These Nutella chocolate lava snow skin mooncakes are a decadent twist on the traditional Chinese dessert. The rich and creamy Nutella filling, frozen and then softened to resemble molten lava, is a delightful surprise in every bite. With just a handful of ingredients, including chocolate, Nutella, and glutinous rice flour, you can make your own version of this trending treat.
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 recipe
- so easy to make, and no steaming required
- made in the microwave
- only requires a couple of ingredients
- gluten free & can be vegan if using vegan chocolate hazelnut spread (like Nutiva brand)
- customizable (so many filling options!)
Ingredients Used to Make Chocolate Lava Snow Skin 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 🙂
- 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!!!
- Cocoa Powder
- Water
Filling Ingredients
- I used Nutella for this mooncake filling, but you can also use the vegan-friendly chocolate hazelnut spread (like the Nutiva brand) to keep this recipe vegan
For more filling ideas, check out my Ultimate List of Mooncake Filling post, here!
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 50g mooncake molds here
Step by Step Guide
How to Make Chocolate Lava Snow Skin Mooncakes
STEP 1
Prepare the filling: scoop Nutella or other chocolate hazelnut spread of choice (like Nutiva) into 1-2 Tablespoon sized portions into a clean parchment paper
Freeze the scoops of Nutella for 1-2 hours until completely solid.
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!*
STEP 2
In a microwaveable glass bowl (like Pyrex), mix the sweetened white bean paste (shiro an) , sweet rice flour and cocoa powder
STEP 3
Mix until the white bean paste has been well incorporated into the flour.
STEP 4
Add water and whisk until smooth.
STEP 5
Microwave the mixture for 1 minute
STEP 6
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 hot and slightly translucent.
STEP 7
Stir again, and pour the snow skin mooncake dough onto a lightly greased baking pan. Flatten with a rolling pin or gloved hands (dough will be hot!)
STEP 8
Cut the snow skin dough into 8 pieces using scissors or plastic dough cutter
STEP 9
Fill with prepared filling.
STEP 10
Fit the filled pieces into a lightly greased mooncake mold and press into shape.
STEP 11
For the best chocolate "lava effect", let the chocolate filling come to room temperature before serving.
STEP 12
Enjoy!
Filling Variations for Chocolate Lava Snow Skin Mooncakes:
You can use other fillings of choice, like white bean paste (shown below)
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
Nutella Chocolate Lava Snow Skin Mooncakes
Equipment
Ingredients
Snowskin Mooncake Dough
- 150 g sweetened white bean paste (shiro an)
- 50 g mochiko flour, sweet rice or glutinous rice flour
- 1 Tbsp cocoa powder
- 57 g water
Mooncake Filling
- 8 Tbsp chocolate hazelnut spread of choice , like Nutella or Nutiva (vegan friendly version)
Instructions
Prepare the filling
- Prepare chocolate lava filling by scooping tablespoons of chocolate hazelnut spread (like Nutella) into a clean parchment paper
- Freeze the scoops of Nutella for 1-2 hours until completely solid.
- 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 cocoa 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 mixed
- 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 8 pieces using scissors or plastic dough cutter
- Take each piece of the cut dough and fill with the frozen nutella scoops.
- Fit the filled pieces into a lightly greased mooncake mold** and press into shape.
- Enjoy! For the chocolate lava effect, wait until the mooncakes have come to room temperature before serving.
Megan says
Hi there, how long will these mooncakes last?
All Purpose Veggies says
These mooncakes are best eaten on the day they're made, but they could be frozen up to 3 months. To serve, thaw to room temperature and enjoy!