“The Oven” Mooncake Collection Celebrates the Flavors of Vietnamese Produce

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This Mid-Autumn Festival, Cái Lò Nướng (meaning “The Oven”) introduces its latest mooncake collection — “Full Moon, Flourishing Autumn”, a celebration of Vietnam’s abundant agricultural treasures. The collection features ingredients like soursop, starfruit, pomelo, and lotus, blending their delicate aromas and fSweetslavors into each sweet, refined mooncake.

This year, the brand unveils nine new mooncake flavors, each inspired by Vietnam’s rich and diverse regional produce. From tropical fruits of the South to fragrant blossoms of the North, Cái Lò Nướng transforms the country’s bounty into edible works of art — crafted lovingly by the brand’s pastry artisans.

Sweet Creations: Vietnamese Fruits Reimagined

Each season in Vietnam has its own signature fruits — mangoes and lychees in summer, pomelos and persimmons in autumn. Even in winter, nourishing fruits continue to thrive, while spring heralds the first fresh harvests of the year.

This year, Cái Lò Nướng encapsulates those seasonal flavors — the taste of home — in mooncakes bursting with color and personality.

One standout is the “Starfruit, Pomelo & Osmanthus” mooncake. The crisp, juicy starfruits from Quảng Nam or Vĩnh Long are paired with chewy candied pomelo peel and the gentle scent of osmanthus blossoms. Its soft, flower-shaped crust cradles a golden filling that evokes a serene Vietnamese garden in autumn.

A hallmark of Cái Lò Nướng’s creations is that “the crust is also part of the filling.” After more than a year of R&D, the team developed a white bean crust recipe that retains its shape and color beautifully while remaining soft, moist, and visually elegant.

Another highlight is the “Soursop & Lotus” mooncake — tangy soursop from the Mekong Delta meets the creamy sweetness of lotus seeds from Đồng Tháp and Hà Nội’s West Lake. Hand-cooked filling with chewy pieces of dried soursop gives the mooncake a luscious, multi-layered texture.

The “Lychee & Rose Petal” flavor, shaped like a delicate blossom, combines Lục Ngạn and Thanh Hà lychees with fragrant Đà Lạt roses, creating an elegant and subtly romantic taste.

Lotus, a symbol of purity and nourishment, appears again in “Golden Lotus & Mango”, blending golden lotus seeds with sweet-tart Hoà Lộc mangoes — a perfect taste of autumn. For a more contemporary twist, “Coconut Milk & Coffee” brings together creamy Bến Tre coconut and aromatic Central Highlands coffee, balancing sweetness with a hint of gentle bitterness.

“Working with natural ingredients is challenging, as their aromas can fade through multiple production stages. Timing, temperature, and precision at every step are crucial to achieving the perfect flavor,” shared a brand representative.

Savory Mooncakes: A Gourmet Twist

Beyond its fruit-based sweets, Cái Lò Nướng also introduces savory mooncakes that elevate the traditional treat to a fine-dining experience.

The “Premium Truffle Mushroom” mooncake — dubbed the “noble” of the collection — features a smooth, glossy brown baked crust filled with a luxurious mix of four mushrooms, including the prized black truffle. The earthy, umami-rich filling is carefully balanced with a hint of sweetness from candied fruit and nuts.

For those who enjoy bold flavors, the “Beef in Black Pepper Sauce” mooncake offers a warm, peppery aroma and mildly spicy finish. Its filling of minced beef, nuts, and fruits creates a satisfying, well-textured bite.

The “Seafood Tom Yum” mooncake takes inspiration from Thai cuisine, with a zesty filling of abalone, scallops, dried shrimp, and ham, harmonized by lime leaves and chili for a bright, tangy flavor profile.

Finally, “Salmon in Orange Sauce” — inspired by a classic European dish — makes a surprising yet elegant addition to the premium collection. Fragrant with citrus and subtly sweet from candied orange peel, this mooncake promises to delight even the most discerning palates.

Nguyen Truong