Crust-to-filling for traditional mooncakes - too thin and the filling explodes out of the mold; too thick and it eats like a biscuit.
Pick mold size, filling, count, and crust style. The card shows crust vs filling grams plus crust ingredients.
Mooncake ratios are unforgiving. Too much filling and it explodes out of the mold. Too little and the mooncake is all pastry. Cantonese and Suzhou styles have different ratios, but recipes rarely say which.
Anyone attempting homemade mooncakes for Mid-Autumn Festival. Cooks who have had mooncake filling burst through the side. People gifting mooncakes and wanting consistent results.
The famous oil return (hui you) is when the crust darkens and softens over 1-3 days. Eat fresh-baked mooncakes within 4 hours - they will not taste right. The wait is part of the recipe. Lye water (jian shui) is critical for color and crackle; substitute 1 g baked baking soda + 3 g water if you cannot find it.
Lye water availability varies by country. In the US, it is sold as kansui in Asian grocers. Cantonese syrup requires aging 1-3 months; this tool assumes you have aged syrup ready.
Why did my mooncake crack? Surface dried too fast. Cover with a damp cloth for 10 min after shaping.
Why is the crust hard? Did not rest the dough, or oven too hot.
Can I bake without lye water? Yes, but you lose the crackle and color.