Durian Pandan Snow Skin Mooncakes
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Durian Pandan Snow Skin Mooncakes are an easy no-bake mooncake recipe made from a pandan-flavored mochi-like exterior and creamy durian filling. Serve frozen and they will remind you of durian mochi ice cream.
Mid-Autumn Festival is around the corner. Do you plan to make mooncakes this year?
I plan to take it easy this year with these Durian Pandan Snow Skin Mooncakes. These mooncakes are much easier to make than traditional mooncakes as there is no baking involved. If you have never made mooncakes, I highly recommend these!
Soft and chewy pandan-flavored snow skin mooncakes are filled with creamy and sweet durian. Serve frozen and they will taste like durian mochi ice cream. Or thaw them at room temperature for a few minutes to let them soften.
People either like durian or hate it. Some people regard the durian as having a pleasantly sweet fragrance, whereas others find the aroma overpowering and unpleasant. And if you are those people who love durian, I think this recipe will be perfect for you!
What Are Snow Skin Mooncakes?
Snow skin mooncakes, also known as snowy mooncakes or crystal mooncakes, are the modern take on the classic mooncakes. They are a new type of mooncake that’s gradually gaining popularity in recent years.
There is no baking required. The original version of snow skin mooncakes has a white, chewy, mochi-like outer layer and is served cold. That is how it got the name “snow skin”. Nowadays, you can find colorful ones which are even more attractive. The filling can range from bean pastes, custards, cheesecakes, and ice cream.
Ingredients You Need
Pandan Snow Skin Dough
- Glutinous rice flour. This makes the snow skin dough elastic and stretchy.
- Rice flour. Don’t skip rice flour. It helps the dough to stay in shape and avoid being overly sticky.
- Wheat starch. The addition of wheat starch ensures that the skin is slightly translucent rather than fully opaque, making the mooncakes look more like ice or snow. You can substitute it with cornstarch or tapioca starch.
- Confectioners’ sugar. To sweeten the dough.
- Milk. To add richness.
- Sweetened condensed milk. To add richness.
- Vegetable oil. Use neutral flavored oil. Add oil to the batter so that the dough is less sticky and retains moisture.
- Pandan paste or extract. To flavor and give color to the snow skin dough. You can also use fresh pandan leaves by blending the milk with the pandan leaves until smooth and strain the mixture.
Durian Filling
- Durian. Mash the durian with a fork if you want the filling to have more texture. Or blend it in a food processor for a smooth filling.
- Confectioners’ sugar. To sweeten the filling. This ingredient is optional and you can omit it if your durian is already sweet enough.
Mooncake Mold Size
I used a 65-gr mooncake mold for this recipe and made 10 mooncakes. I used 28 gr snow skin dough and 30 gr durian filling in each mooncake. If you only have a 50-gr mooncake mold, Divide the dough and filling into 12 evenly. You will need 23 gr snow skin dough and 25 gr durian filling.
Pro Tips
- Keep the filling cold-frozen. So handling and shaping will be easier. The filling will easily melt after being taken out from the freezer. I recommend you to take out about 2 fillings at one time from the freezer to prevent the other 8 from melting.
- Knead the dough when still hot. The dough will knead and blend easily when it is still hot.
- Knead well. This helps to make the dough stretchy and reduce stickiness.
- Cover the dough with a cling wrap. To prevent it from drying out. If the dough cracks, It indicates that the dough is too dry. To make the dough pliable again, add a few drops of water at a time and knead to evenly spread the moisture. The perfect dough should be smooth and flexible.
- Dust the mooncakes with flour before shaping. This prevents them from sticking to the mold.
- Don’t dust with too much flour. The dough contains enough oil so it won’t stick to your working surface easily. Adding too much flour will change the texture of the dough.
How to Store Durian Pandan Snow Skin Mooncakes
Place the mooncakes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mat, not touching each other, and let them freeze for 1 hour and then transfer to a freezer bag or container and they won’t stick to each other anymore. They can be kept frozen for up to 2 months. Serve frozen or thaw at room temperature for softer mooncakes.
When the dough keeps cracking, it indicates that the dough is too dry. If you are making a large batch of mooncakes, the dough should be covered with a piece of damp cloth and avoid placing the dough under direct wind or fan.
More Mooncake Recipes
- Lava Custard Mooncakes
- Thousand Layers Lava Custard Mooncakes
- Honey Pistachio Mooncakes
- Cookie Crust Mooncakes
Durian Pandan Snow Skin Mooncakes
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Ingredients
Pandan Snow Skin Dough
- 5 tbsp (35 gr) glutinous rice flour
- 5 tbsp (35 gr) rice flour
- 2 tbsp (20 gr) wheat starch
- 4 tbsp (35 gr) confectioners' sugar
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp (140 gr) milk
- 1 tbsp (20 gr) sweetened condensed milk
- 2 tbsp (20 gr) vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp pandan paste or extract, or more
Durian Filling
- 10.5 oz (300 gr) durian flesh, thaw if frozen
- 1 tbsp (8 gr) confectioners' sugar, or more, optional
Dusting
- 2 tbsp (15 gr) glutinous rice flour
Instructions
Durian Filling
- Remove durian flesh from the seeds. Mash with a fork for chunky filling or puree in a food processor for smooth filling.
- Taste the durian and add confectioners' sugar if prefered. Mix until well incorporated.
- Portion the durian into 10 pieces (30 gr) evenly and place on a cling wrap. Gather and twist the edges of the cling wrap to roughly wrap the filling into a round ball.
- Place on a baking sheet and freeze for 2 hours or until firm.
Dusting
- Add glutinous rice flour to a non-stick pan over low-medium heat. Stir-fry for about 5-8 minutes or until the flour is slightly yellowish and smells toasted.
- Transfer the cooked flour to a bowl and cool completely.
Pandan Snow Skin Dough
- Preheat a large steamer on medium-high heat.
- In a medium bowl, sift in glutinous rice flour, rice flour, wheat starch, and confectioner's sugar.
- Add milk, condensed milk, vegetable oil, and pandan paste. Whisk until well incorporated. Check the color of the batter. If it is not green enough, add more pandan paste.
- Strain the mixture into a shallow heat-proof bowl to remove any lump.
- Place in the steamer and cover the bowl with a plate so that the condensation does not drip into your batter. Steam for 15 minutes until the batter solidifies. If your batter is still partially liquid, it is not fully cooked and you will cook it more. Remove from the steamer.
- Scrap the dough from the bowl and knead when still hot to form an elastic, smooth dough. You can knead by hand, but make sure to use gloves because the dough is sticky. Or you can use a bench scraper if the dough is too hot.
Assemble
- Divide the snow skin dough into 10 evenly (28 gr). Shape into balls. Cover the dough balls with a cling wrap to prevent them from drying out.
- Remove the durian filling from the freezer, two at a time to prevent them from melting. Remove the cling wrap.
- Dust the dough ball with a little bit of flour and roll into a 4-inch/10 cm round. Place the filling in the middle and gather the edges to wrap the filling. Pinch the edges to seal.
- Place the seam side down. Use your hands to gently shape it narrower and taller. Dust with flour thinly and shake off the excess flour. Place it into a 65-gr mooncake mold and face it down on the working surface. Push hard the mold a few times. Release it to get a mooncake out of it. Continue with the remaining dough and filling.
- Place the mooncakes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mat, not touching each other, and let them freeze for 1 hour and then transfer to a freezer bag or container and they won't stick to each other anymore. They can be kept frozen for up to 2 months. Serve frozen or leave at room temperature for a few minutes to let them soften.
