DessertsMid-Autumn

Deconstructed
Brownie Mooncake

Gluten Free Moon Cake Recipe for Mid-Autumn Festival.

Recipe & Photographs by alotteats

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Five golden mooncakes with flower and rose patterns on a parchment-lined baking tray
Pressed with flower and rose molds.

From my kitchen

Mooncakes have a way of winning people over before the first bite. Their intricate molds and beautifully stamped patterns make them almost too pretty to eat, but outside of Asia, traditional fillings like mung bean or red bean paste can sometimes give unfamiliar eaters pause.

This version takes a more familiar route while keeping the dense texture that makes a mooncake feel like a mooncake while also being gluten free. Almond flour brings a rich, nutty flavor, that makes it a kind of deconstructed brownie with nuts.

From there, make it your own. Dial the chocolate up or down to taste, tuck a spoonful of Nutella into the center, or finish with a pinch of sea salt for a sweet-salty contrast. It’s a mooncake inspired by tradition, but designed around flavors almost everyone already knows and loves.

The recipe

Deconstructed Brownie Mooncake

Chilling
30 min
Baking
10–15 min
Rest in oven
5 min
50g mould
20g dough
23g filling

Method

Step 1

Mix the Dry Ingredients

In a medium bowl, combine the fine blanched almond flour, coconut flour, and sugar of choice.

Measured almond flour, coconut flour, sugar, oil, and an egg arranged on a kitchen counter
Everything for the almond flour dough, measured and ready.
Step 2

Bring the Dough Together

Stir in the egg (or egg yolks) and melted coconut oil, another listed oil, or softened butter. Mix with a spatula first, then gently knead with your hands until a soft, smooth dough forms.

Too dry? Add a few drops of water or plant milk. Too sticky? Add a tiny pinch more almond flour.

A soft yellow dough disk resting on plastic wrap
The dough should come together into a soft, smooth disk.
Step 3

Wrap & Chill

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes to firm up.

The almond flour dough wrapped in plastic, ready to chill
Wrap the dough before its 30-minute chill.
Step 4

Portion the Dough & Filling

For 50g moulds, divide the chilled dough into small pieces, about 20g per skin. Portion the prepared gluten-free brownie filling into 23g balls, one for each piece of dough. For 150g moulds, use 40g of filling per cake as a placeholder for now; the dough portion for this larger size is still to be confirmed.

Use a kitchen scale for consistent portions. These per-cake weights are 23g for the 50g moulds and 40g for the 150g larger moulds.

Crumbled prepared brownie on one plate and a compact brownie filling ball on another
Roll 23g filling balls for the 50g moulds. For the 150g moulds, 40g is the placeholder amount.
Step 5

Wrap the Brownie Center

Flatten each dough portion into a disk. Place a brownie ball in the center and carefully bring the dough up and around it, closing the dough over the filling.

A dark brownie ball centered in a flattened dough wrapper beside two enclosed dough balls
Brownie in the center; dough wrapped around it.
Step 6

Dust, Press & Release

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Dust your mooncake mold with a little extra almond flour or all-purpose flour. Press a filled dough ball into the mold, then release it onto the lined sheet. Repeat with the remaining balls.

For a gluten-free version because of dietary restrictions, remember to also use almond flour for the dusting, otherwise all purpose flour is okay to use for the dusting.

Mooncake presses and patterned inserts beside a plate of dusting flour
A light dusting of flour helps the dough release.
Unbaked mooncakes with rose, flower, and square patterns on a lined tray
Pressed and ready for the oven.
Step 7

Bake & Brush

Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Bake for 10–15 minutes, brushing the mooncakes lightly with egg wash halfway through the baking time.

Use a light brushing of egg wash so the pattern stays visible.

A tray of golden baked mooncakes in several decorative shapes
The patterned mooncakes after baking.
Step 8

Rest, Cool & Store

Turn off the oven and leave the tray inside for 5 minutes with the door slightly open. Remove the mooncakes and let them cool completely. Store in airtight containers or zip-top bags.

Follow the storage guidance for your prepared brownie filling, including refrigeration if needed.

Useful Tips

  • It is very important to use gluten free brownie mix. Ghirardelli double chocolate gluten free has worked the best because of the chocolate density in the mix. Others like Duncan Hines Keto will also work but be mindful that the Duncan Hines mix also uses almond flour instead of rice flour like Ghirardelli does which makes it taste even nuttier.
  • Another key reason for the gluten free brownie mix is regular brownie recipes will rise as it bakes and break the mold.
  • The ratio of the filling and the crust is very important. When wrapping the filling it is also important to keep it balanced so the final cake is not too much crust on one part of the cake and not enough on other parts. This also helps to make sure the cakes don’t crack while baking.
  • If the crust does crack, don’t panic yet. Let the moon cake cool off and settle and the brownie interior will flatten out and the design texture will look somewhat better (but still show a small crack)
  • You can eat the mooncake after cooling. If you serve it same day the crust will be crunchy. If you wrap the finished moon cake or put in a sealed plastic bag overnight the crust will soften and have a more traditional type of texture. It won’t be perfectly traditional in texture because it doesn’t have the gluten for the same chewiness but it will be more traditional-like.

Recipe notes

Can I make these gluten-free?

Use almond flour to dust the mold and a gluten-free prepared brownie filling. All-purpose flour contains wheat, so choose the almond flour option when making a gluten-free batch.

What about a keto version?

Almond flour alone does not make the finished mooncakes keto. That depends on the sugar or sweetener and the prepared brownie filling you choose. This recipe does not include a calculated carbohydrate count.

Do I need to bake the brownie filling here?

This recipe starts with prepared brownie filling. Have it ready before portioning and wrapping; the dough and mooncake baking instructions are given above.