During the Mid-Autumn Festival, a mooncake DIY event was held at the Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology (GTIIT). Teachers and students made Chaoshan-style mooncakes, ice skin mooncakes and lanterns by themselves, feeling the charm of Chaoshan traditional culture.

Chaoshan-style mooncakes, also known as "Lao Cakes", are made of lard mixed with flour, sweet fillings and baked. It has a long history and unique technology. One of the production processes "Bao Su (wrapping pastry)", is also unique to Chinese pastry. The bread skin is thin and crispy, and the filling is sweet.

The professional pastry chef introduced the process of making mooncakes in detail and showed how to make it: mixing sugar, oil, powder and water, rubbing it, cooling it, and then baking it. As the master explains and demonstrates, a plump, Chaoshan-style mooncake appears.

After watching the demonstration, everyone was eager to try. They got water, pastry and bean paste, and began their DIY.

Teachers and students gave full play to their creativity and made mooncakes of different shapes. They stamped a red stamp on their mooncake, got a number, and handed it to the staff to bake in the kitchen.

"This is my first time to learn how to make mooncakes and also my first time to participate in Chaoshan traditional festival. I found it fun and enjoyed it." Dr. Manuel E. Brito from GTIIT Materials Science and Engineering Program followed the guidance of the pastry chefs and learned about the meaning carried by mooncakes.

Vegetarian ice-skin mooncakes are easier to make. The fillings are wrapped in the white ice skin. Participants rolled the dough into a ball, pressed it with the favorite mold, and put it into the packaging box.

"This activity is very meaningful. Before this, I didn't know how to make mooncakes. I like making mooncakes through teamwork and enjoy the fruits of my effort. I will participate in such activities in the future," said Sun Qiyuan, a freshman from Mechanical Engineering (Robotics) Program.

In the lantern-making section, people chose the color of the lantern, pasted all kinds of patterns and characters on it with imagination, installed the lamp and the handle to make their unique lanterns.

After the learning and practice, all the teachers and students brought their own mooncakes and lanterns home with happiness.

Text: Liu Runying, GTIIT News & Public Affairs

Photos: Xiang Linxuan, GTIIT News & Public Affairs