snow skin mooncake (冰皮月饼, bīng pí yuèbǐng) is a no-bake Chinese festival confection made for Mid-Autumn Festival. It is not an ancient tradition, it was invented in Hong Kong in the 1980s and 1990s as a modern, lighter alternative to traditional baked mooncakes. Understanding that it is a recent innovation rather than a centuries-old recipe frees you from any anxiety about authenticity and encourages experimentation with fillings.

What is snow skin mooncake and where does it come from?

Snow skin mooncake originated in Hong Kong in the 1980s-1990s. The traditional Chinese mooncake, a baked pastry with wheat flour crust, filled with lotus paste or red bean paste and salted egg yolk, had been the standard Mid-Autumn Festival food for centuries. By the late 20th century, demand for something lighter, less sweet, and more visually modern was growing, particularly among younger urban consumers.

Hong Kong bakeries developed the snow skin format: a no-bake skin made from glutinous rice flour, white in colour, served cold, with a soft mochi-like texture that the traditional baked mooncake did not have. The name bīng pí (冰皮) means ice skin or snow skin, a reference to the white, cold, translucent appearance.

From Hong Kong the format spread to mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam, where it was adapted to local filling preferences. It is now the fastest-growing mooncake category internationally and the version most widely sold in Chinese grocery stores and bakeries outside Asia.

Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, typically September or October. Make these 1-2 days before the festival. They keep refrigerated for 3 days and should not be frozen.

How is snow skin mooncake different from traditional baked mooncake?

The two are genuinely different confections that share only the mooncake mould and the festival occasion.

Traditional baked mooncake uses a wheat flour and golden syrup pastry that is baked until golden-brown. The Maillard reaction produces the characteristic shiny, caramelised exterior. The filling, typically lotus paste with one or two salted egg yolks, is dense, rich, and intensely flavoured. Traditional mooncakes are served at room temperature and improve over 2-3 days as the skin softens from the oil in the filling, a process called oil return (回油, huí yóu).

Snow skin mooncake uses a glutinous rice flour skin that is steamed rather than baked. No Maillard browning, the skin stays white and translucent. The filling is typically lighter and less salty than traditional mooncake filling, no salted egg yolk in most versions, though modern versions add it. Served cold. Does not age or improve, best within 1-3 days of making.

The eating experience is completely different. Traditional mooncake is dense, rich, and complex. Snow skin mooncake is soft, cool, lightly sweet, with a yielding mochi-like skin that contrasts with the filling rather than the filling dominating everything.

Why does snow skin mooncake use three different flours?

Every snow skin mooncake recipe uses the same combination: glutinous rice flour, rice flour, and wheat starch. Most recipes list them without explaining what each contributes. They are not interchangeable and each performs a specific function.

Glutinous rice flour (糯米粉, nuò mǐ fěn) contains primarily amylopectin, the highly branched starch structure that produces the sticky, chewy, elastic texture of mochi and rice cakes. This is the primary structural starch of snow skin mooncake. It is what makes the skin behave like mochi rather than plain rice paper or pastry.

Rice flour (粘米粉, zhān mǐ fěn) is made from non-glutinous rice and contains a higher proportion of amylose, the linear starch that produces a firmer, less sticky texture. In snow skin mooncake, rice flour moderates the stickiness of the glutinous rice flour. Without it, the skin is so sticky it is nearly impossible to handle and moulds incompletely. With it, the dough is workable and the finished skin is pleasant to eat rather than excessively tacky.

Wheat starch (澄粉, chéng fěn) is wheat flour with the gluten removed, pure wheat starch. When gelatinised, wheat starch produces a more transparent, slightly glossy texture than rice starches. This is what gives snow skin mooncake its characteristic translucent appearance, the visual quality that makes it look different from opaque mochi. Without wheat starch, the skin is white and opaque rather than slightly see-through and lustrous.

The three together produce: chewiness and elasticity from glutinous rice flour, stability and handleability from rice flour, translucency and gloss from wheat starch. Leaving one out changes the result in a specific and visible way.

Why is the dough steamed and not baked?

The Maillard reaction, the browning reaction between sugars and amino acids that produces the golden crust of traditional mooncake, bread, and baked goods, requires two conditions: temperatures above approximately 140-150°C, and low surface moisture.

Baking achieves both conditions. The oven heat drives off surface moisture while raising the temperature above Maillard threshold, the surface browns, crisps slightly, and develops baked flavour compounds.

Steaming operates at 100°C with 100% ambient humidity. At this temperature, the starch granules in the dough absorb the surrounding moisture and gelatinise, the granules swell, burst, and form the gel network that produces the cohesive, chewy mochi texture. But 100°C is below the Maillard reaction threshold and the steam environment prevents any surface moisture loss.

The result of steaming: fully gelatinised starch producing mochi-like texture, white colour preserved (no browning), moisture fully retained (no drying). These three outcomes together are what define snow skin mooncake. Baking would produce a golden, crispy, opaque mooncake skin, which is the traditional mooncake, not snow skin.

Why does the dough need to rest before and after steaming?

Two resting periods, two different mechanisms.

Pre-steam rest (30 minutes): When the liquid ingredients are first mixed with the dry flours, the starch granules begin absorbing water, but absorption is not instantaneous. The starch granules need time to fully saturate before the gelatinisation of steaming begins. A 30-minute rest allows complete hydration. Under-hydrated patches in the dough contain starch granules that have not fully absorbed water, they gelatinise less completely during steaming, producing an uneven texture with slightly denser, less translucent areas.

Post-steam rest (until room temperature): Freshly steamed dough is at 100°C, far too hot to handle and in a highly elastic state from the heat-excited starch network. As the dough cools, three things happen: it reaches a handleable temperature; the starch network undergoes retrogradation (the same cooling process that firms cooked rice starch, covered in the tteokbokki recipe on this site), partially stabilising the gel into a workable consistency; and the dough firms enough to hold its shape when portioned and flattened into wrappers.

Do not try to work with the dough while it is still warm. The starch network has not stabilised and the dough will tear, stick, and resist shaping. Wait until it has reached room temperature, usually 45-60 minutes after steaming. For a firmer, easier-to-handle dough, refrigerate for 30 minutes after it reaches room temperature.

What is gao fen and why must the dusting flour be cooked?

Gao fen (糕粉) is glutinous rice flour that has been cooked, toasted in a dry pan or baked in an oven until the starch has fully gelatinised and the flour turns slightly golden. It is used as the dusting flour for snow skin mooncake rather than raw flour.

The reason is hygroscopic behaviour. Raw glutinous rice flour contains ungelatinised starch granules that are highly hygroscopic, they absorb moisture from whatever they contact. When raw flour is used to dust the snow skin, the starch granules absorb moisture from the skin surface. This partial re-hydration makes the dusted surface slightly dense and heavy rather than dry and light.

Gao fen has already gelatinised, the starch granules have absorbed water, swollen, and set into a cooked state. They no longer significantly re-hydrate on contact with the skin surface. Gao fen stays as a light, dry powder on the mooncake surface, preventing sticking without adding any density.

To make gao fen at home: Spread glutinous rice flour on a parchment-lined baking tray. Bake at 150°C for 25-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until the flour turns a light golden colour and smells slightly nutty. Cool completely before using. Store in an airtight container. Makes enough for many batches and keeps for months.

Alternatively: dry toast in a pan over low heat, stirring constantly, for 10-15 minutes until light golden. The oven method is more even.

Ingredients

Makes 12 mooncakes (50g each)

Snow skin dough:

• 75g (½ cup + 1 tbsp) glutinous rice flour (nuò mǐ fěn)
• 30g (3½ tbsp) rice flour (zhān mǐ fěn)
• 30g (3½ tbsp) wheat starch (澄粉, chéng fěn)
• 50g (¼ cup) powdered sugar (icing sugar)
• 185ml (¾ cup) whole milk
• 30ml (2 tbsp) neutral oil

Filling (make at least 2 hours ahead, overnight preferred):

• 300g (10.5oz) store-bought lotus paste or red bean paste
• Optional: 6 salted egg yolks, halved (steam 10 minutes, cool, place in centre of each filling ball)

Gao fen for dusting:

• 6 tbsp cooked glutinous rice flour (see method above)

Optional colourings:

• Matcha powder (for green version)
• Freeze-dried strawberry powder (for pink version)
• Butterfly pea flower powder (for blue version)
• Pandan paste (for pandan version)

Instructions

Make the filling first and refrigerate. Make gao fen if not already prepared. The dough is quick once both are ready.

Step 1: Prepare the filling portions

Divide the lotus paste into 12 equal portions of approximately 25g each. Roll each into a smooth ball.

Step 2: Make the dough

Combine glutinous rice flour, rice flour, wheat starch, and powdered sugar in a heatproof bowl. Whisk to combine and remove any lumps.

Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Leave to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes, this is the pre-steam hydration rest.

Step 3: Steam the dough

Fill a steamer or wok with water and bring to a full rolling boil. Place the bowl of dough (still covered with plastic wrap, which protects the dough from condensation dripping from the lid) in the steamer.

The dough is ready when it has set into a firm, slightly translucent mass and no liquid pools remain on the surface. A chopstick inserted in the centre should come out with cooked dough rather than liquid batter.

Step 4: Rest the dough

Remove from steamer. Carefully remove the plastic wrap away from you, the steam is very hot.

Once at room temperature, knead the dough briefly in the bowl with a silicone spatula or with lightly oiled hands until smooth. It should feel like soft, slightly sticky mochi. If it is still too sticky to handle, refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Step 5: Portion and flatten the dough

Dust your work surface lightly with gao fen. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions of approximately 25g each.

Work quickly, the dough dries slightly on the surface when exposed to air. Keep unused portions covered with a damp cloth.

Step 6: Wrap the filling

Place one cold filling ball in the centre of a dough disc. Gather the edges of the dough up and over the filling, pleating gently to seal.

Step 7: Mould the mooncake

Dust the mooncake mould lightly with gao fen. Shake out excess.

If the mould sticks, the dough is too warm or too sticky, chill assembled mooncakes for 15 minutes before moulding.

Step 8: Chill and serve

Place moulded mooncakes on a parchment-lined tray. Cover loosely with plastic wrap.

Serve cold. If the skin feels very firm from refrigeration, leave at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before serving, the skin softens to its best texture slightly above refrigerator temperature.

How do you store snow skin mooncakes?

Refrigerate in an airtight container lined with parchment paper for up to 3 days. Unlike traditional mooncakes which improve over several days, snow skin mooncakes are best on day 1 and 2. By day 3 the skin becomes slightly firmer and drier.

Do not freeze. Freezing damages the glutinous rice starch network, when thawed, the skin becomes grainy and loses its smooth mochi texture.

Do not store at room temperature for more than 2 hours, the filling contains dairy or high-moisture paste components that require refrigeration.

FAQ

Can I use store-bought lotus paste or do I need to make my own? Store-bought lotus paste works excellently for this recipe and is what most bakeries use. Look for it at Chinese or Asian grocery stores, labelled as lotus seed paste (莲蓉, lián róng). The filling-to-skin ratio in this recipe is designed for commercial-grade paste consistency. Homemade lotus paste works but the moisture content varies, if it is softer than commercial paste, refrigerate longer before assembly.

What mooncake mould do I need? This recipe is sized for a 50g mooncake mould, the standard size for single-serving mooncakes. Mooncake moulds are available at Chinese kitchen supply stores and online. Plastic push-button moulds are the easiest to use at home. Traditional wooden moulds require more skill to demould cleanly. Any pattern works, the traditional designs are flowers, Chinese characters, and geometric patterns.

Why is my snow skin mooncake skin too sticky to work with? Two causes. First, the dough did not cool long enough after steaming, the starch network is still in a heat-excited state and has not stabilised. Wait until the dough reaches room temperature, then refrigerate for 30 minutes. Second, too much moisture was in the steaming environment, condensation from the lid dripped onto the uncovered dough. Always cover the bowl with plastic wrap before steaming.

Can I make snow skin mooncakes without a mould? Yes, though the decorative pattern will be absent. Shape each filled dough ball into a smooth round or cylindrical shape by rolling between palms. The mooncake will taste identical, the mould is purely for aesthetics. Dust lightly with gao fen before serving to prevent sticking.

You might also like: Check out our complete Chinese cooking guide for more essential ingredients and techniques.