mooncake

noun

moon·​cake ˈmün-ˌkāk 

plural mooncakes

: a small pastry filled with sweet or savory ingredients and traditionally associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival in Chinese culture and various other East and Southeast Asian cultures

Note: Because mooncakes are traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival, this festival is sometimes referred to as the Mooncake Festival.

The palm-sized symbolic form of the moon is a meticulously baked pastry, usually stuffed with sweet lotus [seed] paste and sometimes … salty egg yolk. As per tradition, mooncakes are given as a token of appreciation and a way to tighten relationships.

—Hannah Leung

Mooncakes are treated with particular fondness; [Kristina] Cho's recipes for these holiday favorites span a range of styles and flavors (including Cho's inventive "ice cream sandwich" mooncakes).

—Kelsy Peterson

"… If you miss the pork mooncake you have made a huge mistake, they are … flakey, sweet, salty, and perfect. …"

—Tali Petschek

Examples of mooncake in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Dishes include scallop and sea urchin cheung fun, truffle cha siu bao, steamed abalone, and duck and milk tea mooncake. —Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 1 Apr. 2025

The kit includes 6 mixes to make a total of 72 mooncakes. —Reia Li, The Arizona Republic, 12 Sep. 2024

My mom told me mooncakes can come in all sorts of different flavors. —Ingu Chen, Vogue, 17 Sep. 2024

The gift box contains four momoyama mooncakes filled with fragrant osmanthus orange, velvet coconut, pine nut with date and black rice fillings. —Denni Hu, WWD, 12 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

translation of Chinese (Beijing) yuèbing, yuèbǐng

First Known Use

1688, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing mooncake

• mooncake festival

Rhymes for mooncake

• awake
• backache
• beefsteak
• betake
• cheesecake
• cupcake
• daybreak
• earthquake
• eastlake
• forsake
• handshake
• headache