Food

Phase One delivery: Order from Ampang's Carmen Home Bake for a lovely, ultra flaky spiral yam mooncake


Carmen Home Bake's spiral yam mooncakes have a lovely ultra flaky exterior that you won't be able to resist. – Pictures by Lee Khang Yi
Carmen Home Bake’s spiral yam mooncakes have a lovely ultra flaky exterior that you won’t be able to resist. – Pictures by Lee Khang Yi

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 — My preference is for baked mooncakes but this year I decided I’ll be different and try some yam filled mooncakes with flaky crust. The reason why I usually avoid them is because I found them too oily and way too sweet.

I had two friends who recommended Carmen Home Bake for her spiral yam mooncake which she makes for the Mid-Autumn festival. She makes them in batches, hence I only managed to try them this week.

What I really loved about the mooncakes was the ultra flaky, multi layered crust that was really crispy on the day I received them. Her yam filling is also soft and not too sweet. I also liked how the salted egg yolk was not dried out. Maybe that is why I easily finished these mooncakes within two days of receiving them.

The home baker makes everything from scratch and these mooncakes are preservative-free. What impressed me was the multiple layers for the crust. It takes a skilled person to painstakingly roll out the pastry by hand.

To create those layers, you need to evenly roll out the two types of pastry. The ratio for the pastry is also just right as the layers have a light flakiness to them when bitten into. A big plus point also is the mooncakes aren’t oily to the touch. When I heated them up, they didn’t ooze any residue oil.

The yam paste that is inside the mooncake is soft and not too sweet which pairs well with the salted egg yolk.
The yam paste that is inside the mooncake is soft and not too sweet which pairs well with the salted egg yolk.

Ideally, you should finish the spiral mooncakes the day you get them since the layers are crispy. They recommend you keep it at room temperature for two days. I kept some for the next day and it wasn’t ultra crispy anymore so I heated it up in a toaster oven for a few minutes and the crust was nice and crispy again.

If for any reason you cannot consume it so fast, they recommend you store it in the refrigerator for 10 days. As the crust softens, you can crisp it up in an oven or air fryer. Unfortunately I never made it to that stage as I finished mine within two days.

I also liked the soft yam paste inside. These mooncakes are also known as Teochew orh nee mooncakes as these resemble the dessert with yam paste and gingko nuts. While this version is not as rich as the original orh nee dessert that uses lard to flavour it, I prefer it that way since it means less guilt when you eat the mooncakes.

And my gripe when it comes to salted egg yolk is how dry they get in the mooncake. This one wasn’t dried out but they tend to be also less salty hence you don’t get that full on savoury hit.

There’s also no pork or lard used for this mooncake, making it ideal for vegans.

She offers the spiral yam mooncake with or without the salted egg yolk. You also have a choice of two pieces or four pieces in a box. For a box of two pieces of mooncakes, it’s RM32 per box. Just add RM1 for the salted egg yolk version. For a box of four pieces, it is RM62 per box. The salted egg yolk version is RM65 per box.

The mooncakes are packed in a sturdy box that prevents the flaky crust from breaking.
The mooncakes are packed in a sturdy box that prevents the flaky crust from breaking.

You can get them delivered to your doorstep provided you pay for the charges. Mine arrived in the afternoon and they were incredibly efficient as it was earlier than expected.

There are slots available for September’s batches so you can place your pre-order now. From what I understand, the next available delivery date is September 5.

Carmen Home Bake, Ukay Bistari, Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. You can WhatsApp +6012-352 9230 to place an order. Facebook:@carmenhomebake Instagram:@carmenhomebake





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