Indulge in the unique and delicious taste of matcha green tea with these homemade Matcha / Green Tea Snow Skin Mooncakes! These mooncakes have a soft, chewy texture that melts in your mouth with each bite, while the matcha flavor adds a subtle hint of sweetness and depth.
PLEASE NOTE: This snow skin mooncake recipe is based on my original shortcut snow skin mooncake recipe (link here) and does not adhere to most traditional recipes, where the mooncake dough is made using cooked glutinous rice flour, icing sugar, shortening and water. While this recipe may differ from the traditional preparation, it still produces delicious and unique mooncakes that are perfect for anyone looking to try something new. It's also less time-consuming and simpler, so I hope you'll still give it a try!
Here's why I love this Green Tea Snow Skin Mooncakes Recipe
- no-bake
- easy to prepare
- only 5 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 🙂
- 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 - Just water
- Matcha Powder – preferably ceremonial grade matcha powder for the best color, but any kind works. Sold in Asian grocery stores, or online, below:
Filling Ingredients
- While you can use any mooncake filling of choice, I used Neri Yokan (recipe here), a unique Japanese confectionery made from red bean paste and agar, a type of seaweed. It has a firm and slightly chewy texture, with a sweet and earthy flavor that is different from anything you've ever tasted. Using neri yokan as a snow skin mooncake filling is a fantastic idea for those looking to try something new and exciting. The combination of the chewy snow skin and the firm texture of the neri yokan creates a fun and enjoyable mouthfeel.
For more filling ideas, check out my Ultimate List of Mooncake Filling post, here!
Step by Step Guide
How to Make Green Tea Snow Skin Mooncakes
STEP 1
In a microwaveable glass bowl (like Pyrex), mix the sweetened white bean paste (shiro an) and sweet rice flour. Add matcha powder.
STEP 2
Mix until the white bean paste has been well incorporated into the flour.
STEP 3
Add water and whisk until smooth.
STEP 4
Microwave the mixture for 1 minute
STEP 5
Use a SOLID METAL spoon (wooden spoons can 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. The resulting dough should be soft and slightly translucent. Stir well.
STEP 6
Scrape the cooked glutinous rice dough onto a lightly greased baking pan
STEP 7
Cut the glutinous rice dough into 6 pieces using kitchen scissors or a plastic dough cutter
STEP 8
Fill with the prepared filling (I used neri yokan cut into squares).
STEP 9
Fit the filled pieces into a lightly greased mooncake mold** and press into shape.
STEP 10
For the best texture, let cool in the freezer for 20-30 minutes before eating.
STEP 11
Enjoy!
Recipe Variations and Optional Add Ins for Snowskin Mooncakes:
Filling Variations
There are many types of fillings used in snow skin 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
Matcha Snow Skin Mooncakes with Red Bean Yokan Filling
Equipment
Ingredients
Snowskin Mooncake Dough
- 150 g sweetened white bean paste (shiro an)
- 50 g mochiko flour, sweet rice or glutinous rice flour
- 1 tsp matcha powder
- 57 g water
Mooncake Filling
- 6 pieces red bean neri yokan , use storebought or homemade (recipe link here)
Instructions
Prepare the filling
- Prepare mooncake filling by cutting red bean neri yokan into squares (use the mooncake mold as a guide so that the pieces will fit inside the mold). Set aside.
- NOTE: You can also use other mooncake fillings of choice like white bean paste. Check out my ULTIMATE LIST OF MOONCAKE FILLINGS post for more ideas!*
Make the Mooncake Skin
- In a sturdy microwaveable glass bowl (like Pyrex), mix the sweetened white bean paste (shiro an) and sweet rice flour until the bean paste has been well incorporated into the flour.
- Add matcha powder
- Add water and whisk until smooth.
- 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 mixedd
- Microwave the mixture again, this time for 1 minute
- Stir again until all cooked and uncooked parts of the dough are mixed evenly.
- Scrape the cooked mooncake dough onto a lightly greased baking pan
Shape the Mooncakes
- Cut the snow skin dough into 6 pieces using scissors or plastic dough cutter
- Take each piece of the cut dough and fill with the prepared filling (yokan piece).
- Fit the filled pieces into a lightly greased mooncake mold** and press into shape. TIP: these mooncakes sometimes don't hold their original shape since they're made while the dough is still warm. For the best shape, you can let the mooncakes cool in the freezer for 20-30 minutes and re-press the mooncakes back into shape using the mooncake mold.
- Enjoy!
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