1. Making Mooncake Syrup
Mooncake syrup is an essential ingredient for creating delicious and flavorful mooncakes. It adds sweetness, color, and shelf life to the cakes. The syrup also enhances the color and taste of baked mooncakes. As the syrup matures, its color and flavor improve, resulting in softer and more flavorful cakes.
You can find mooncake syrup in bakeries or make it at home. While the process is simple, you may encounter some issues.
To make delicious and authentic mooncakes, please follow this straightforward guide without any adjustments.
2. Common Issues When Making Mooncake Syrup
Cloudy Syrup
Cause: Cloudiness in the syrup can be due to the type of sugar used or impurities on the utensils.
Solution:
- For syrup used in soft-textured mooncakes, use refined sugar.
- Ensure that the utensils used to make the syrup are thoroughly cleaned.
Overly Sweet Syrup
Cause: Even with a 1:1 ratio of water to sugar, the syrup can still be overly sweet when using refined sugar.
Solution: Use a combination of 50% refined white sugar and 50% brown sugar for a sweet and flavorful syrup.
Foamy Syrup
Cause: Foaming occurs when the acid in lemon reacts with the syrup, usually due to tightly sealed sugar jars.
Solution: Lightly cover the jar and store it in the refrigerator to prevent foaming. Do not use foamy syrup for making cakes.
Sugar Sediment at the Bottom of the Jar
Cause: Sugar sediment occurs when sugar crystals come together due to vigorous stirring or pouring the syrup directly from the pot.
Solution:
- Use a damp cloth to wipe off sugar stuck on the sides of the pot before transferring the syrup.
- Use a spoon to gently transfer the syrup to the jar.
- If there is sugar sediment, soak the jar in warm water, dissolve the sugar, and add a few drops of vanilla extract. Cook the syrup again until done.
Hardened or Overly Thick Syrup
If the syrup remains at the bottom in a round mass, it is too thick.
Cause: The syrup is overcooked for too long.
Solution: Gradually add warm water to dilute the syrup. Cook it again on low heat to thin it out.
Bitter Syrup
Cause: Bitterness can result from burning, boiling for too long, or adding lemon zest directly to the syrup.
- Avoid boiling the syrup for too long or over high heat.
- Use lemon juice instead of lemon zest.
We hope that with these tips, you can successfully make delicious and visually appealing homemade mooncake syrup. Transparent and colorless syrup is best for soft mooncakes.
