Keto Mooncakes Made with Almond Flour & Cream Cheese (Low Carb Recipe)

These low-carb / keto mooncakes are made with almond flour and cream cheese, and have a delightfully creamy, thick filling. The almond flour cookie dough is very easy to work with and the cookies bake up nicely. They're soft in the middle, but chewy on the outside, which is perfect for me because I love my mooncakes to have the contrast in soft and chewy textures!

I used my basic almond flour mooncake crust recipe as the base of the recipe, but substituted cream cheese for the mashed fruit puree. It gives an extra decadent and rich texture that makes you feel like you're biting into a thick sugar cookie!

HERE’S WHY I LOVE THIS RECIPE

• made with almond flour (it’s gluten free!)
• low carb, keto
• easy to make and fun to share

Ingredients Used to Make these Keto Mooncakes

_{**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 🙂}

• Almond flour – I used blanched almond flour. But you can also make your own by blending raw or blanched, slivered almonds in the food processor and sifting them through a sieve.

• Coconut flour – Coconut flour does not substitute well, and I can’t recommend swapping coconut flour with other ingredients unless you absolutely had to (2 Tbsp coconut flour = ½ cup almond flour). Unfortunately, you probably won’t get the same texture or mouthfeel as the original recipe.

• Sugar – You can use any granulated sugar of your choice (I've used raw cane sugar, as well as golden monk fruit sweetener in the photos) but for even healthier alternatives, I recommend using coconut, date and maple sugars which are less processed and higher in vitamins and minerals. Keep in mind though that darker sugars do impact the final colors of these mooncakes, and they’ll appear darker. For the lower carb, lower calorie option, you can use a sugar-free substitute such as stevia powder (but you’ll have to convert the amount of stevia according to package directions).

• Olive oil - I used light olive oil for this recipe, but you can use other neutral flavored oils other than olive oil, such as melted coconut oil (I like using refined since it doesn't have coconut flavor), avocado oil, or even regular canola oil. You can also use plant-based, dairy-free butter or regular butter instead.

• Cream Cheese - reduced fat, low fat or full fat. In this recipe, I used the reduced fat kind. The cream cheese incorporated into the mooncake crust dough acts as a binder for the almond flour and coconut flour, but for a healthier option you can also use mashed sweet potatoes, or mashed bananas instead!

For the Filling You'll Need

• Cream Cheese of Choice - reduced fat, low fat or full fat. In this recipe, I used reduced fat.
• Sugar of Choice - I used raw cane sugar (and monk fruit sweetener in the photos), but you can also use any granulated sugar or sweetener of choice according to your dietary preferences.
• Raspberries- fresh or frozen. You can also omit, or substitute with other colorful fruits like mango or strawberries.

Equipment

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

Recipe Variations and Optional Add Ins:

There are many other types of fillings used in traditional mooncakes. Here are some ideas below:

• Lotus paste – classic! You can buy these in the refrigerated section in a Asian grocery store, or buy them online (like Amazon, here)
• Shiro-an (sweetened white bean paste) – on Amazon, here, or here's a Shortcut White Bean Paste Recipe I make when I’ve run out of Shiro An
• Koshi-an (sweetened red bean paste) – on Amazon, here
• Mung Bean paste - sweet and delightfully yellow, homemade mung bean paste is a perfect mooncake filling for those who are looking for a healthier bean paste alternative. Here's my 2-Ingredient mung bean paste recipe here
• Coffee paste : ½ cup Shiro-an mixed with 2 tsp coffee extract (click on the link to see my 2 ingredient coffee bean paste recipe here)

Crust Variations

You can also play around with different Crust flavors, too.

• Chocolate mooncakes - add 1 Tbsp of cocoa powder to the dry ingredients before mixing; 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 dry ingredients before mixing
• Chai or Cinnamon mooncakes - Try adding a tsp of Cardamom Powder or Chai Tea Powder to the batter with the other dry ingredients.
• Add food coloring. For example add some red food coloring to make a red velvet mooncake variety!
• Coffee or mocha? Add either a teaspoon of coffee extract or espresso powder.

How to Make this Healthier

• I also love adding nuts, seeds and other ingredients to the filling that add texture, fiber and nutrition. Try adding nuts or dried fruit to the filling before rolling into tablespoon-sized balls.
• If you want to increase fiber, mix a Tablespoon of ground flaxseed or coconut flour into the filling.

See All my Mooncake Recipes (HERE):

How to Store

• Because of the cream cheese, it's best if these mooncakes are stored in the fridge. You can place them in a plastic freezer bag or airtight container to store in the fridge for up to 4 days, or freeze up to 4 months.

Final Tips

• I found that these mooncakes taste so much better the day after they are made. I don't know how to explain it other than that these mooncake crusts have a better flavor and develop a more melt-in-the-mouth, tender texture when they have a chance to rest in the fridge overnight. So for the best flavor and texture, I recommend that you store these mooncakes inside an airtight container and let them cool in the fridge for at least 8 hours before eating.

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