Cashew Butter Mooncakes Made with Almond Flour (Vegan & Gluten Free)

I've had some people asking me about my 2-Ingredient Vegan Mooncakes and if the coconut flour can be substituted with almond flour. Well, it turns out, you CAN! The coconut flour mooncakes are easier to handle and have a firmer, crispier exterior, but the ones made with almond flour are buttery, and delicate with a melt-in-your-mouth texture.

Be sure to read my notes on how to bake them. These mooncakes burn easily and are much more fragile than the ones made with coconut flour, so it's important to cool them completely once they're out of the oven before eating.

Here's why I love this recipe

• easy to prepare
• under 5 ingredients
• gluten free
• low carb
• low calories

Ingredients Used to Make these 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 🙂}

• Cashew Butter - Cashew butter is a creamy smooth spread made with ground cashews and oil, and it's what gives this mooncake crust a tender, melt-in-your mouth texture. If you don't have cashew butter at home, you're also free to use other creamy nut butter, too. I've tried making these with smooth pistachio butter (recipe here!) and they turned out wonderfully.

• 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.

• Sugar – You can use any granulated sugar of your choice (I used golden monk fruit sweetener here) 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).

• Milk or water – you just need to add a little moisture to hold the cookie crust dough together. I used unsweetened almond milk, but you can also use regular milk or just plain water.

For the Filling You'll Need

• Sweetened Red Bean Paste (a.k.a. Koshi An): You can find Sweetened Red Bean paste in most Asian grocery stores, and online (Amazon). There are Fine and Coarse kinds.

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

More Recipes that Use Nuts as the Main Ingredient (HERE)

Step by Step Guide

Recipe Variations and Optional Add Ins:

There are many 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)
• Cheesecake - here's the same cashew mooncakes with a cheesecake filling (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

• Storebought lotus pastes and sweet bean pastes are delicious, but rather high in refined sugar and calories. While I still recommend you use the storebought kinds to make these mooncakes as close to the original texture as possible, there are many healthier alternatives for the filling, such as mashed sweet potato (the best ones are Asian sweet potato and Purple Sweet Potato), chickpea cookie dough or chopped nuts (I'll post the recipe on this later).
• 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 to the filling.

More Healthy Mooncake Recipes (HERE):

How to Store

• You can store these cakes covered at room temperature for up to 24 hours. For longer storage, 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

• Depending on the brand of the nut butter, you may need more coconut flour to hold the dough. You want your resulting dough to be soft but still firm enough to be rolled into a ball.
• I found that these mooncakes taste 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. So for the best flavor and texture, I recommend that you store these mooncakes inside an airtight container and wait at least 8 hours before eating.

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