If you make the salted duck eggs yourself start 30 days ahead. Heat the water and salt add pepper corns and star anise. Let cool completely. Wash the eggs well look them over make sure there is no cracks.
Put them in a sealable clean jar. Pour brine over the eggs and add wine, seal make sure eggs are totally under the brine. Seal and let sit for 30 days take 1 egg and boil if it doesn't taste salty let sit a few more days. boil the eggs before using. Or you can buy at some Asian markets.
Add golden syrup or honey, cooking oil, baking soda and alkaline water in a bowl and mix well.
Slowly add the flour to the liquid, using your hand to mix the ingredients well. Knead the dough gently till mixed. Form into a ball
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and set aside for 40 minutes
Take the purple yam and form a ball. Enclose the egg yolk in the purple yam filling. Traditionally lotus seed paste is used for a filling but I couldn't find any.
Take some of the dough for the cake and form a disc, then gently but firmly push the cake dough around the filling. Check often to see if there are any breaks in the dough.
Preheat oven to 355 degrees Fahrenheit. beat the egg and add water to an egg for the egg wash, mix well.
If you have a mooncake mold you can press the balls into cakes. If your like me, spay a mold with nonstick spray and put over ball to make the cakes. I used new molds for making soap, I got at a craft store. Line a pan with parchment paper and add cakes to top.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, then remove from the oven with 5 minutes left then brush with egg wash. Finish baking till golden brown.
After cooling to touch move to an airtight container for two days. Unless you just want to eat now. Happy Mooncake Festival
The egg yoke in the center represents the Moon.
