Mooncakes are usually eaten as a tradition during Mid-Autumn Festival, which is a celebration of harvest, similar to Thanksgiving. Because the festival always falls on the day of a full moon, these decadent pastries are called Mooncakes. This is a healthy version of these harvest cakes, and can be eaten in volumes without the feeling of heaviness afterwards!
Ingredients
PASTRY SKIN
2¼ c. + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
6 tbsp. peanut oil
¼ c. molasses
¼ c. + 1 tbsp maple syrup
1 egg
2 tsp. water
"LOTUS" PASTE FILLING
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
¼ c. all-natural peanut butter
¼ c. tahini
⅓ c. honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract
6 tbsp. light bean flour
6 tbsp. coconut flour
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
Instructions
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
In a small bowl, add in all the ingredients for the pastry skin, and mix until a dough forms. The dough should be easy to work with, somewhat like play-dough. Knead the dough until all ingredients are evenly incorporated. Divide the dough into around 20-22 pieces, and roll them into balls.
In a food processor, add in the chickpeas, peanut butter, tahini, honey, and vanilla extract. Pulse until the chickpeas are well mashed up and blended with the rest of the ingredients. Add in the bean flour, coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Pulse until all ingredients are combined into a dough-like consistency. It should be somewhat mouldable, but less doughy than the pastry skin dough. If you think the mixture is too wet, let it rest for a while so the coconut flour can further absorb moisture. When the mixture is dry enough to be mouldable, roll them into balls, Each should be slightly larger than the pastry skin balls you've rolled previously.
To assemble, flatten a pre-rolled pastry ball with your palms as thin as you can. Take one of the filling balls and place it in the centre of the flattened pastry dough. Wrap the pastry around the filling, making sure there aren't holes. Shape them into a mooncake shape by flattening the top and bottom and shaping it into a square or a circle. If available, you can use a mooncake mold! Repeat until all fillings are wrapped in pastry skin.
Place the mooncakes on your prepared baking sheet, leaving 1-2 centimetres space in between (they don't expand much). Back in preheated oven for 16-18 minutes, or until the pastry skin becomes matte.
Recipe by Radiant Rachels at https://radiantrachels.com/mid-autumn-harvest-cakes/