The recent Asian celebration of the annual Mid-Autumn Festival (Sept. 10 for 2022, its exact dates shift) had a Narberth bakery creating a dish integral to the holiday: mooncakes. Natalie Jason sifted the details of this seasonal treat for 6abc.

In Chinese culture, the Mid-Autumn Festival is on par with Chinese New Year in terms of importance and tradition. It is a time for gathering, thanksgiving, and prayer, timed for the brightest full moon of harvest time.

Themed to the natural phenomenon of landscapes bathed in light, many of the traditional methods of celebrating revolve around illumination.

Displays of colorful, lanterns, for example, are lit to show the way to prosperity.

And mooncake becomes a common component.

Mooncake has a thick filling of mildly sweet lotus paste that surrounds a steamed egg yolk. That combination is then wrapped in a circle of pastry, decorated, and baked.

À La Mousse, 920 Montgomery Ave., Narberth, was one of only two local bakeries noted for making the traditional item.

Flavor variations include adding melon seed to the lotus paste or replacing it altogether with red bean paste or a five-kernel (or five-nuts) filling, which uses syrup as a binder.

Further information on mooncakes is at 6abc.