Apple Pecan Spring Roll Mooncakes

Celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with baked Apple Pecan Spring Roll Mooncakes, a delicious East-meets-West fusion teatime treat. You’ll love our time-saving hack of using Chinese spring roll wrappers for an ultra-crispy mooncake crust.

Each wrapper is stuffed with spiced apples, crunchy pecans, and coated in a buttery glaze of cinnamon and star anise. Plus, baking them in a muffin tin gives them a round shape that’s reminiscent of a full moon. Hot out of the oven, this fall Asian dessert is perfect to share with family and friends. 

We invented this unique mooncake recipe in our Hong Kong Kitchen back in September 2015 to make it easy to prepare without any special equipment or hard-to-find ingredients. It’s a delicious alternative to those labor-intensive, high calorie, double yolk lotus pastries or store-bought mooncakes that often go uneaten. Try our lightened up and healthier mooncake that combines the classic American pie with traditional Chinese mooncakes for a tasty blend of East and West.

Asian Fusion Mooncake Ingredients

Apples - The best types of apples for this dessert are crisp sweet and slightly sour apples. We used Gala apples, but Granny Smith, Honey Crisp and Jazz apples are work well in this recipe.

Pecans – Mooncakes with nuts are very popular in Asia. I used pecans just because I love their delicate sweet and creamy texture. However, you could use whatever nuts suits your fancy like unsalted almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, roasted pepitas etc.

The nuts provide a very important role. Not only do the pecans make a delicious crunch and natural sweetness, but they also absorb any moisture created during the apple cooking process and provide structure to the mooncakes.

Spring Roll Pastry Wrappers – We used Spring Home TYJ Spring Roll Pastry made with coconut oil, salt, water, and wheat flour. You can usually find these in the freezer section of the grocery store.

These are the same type of spring roll wrappers we used to make air fryer spring rolls and strawberry jam roll cookies. These wheat-based wrapper are thin pastry sheets. They are different from rice paper wrappers that are used for fresh summer rolls. If you have any food allergies, please note that these spring roll wrappers are not gluten free. However, these wrappers are vegan.

Ground Cinnamon – But of course! Apples and Cinnamon are a match made in heaven.

Star Anise – We used whole star anise spice in the mooncake filling. However, you can exchange with ground Chinese 5 Spice powder. This lightly licorice flavored ingredient brings the Chinese flavor and aroma to this easy dessert.

Butter – for frying the apples on the stove top. You can exchange with ghee or a dairy free vegan butter alternative as well. 

Brown Sugar – light, dark or sugar alternative of choice.

Lemon juice – to prevent the apples from oxidizing.

Beaten Egg or Cornstarch Slurry – to seal the spring roll wrapper around the delicious apple pecan filling. To make an easy thickened cornstarch slurry mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoons of water. This will work like the glue to hold the mooncake together.

How to Make Mooncakes with Spring Roll Pastry Sheets?

This is just a basic overview of the recipe steps with photos. For the full recipe, instructions, and video, please see the apple pecan spring roll mooncakes recipe card below.

• Toast and chop pecans.
• Peel and chop apples.

• In a frying pan add butter, star anise (or Chinese 5 spice), chopped apples drizzled with fresh lemon juice, cinnamon, and brown sugar and fry until fork tender.
• Add the toasted pecans to the apple filling mixture.

• Spray the muffin tin with oil.
• Cut a spring roll wrapper in half.
• Gently place one half of the single wrapper inside a muffin tin.
• Then, place the other half of the wrapper crosswise on top of the other half.

• Stuff with apple pecan mooncake filling.
• Brush ends of the spring roll wrappers with an egg wash or cornstarch slurry.
• Fold over the edges to create a round mooncake.

• Brush with egg and spray with oil. Bake at 190 degrees C or 375 degrees F for 15 minutes.
• Remove the mooncakes from the oven. Turn each over so the sealed side is facing down and the smooth side is facing up. Brush with egg wash, spray with oil and dust with a little sugar.

• Continue baking for another 15 minutes or until crispy and golden brown.

Mooncake Recipe Hacks

• Thaw frozen spring roll wrappers sealed in their original packaging in the refrigerator for a few hours or at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
• Cook the spiced apple mixture on the stove top until sticky and caramel like. This is to remove any excess liquid from the apple mixture. A soggy mixture will make a soggy mooncake.
• Cutting the spring roll pastry wrapper in half and placing the pieces crosswise creates a more uniform structure with a double layer on top. It is much easier than wrestling with one large sheet of pastry.
• Keep the unused spring roll pastry wrappers under a damp towel to prevent them from drying out and cracking.
• Use a cupcake/muffin tin to help shape the little apple pecan spring roll mooncakes. Mooncakes are traditionally round like the FULL MOON.
• Don’t overstuff the mooncakes or press too hard as the spring roll pastry is tender.
• Be sure to use the egg wash and/or oil spray so the mooncakes get golden brown in the oven.
• Unfortunately, this time we got a little zealous and overstuffed our mooncakes. This resulting in us using a sheet pan to cook them upright. They would not fit back in the muffin tin for the last 15 minutes of baking. (smiling) So, if this happens to you, now you know what to do.
• If you get a little crack here and there on the apple mooncakes, don’t sweat it. It's because the spring roll crust is super flaky and crispy. Don't worry these won't affect a thing.

What to Serve with Mooncakes?

• Tea – But of course, right? We are tea lovers so of course we love sharing a little aged pu-erh tea. Drink your favorite blend or try something unique like our black sesame latte or a little gut healthy lemon ginger tea.
• Coffee or maybe even a layered bumble coffee for a fun treat.
• Try our pumpkin spice coffee sauce swirled into a latte for a delicious autumn beverage.
• Homemade Instant Pot apple cider is always a crowd pleaser.
• Serve up a fresh seasonal fruit platter. Plate it with a side of roasted pumpkin seed butter for a healthy and nutritious treat.
• Savory snacks like air fryer pumpkin seeds or mixed nuts.
• Top with a scoop of ice cream or dairy free alternative for a delicious ala mode option.

Nutritional Comparison: Apple Pecan Spring Roll Mooncake vs a Traditional Lotus Paste Mooncake

Hands down the winner of the healthier option is our apple mooncake! Traditional moon cakes are made with an interior of lotus paste and eggs yolks and the crust is like a traditional pie crust with flour, water, oil and golden syrup. Yep, you guessed it, I don't feel that this original type is worth the calories.

Mooncake Variations

You could literally fill these spring roll wrapper mooncakes with any cooked fruit or squash mixture. The nutritional content will change. If you choose a fruit with a higher water content you will need to sprinkle the fruit with a little cornstarch while cooking them down on the stove. Here are some alternative ideas…

• Pears, raisins, and pecans
• Pumpkin pie filling with nuts
• Sweet potato or yams
• Chocolate espresso fig ball mixture
• And more…

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

Wishing everyone a safe and happy Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节快乐, Zhōngqiū jié kuàilè) and beautiful fall harvest at the apple orchards to all of you.

Now, that you’ve learned how to make these easy Apple Pecan Spring Roll Mooncakes, it’s time to share the joy! Gather your family and friends, bake a batch, and celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival Together. Don’t forget to leave a comment below sharing your experience or any creative twists you added to the recipe.