Jelly mooncakes

 Housewife Tham Siew Leng is not one who enjoys making cakes but after seeing her sister making mooncakes, her curiosity got the best of her.

Homemade jelly mooncakes

“My children enjoy eating the mooncakes I make, my youngest likes the snowskin ones,” the 49-year-old said.

What began as a fun experiment turned into a business opportunity when she began getting orders and has garnered regulars over the years.

She makes about 100 boxes every Mid Autumn and gets orders through word-of-mouth.

“I do not really market or promote my mooncakes as I do not have the time and energy to take in a lot of orders.

“It is a lot of work, as I have to cook all the ingredients myself,” she said.

She has tweaked her recipe over the years and recently made clear jelly ones upon request from customers.

“Customers said they were too pretty to be eaten,” she said.

Tham offers nine choices of flavoured jelly mooncakes, namely blueberry, mango, pumpkin, dragon fruit, cendol, red bean, yam, corn and Japanese sweet potato.

The “yolk” in her jelly mooncakes are actually made from sweet potatoes.

“Hence it’s suitable for vegetarians,” she said.

Aside from the store-bought lotus paste, Tham uses mostly natural ingredients; the colour and sweetness are derived from the fruits and vegetables such as sweet potatoes and mangoes.

Only minimal colouring is added to the jelly mooncake skin.

Butterfly pea flower is used as natural colouring

Another reason that motivates her to continue making mooncakes is to help promote her son’s cafe in Puchong.

The beautifully packaged mooncakes are sold at her son's cafe in Puchong