Celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival with some custard filling snow skin mooncakes, a modern take on traditional baked mooncakes. These no-bake, chilled, soft & chewy snow skin mooncakes are filled with a creamy, rich, decadent custard filling that is perfect for family gatherings during the holiday season.

Snow Skin Mooncake with Custard Filling Featured Image

What Is a Snow Skin Mooncake With Custard Filling

Snow skin mooncakes with custard filling, also known as 雪皮奶黃月餅 in Cantonese and Bánh dẻo in Vietnamese, are a popular type of non-baked mooncake that is filled with a rich and creamy custard filling.

This specific type of mooncake originated from Hong Kong in the 1960s and started to gain popularity in the 1970s.

The outer skin of the snow skin mooncake is soft and chewy, and typically possesses a white color and is eaten chilled, hence the name “snow skin”.

Snow skin mooncakes typically are less oily than traditional mooncakes and are also less time-consuming to make as you don’t need to bake the mooncakes after molding them.

Snow skin moon cakes come in a variety of different fillings such as custard, red bean, purple sweet potato, mung bean, coconut, and durian. Sometimes artificial and natural food coloring is added to the snow skin as well.

And unlike traditional baked mooncakes that need to rest for a few days before consuming, snow skin mooncakes can be eaten right away or within a few hours after chilling, since all of the ingredients are already cooked.

If you’re just getting started learning how to make mooncakes, then this custard snow skin mooncake recipe is perfect for you due to its shorter cooking time and less complicated steps.

Let’s now look at some of the key ingredients that you’ll need for this snow skin mooncake custard filling recipe:

Ingredient Notes

Glutinous rice flour: This makes our snow skin mooncakes soft, chewy and sticky. Make sure you’re using glutinous rice flour and not regular rice flour. This is widely available at all Asian grocery stores and I even found some being sold at local grocery stores like Walmart as well.

Milk: You can use either whole milk or 2%. Whole milk produces a richer filling and tastes better.

Rice flour: This gives structure to the mooncakes and is less sticky compared to glutinous rice flour. Make sure you’re using rice flour and not glutinous rice flour here. The package will usually be in a clear red package, but not always!

Wheat starch: This makes our snow skin mooncakes somewhat translucent and easier to handle. Again, available at all Asian grocery stores.

Milk powder: Adds a hint of milk flavor to our snow skin mooncakes. You can use whole milk, 2%, 1%, or even skim milk.

Substitutions

Icing sugar: You can substitute it with white granulated sugar.
Milk: You can substitute it with a plant-based milk such as almond or oat milk; however, it’ll affect the taste, of course.

You need a kitchen scale for this snow skin custard mooncake recipe! No cups! That’s because you need to be precise to get the right ratio of filling to dough to make the snow skin mooncakes, otherwise you will end up with too much or too little filling or dough which won’t fit properly on the moon cake molds. Don’t guess, get a kitchen scale! If you need help with using a kitchen scale, leave a comment below and I’ll consider writing an article on the subject.

How to Make Snow Skin Mooncakes With Custard Filling

Making the Filling

In a large bowl, add in your milk powder, wheat powder, milk, eggs, melted unsalted butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract. Whisk and mix everything well together.

Finished mixing custard ingredients in bowl

Next, pour the filling mixture through a strainer onto a non-stick pan.
Turn the heat on to low or medium-low heat while constantly stirring the filling with a spatula. Initially, the filling will remain very runny, but after it starts to heat up and cook, it will start to develop clumps. This process can take more than 5-10 minutes, depending on your stove. Be patient!

Once you start to see it solidify and turn into clumps, turn the heat onto the lowest setting and continue mixing it. It will start to cook faster and faster now, so make sure that you’re constantly stirring it and monitoring it.

Cook it until it turns into a paste that isn’t too wet nor too dry either. Don’t overcook it! It should form into a large custard paste that doesn’t stick to your spatula or the pan.

Now remove the pan from the stove and transfer the custard to a bowl. Let it cool down, and then cover it with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge to make it less sticky and easier to work with.

Making the Snow Skin

In a large bowl, add in your rice flour, glutinous rice flour, wheat starch, sugar, milk powder, salt, milk, and condensed milk. Mix everything well together.

Pour the mixture through a strainer onto a large plate or bowl that will be used to steam it. You can cover the plate or bowl with a plate, aluminum foil, or some plastic wrap if you’re worried about water dripping down onto the mixture, or likewise, you can quickly tilt the lid to the side after steaming to let all of the water drip down the sides.

Straining snow skin ingredients through a sieve

Steam on medium-high heat for 25 minutes.
After steaming, remove it from the stove and add in your vegetable oil. Now make several cuts to the snow skin dough and then transfer it to a large bowl for kneading.

Let it cool down for 1-2 minutes before kneading it as it will be very hot. I suggest wearing gloves to knead the dough as it will be very sticky.
Now knead it until all of the oil has been absorbed and the dough becomes nice and smooth. Shape it into a round ball.

Now, place the dough on top of a kitchen scale and weigh it out and then divide it by 16. It should equal about 25g per piece. If there is too much excess dough, then just weigh out 16 pieces that are 25g, and then discard the excess, or if you have enough, you can make 1 more piece.
Next, roll the pieces into balls and then cover the 16 pieces and set them aside.

Snow skin dough shaped into 16 round balls

Cooking Glutinous Rice Flour

Add glutinous rice flour to a saucepan or non-stick pan.

Stir-fry it on low heat for about 5 minutes or until the color turns into a light beige color, and you can smell an aroma coming from the cooked glutinous rice flour.
Remove it from the heat and transfer it to a bowl for dusting the mooncakes later.

Picture of raw and cooked glutinous rice flour side by side — Cooked vs Uncooked Glutinous Rice Flour

Assembling the Snow Skin Mooncakes

Take the custard filling out of the fridge and weigh it out.
Divide it into 16 pieces, roll them into balls, and then cover each piece. Each piece should weigh approximately 25g. If you have too much excess, save it for making an extra piece or just consume it as is. Do not exceed 26g per piece, as it will not fit when you try to mold it! I also recommend wearing gloves while rolling out the custard, as it will be sticky. It will be less sticky if you’re gentle while rolling the custard into balls.

Now, while wearing gloves, take 1 piece of the dough and flatten it out. Spread the dough out until it’s about the size of your palm. You can use your palm on the opposite hand to press down onto the dough balls to flatten them out, and then, using two hands, slowly press onto the edges while rotating the snow skin to further expand it out.

Next, place 1 piece of the custard filling in the center of the snow skin.

Putting custard filling in middle of flatten snow skin dough

Now, while using your thumb and index finger on one hand to hold the filling in the center, flip the dough with the filling over.

Then, with your other hand, slowly grasp the snow skin and wrap it around the custard filling ball with the insides of your thumb and index finger in a downward motion, making sure not to let any air pockets develop.

Then flip it over again and, using the insides of your thumb and index finger, slowly turn and pinch the top of the dough inwards to cover the custard filling while holding the bottom of the mooncake with your other hand.

Once you get to the top, pinch the ends to seal it and press it back down onto the snowskin to fully seal it, or just rip off the excess dough at the tip. Roll it out into a round ball and then set it aside.

Hand holding finished shaped snow skin moon cake

Repeat for all of the other pieces. I recommend keeping the custard filling pieces chilled in the fridge and only taking 1-2 pieces out at a time; otherwise, they will start to become soft and sticky.

Now using a brush, lightly brush some of the cooked glutinous flour onto your snow skin mooncakes, making sure to brush off any excess flour. You do not need a lot for this step! Adding too much will lead to white spots on your mooncakes that are full of glutinous rice flour that covers up the designs.

Brushing glutinous rice flour onto mooncake balls

Next, place the mooncake inside a 50g mooncake mold with the smooth side facing up. Make sure that you’re using a 50g mold and not something else!

Placing moon cake ball inside of moon cake mold

Now, press down onto the mooncake mold while holding the mold with your other hand on top of a piece of parchment paper. Hold the mold for about 12 seconds before releasing it. If the moon cake does not come off, then gently press down onto the mold again while slightly lifting up the mold off the parchment paper. It will naturally come off.

Repeat these steps for all of the other pieces.

Once done, place all of the snow skin mooncakes instead of an airtight container and let them chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours before eating them. I recommend placing a piece of paper towel on top of the mooncakes to prevent any condensation and water droplets from dropping back down into the snow skin mooncakes in the fridge.

Another blog image of snow skin moon cakes

A Few Helpful Tips

Wait a few minutes before kneading the dough after steaming. The dough is very hot out of the steamer, and therefore, I suggest you wait a few minutes before kneading the dough. Also, make sure to wear gloves while kneading it to avoid having the dough stick to your hands.
Use a non-stick pan to cook the filling. Not only will the pan heat up quicker, but it will also prevent the filling from sticking to the pan while cooking.
Chill the filling in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour. This will make the filling less sticky and easier to shape and handle.
Don’t wait too long to knead the dough. It should still be a little hot or warm by the time you knead it. Once it cools down too much, it will be harder and less pliable.
Wear gloves while shaping the dough & filling. This will help prevent the dough and filling from sticking to your hands and make it easier to shape.
Pour the snow skin dough through a strainer prior to steaming. This will help remove any impurities or flour stuck together.
If the mooncakes do not come out of the mold, then press down another 1-2 more times. The mooncakes will naturally come off after the 2nd or 3rd attempt.
Heat up the mooncakes for several seconds in the microwave if they become dense after storing in the fridge. The mooncakes will naturally become harder and more dense the longer that they are kept in the fridge. To make them soft again, simply reheat them in the microwave for several seconds. Don’t heat it for too long or the filling will burst.
You can make the custard filling ahead of time and chill it in the fridge overnight. Make sure to cover it.
Do not stack the mooncakes on top of each other while storing them. They will not only stick together but also ruin the design of the mooncakes underneath.

Common Mistakes Beginners Make

Not using a non-stick pan to cook the filling. The filling will get stuck onto the pan while cooking.
Cooking the filling on high heat. The filling needs to be cooked on low heat otherwise it will get overcooked and become dry.
Not cooking the filling long enough leading to a runny overly sticky filling. The filling should form into a large paste that doesn’t stick to your spatula nor the pan once it’s ready.
Not wearing gloves to knead or shape the filling and dough. This will make it difficult to knead and shape the dough and filling as it will be sticky.
Brushing way too much cooked glutinous rice flour onto mooncakes. If you add too much cooked glutinous rice flour onto the mooncakes then when you mold it, the glutinous rice flour will cover up the mooncake designs.
Chilling the dough to use for the next day. This will lead to a hard dense dough when you’re ready to use it. It’s best to use the dough shortly after steaming it.

Storage Tips

The snow skin mooncakes can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week; however, it is recommended to finish eating them all within 3-4 days as the skin will become denser over time.

You can also freeze them for up to a month. Let them thaw in the fridge overnight before consuming.

Other Recipes That Go Well With This

Since we’re talking about mooncakes, the most logical choice would be to pair this snowy mooncake recipe with some other mooncake recipe, such as my classic lotus seed paste salted egg yolk mooncake recipe or other snow skin mooncake recipes.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can I Just Use either Glutinous Rice Flour or Rice Flour Instead of Both?

I’m afraid not. You’ll need both for this recipe.

Can I Add Food Coloring to the Snow Skin Dough?

Yes, it will work. Add it after steaming the dough and kneading it.

Why Is My Custard Filling Dry and Hard?

You cooked it for too long. It should only be cooked up until the point where it no longer sticks to your spatula and has formed into 1 large piece of filling.

Also, the filling should be cooked on low or medium-low heat. Never higher! If you cook it on high heat, then you run the risk of overcooking it. It will take a while to cook the filling. Be patient and try not to rush the process.

Why Is My Snow Skin Hard After Storing It in the Fridge?

This will naturally occur once the snow skin has cooled down in the fridge. You can soften it back up by either:

Reheating the snow skin mooncakes in the microwave for a few seconds
Leaving it out at room temperature until it softens back up

The Filling And/or Dough Is Too Sticky. How Do I Make It Less Sticky?

You can put the filling in the fridge and let it chill for at least 1 hour. This will make it less sticky. Also, make sure that you’re cooking the filling long enough. It should form into a thick paste. If it’s still runny, then that means you didn’t cook it long enough.

Wear gloves when handling the filling and dough to make it easier to handle.

My Filling Is Still Very Runny After Cooking It on the Stove for Over 30 Minutes. What Can I Do?

The heat on your stove is too low, or you have a defective stove.

You can increase the heat level by 1 level (e.g. going from low to medium-low heat) and see how it goes. Within 5-10 minutes, your filling should start clumping up if you’re stirring the filling constantly.

Can You Freeze Snow Skin Mooncakes?

Yes, you can freeze them for up to a month. Just let the mooncakes thaw before eating.

How Many Mooncakes Can I Make With This Recipe?

16 pieces of 50g each.

What Size Mooncake Molds Should I Use for This Recipe?

You’ll need 50g mooncake molds for this recipe.

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Snow Skin Mooncake with Custard Filling

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Prep Time 45

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1 30

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine Chinese

Servings 16 Pieces

Equipment

1 Steamer or Wok
1 Mooncake Mold 50g

Ingredients

Snow Skin Dough

58 g Glutinous Rice Flour
58 g Rice Flour
32 g Wheat Starch
35 g Icing Sugar
6 g Milk powder
1/4 Teaspoon Table salt 1.5g
200 ml Milk (whole, 2%) Room temperature
20 g Condensed milk
30 g Vegetable Oil Add after steaming

Custard Filling

65 g Milk Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Table salt
35 g Wheat starch
115 ml Milk
40 g White granulated sugar
140 g Eggs Approximately 2.5 large eggs
50 g Unsalted melted butter
1 Teaspoon Vanilla extract

Dusting Moon Cakes

1 Tablespoon Cooked glutinous rice flour Approximately 15g