Moon cakes recipe

Our baking blogger Maxine Owen is baking her way around the world. She took inspiration from her trip to China to make this delicious moon cake recipe. She took the classic dish and filled it with a tangy apricot filling for a fruity twist.

Ingredients

For the pastry cases

• 50g plain flour
• 25g butter
• ½ tsp sugar
• Cold water

For the cake filling

• 30g self-raising flour
• 20g ground almonds
• 50g caster sugar
• 50g softened butter
• 2 eggs beaten
• ½ tsp baking powder
• Few drops of almond essence
• 1 tin of apricots in juice, reserving juice

Method

1. To make the pastry cases: pre-heat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC Fan/350ºF/Gas Mark 4 and grease a muffin tin.
2. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add and mix the cold water and knead to make a dough.
3. Roll out the dough on a floured board and cut out circles with a large pastry cutter and gently push into each space of the muffin tin. Pop a square of baking paper inside each case and fill with some baking beans, so the pastry keeps its shape. Blind bake for 10-12 mins then leave in tin while you make the filling.
4. To make the cake filling, preheat the oven to 190ºC/170ºC Fan/375ºF/Gas Mark 4.
   
5. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and almond extract and then mix in the dry ingredients, adding some of the reserved apricot juice, until the mixture reaches a slow dropping consistency. Fill the pastry cases with the sponge mixture and place an apricot in the centre of the mixture, pushing down slightly. 
   
6. Bake for 10-15 mins until risen. Dust with icing sugar and serve, they're delicious eaten warm, with cream or custard.