The traditional Mid-Autumn Festival—celebrated by many East and Southeast Asian people around the world, including in Vancouver—is almost upon us, and will be held on September 21 (with holidays in some countries held from September 19 to 21).

Although it’s also known as the Mooncake Festival, there are many other sweet ways to enjoy the occasion.

Here’s one such example from Felix Yau, who is the owner and baker at Fife Bakery, which is perched near the Olympic Village.

"This recipe celebrates the pomelo, which is one of the main fruits enjoyed during Mid-Autumn Festival with family and friends,” Yau explains. “It is harvested in the fall, and its round shape and mild sweet taste symbolizes luck. It pairs well with chocolate in this tart."

(For another way to enjoy the Southeast Asian citrus fruit at this time of the year, the Vancouver Public Library is holding a two-part workshop on September 15 and 22 that will include instructions on how to make a pomelo lantern for the Mid-Autumn Festival.)

This recipe makes one 22-centimetre (nine-inch) tart.

Pomelo chocolate tart

Chocolate tart shell

Ingredients
115 g butter (1 cm cubed, cold)
85 g icing sugar
200 g pastry flour
35 g cocoa powder
3 g salt
1 egg yolk
1 egg white (reserved for brushing)

Method
Blend all ingredients in food processor with blade attachment until wet sand texture.
Pour mixture between two large sheets of parchment.
Roll out into 3 to 4 mm thick.
Line dough into a tart ring or tart pan. Leave 1.5 cm of extra dough on the edges.
Dock bottom of tart crust. Lay a sheet of parchment, and pie weights into tart shell.
Blind bake for 30 minutes.
Remove weights and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
Brush with egg white and bake for another 5 minute.
While warm, trim the remaining edge of the tart shell.
Let cool completely to room temperature before use.

Pomelo creme

Ingredients
200 g cream
200 g milk
200 g blend pomelo pulp (pink pomelo preferred, white or yellow is okay)
150 g sugar
5 g salt
215 g egg yolk
5 g gelatin

Pomelo creme

Ingredients
Preheat oven to about 175 C (350 F).
Stir gelatin in with milk and let soak and sit for 5 minutes.
Gently warm and hold cream, milk, salt, and gelatin for use.
Over a double boiler in a glass bowl, heat and whisk sugar and egg yolk until ribbon-like, approximately 5 minutes.
Slowly pour in heated cream mixture into sugar and egg mixture.
Continue to heat mixture until slightly thickened, approximately 75 C (167 F).
Let cool to room temperature.
Pour into blind baked mold, and fridge until cold.

White chocolate ganache

Ingredients
100 g white chocolate couverture
50 g cream

Method
Heat cream to just simmering.
Pour cream over chocolate, and stir until smooth.
Pour over cooled tart, gently tilt tart to cover the whole surface.
Return to fridge to cool.

Optional garnish

To use pomelo wedges for garnish, place desired amount of pomelo wedges on tart just before serving.

Enjoy and happy Mid-Autumn Festival!