3 ingredients, made in the microwave, no steaming required. The secret weapon to making shortcut snowskin mooncakes? White Bean Paste.
Here’s a quick and easy shortcut snowskin mooncake recipe that only requires 3-Ingredients (glutinous rice flour, sweetened white bean paste and water), made in the microwave, and downright un-traditional. Unlike traditionally made snowskin mooncakes, this shortcut recipe doesn’t require steaming, and doesn’t use any wheat starch. In fact, this recipe is more closer to a Japanese wagashi than a snowskin mooncake recipe, since that’s where I got the inspiration to incorporate white bean paste into the glutinous rice flour dough.
What is sweet white bean paste (shiro an)?
White bean paste (also called Shiro An) is a thick and smooth sweet paste made from cooked white beans, such as butter beans or cannellini beans, that’s been pureed then cooked down with sugar. The sweetened white bean paste has a mild sweet flavor with subtle earthy notes. It has a creamy and almost fudgy texture that makes white bean paste a versatile ingredient for many East Asian dessert recipes, especially for Japanese mochi and confectionaries. White bean paste is also the main ingredient used in my Korean Bean Paste Cookies recipe, as well as in my Sweet White Bean Jelly recipe.
What does adding white bean paste do to the rice dough?
The addition of sweet white bean paste to glutinous rice flour does two things. First, it acts as a sweetener and sweetens the dough, but more importantly, the protein and fiber that form the bulk of the thick and creamy white bean paste helps to turn the sweet rice dough into a smooth, pliable dough that can be easily pulled apart and molded into desired shapes.
Here’s why I love this recipe
- no-bake
- easy to prepare
- only 3 ingredients
- customizable (so many filling options!)
Ingredients Used to Make This
**I’ve linked some of these ingredients to amazon.com to give you an idea of what they are, but you should also be able to find them in your local grocery store (usually, the natural & organic food section). They are also affiliate links, which means that I earn a commission as an Amazon Associate if you decide to purchase the items. The price will be the same for you, link or no link 🙂
3 Ingredients You’ll Need to Make My Shortcut Snowskin Mooncakes
- Sweetened White Bean Paste (a.k.a. Shiro An) – Shiro an is a thick and sweet fudgy paste made from finely mashed white beans, usually large butter beans or cannellini beans. It’s a hugely popular ingredient in East Asia and widely used in Asian confectionary and desserts like mochi, sweetbreads, cookies as well as mooncakes. Unfortunately, it’s not always stocked in most Asian grocery stores. Here’s one brand I found on Amazon (here).
- Glutinous Rice Flour – this goes by many names. You’ll see Glutinous Rice Flour and Mochiko Flour (my favorite brand) in Asian grocery stores, and Sweet White Rice Flour in most other stores. ***Please note that regular white rice flour or brown rice flour is NOT the same thing as glutinous rice flour!!!
- Water – that’s right. Just water 🙂
Filling Ingredients
- I used the sweetened white bean paste leftover from making the snowskin dough as my mooncake filling, but you can also fill these mooncakes with lotus paste, mung bean paste or red bean paste.
- Read more on the filling variations towards the end!
Equipment for Mooncakes
The main highlight of mooncakes is their beautiful engraved patterns and shapes. Mooncake molds are readily available at different Chinese grocery stores. You can also find it online, especially on amazon. They are of premium quality and quite affordable. I got the 75g and 125g mooncake molds here
Step by Step Guide
How to Make Shortcut Snowskin Mooncakes
STEP 1
In a microwaveable glass bowl (like Pyrex), mix the sweetened white bean paste (shiro an) and sweet rice flour
STEP 2
Mix until the the white bean paste has been well incorporated into the flour.
STEP 3
Add water and whisk until smoooth.
STEP 4
Microwave the mixture for 1 minute
STEP 5
Use a SOLID METAL spoon (wooden spoons might break!) to stir the cooked mixture so that the cooked and uncooked parts are evenly mixed.
Microwave the mixture again, this time for 1 minute
STEP 6
Stir again, and pour the cooked glutinous rice dough onto a lightly greased baking pan
STEP 7
Cut the glutinous rice dough into 6-7 pieces using scissors
STEP 8
Fill with prepared sweetened white bean filling.
STEP 9
Fit the filled pieces into a lightly greased mooncake mold** and press into shape. I used a 75 g mooncake mold, but you can also use any mold size you have at home
STEP 10
For the best texture, let cool in the freezer for 20-30 minutes before eating.
STEP 11
Enjoy!
Watch the Video Tutorial on Pinterest BELOW!
Recipe Variations and Filling Options:
Snowskin Dough Variations
You can also play around with different snowskin flavors, too.
- Chocolate mooncakes – add 1 Tbsp of cocoa powder to the glutinous rice flour before mixing with other ingredients; add some mini chocolate chips to the filling before rolling into tablespoon sized (about 30 gram) balls.
- Matcha mooncakes – add 1 tsp of matcha powder to the glutinous rice flour before mixing
- Chai or Cinnamon mooncakes – Try adding a tsp of Cardamom Powder or Chai Tea Powder
- Coffee or mocha? Add either a teaspoon of coffee extract or espresso powder.
How to Make this Healthier
- Add some chopped walnuts or peanuts into the filling before wrapping with the snowskin dough
- To add some fiber, add a Tablespoon of flaxseeds or hempseeds to the bean paste filling before wrapping
- Add fresh fruit! As you saw in the main image, you can incorporate fresh fruit in this shortcut mooncake recipe – just add some when rolling your bean paste filling into tablespoon sized balls. I used raspberries, but strawberries and mango are sure to look pretty, too!
See All My Mooncake Recipes HERE
3 Ingredient (Shiro An/ White Bean) Snowskin Mooncakes
Equipment
Ingredients
Snowskin Mooncake Dough
Mooncake Dough
- 300 g sweetened white bean paste (shiro an) , or other filling of choice such as lotus paste, red bean paste or mung bean paste
Instructions
Prep the filling*
- Prepare mooncake filling by rolling about 1-2 Tablespoons of sweetened bean paste filling into balls. Set aside.
Make the Mooncake Skin
- In a microwaveable glass bowl (like Pyrex), mix the sweetened white bean paste (shiro an) and sweet rice flour until the the shiro an has been well incorporated into the flour.
- Add water and whisk until smoooth.
- Microwave the mixture for 1 minute
- Use a SOLID METAL spoon (wooden spoons might break!) to stir the cooked mixture so that the cooked and uncooked parts are evenly mixed
- Microwave the mixture again, this time for 1 minute
- Stir briefly, and pour the cooked glutinous rice dough onto a lightly greased baking pan
Shape the Mooncakes
- Cut the glutinous rice dough into 6-7 pieces using scissors
- Fill with prepared sweetened white bean filling.
- Fit the filled pieces into a lightly greased mooncake mold** and press into shape. I used a 75 g mooncake mold, but you can also use any mold size you have at home
- For the best texture, let cool in the freezer for 20-30 minutes before eating.
- Enjoy!
This is a cool recipe. Looking forward to trying it
Thanks so much! Hope you enjoy
Have you tried making this with home made bean paste?
I haven’t! The only homemade white bean paste I make is this shortcut recipe which is good, but not as smooth and creamy as the storebought bean paste. This probably will affect the final texture of these mooncakes.
Hello, I tried your white bean paste cookies recipe and fell in love with the fudgey texture! I wanted to try the snow skin made with bean paste as I did not quite enjoy the taste of the traditional dough. However, I found the dough to get very sticky and it seems to harden quickly compared to traditional dough. I am not using moulds but just trying to make round shapes by hand. I had to wet my hands to work with the dough. Do you have any tips in this situation? Could it need some more water or oil when the environment is dry?
Hi Holly, I’m glad you liked the white bean paste cookies! I did grease my hands and utensils with some oil to prevent the snowskin mooncake dough from sticking. The dough hardens faster than traditional since it’s been rapidly cooked in the microwave, so I usually make small batches and work quickly while the dough is still hot. Wearing vinyl gloves helps since you can work with the hotter dough. If you don’t mind a softer, more mochi-like snowskin dough, you can also mix additional 1-2 Tbsp of water to the bean paste and sweet rice flour before microwaving and that will help you get a more tender snowskin. Hope this helps!