High-end chocolate makers like Godiva, shown here in Manhattan, are hoping to capitalize on the ancient Chinese tradition of mooncakes, a confection eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is today. BAI JIE / FOR CHINA DAILY

Every year around late summer, boxes of mooncakes fill the shelves at grocery stores and bakeshops in China. In 2007, Belgian chocolatier Godiva made its first foray in Asia's mooncake market. Now, for the rst time, Godiva's unique chocolate mooncakes are available in the US.

"We've heard stories of people asking friends and families whenever they're traveling back home [to the US] during this time to bring back the Godiva chocolate mooncakes," Michelle Chin, vice president of integrated marketing and communications for Godiva North America, told China Daily. "We gured it was a good opportunity to test that theory out to see if that's something they really want here in the US, and it's proving out quite nicely."

Mooncake is a bakery product traditionally eaten during the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, which celebrates the moon and is held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar calendar month. is year, that's today.

Mooncakes are typically round or rectangular and consist of a variety of llings, such as lotus seed paste, sweet red bean paste, nuts and seeds, or a combination of lotus paste with a salted duck egg yolk in the center.

Godiva is the first major chocolatier to oer US customers an alternative to the traditional mooncakes. eir chocolate versions are being sold in select Godiva stores and online.

Ashley Guzman, a supervisor at the Godiva shop in Times Square, New York, said the mooncakes have been selling well.

"I can tell you, every Asian person in the community who has come into our shop has been very happy to have their culture represented," Guzman told China Daily. "I've learned a lot from the customers. They like to tell the stories behind the holiday and talk about the traditional mooncakes."

Depending on the store and availability, customers have a choice between buying an individual mooncake, which comes in two flavors — Mandarin cherry hazelnut or orange-currant crisp — for $6.50 each, and Godiva's nine-piece Mid-Autumn Festival mooncake collection for $50.

The centerpiece of the collection is a dark chocolate mooncake with a layered lling of orange, red currant and lemon zest, with chestnut pear rice crisp. Surrounding the centerpiece mooncake are eight smaller mooncakes comprised of three avors.

The milk chocolate variety is lled withapricotand peach ganache with a hint of ginger on a layer of Turkish hazelnuts and Louisiana pecan praline. Two of the pieces are dark chocolate lled with passion fruit juice and mango crystal ganache on a layer of Australian macadamia praline, caramelized hazelnuts and soy nuts. e remaining three pieces are white chocolate lled with pomegranate juice and strawberry crystal ganache on a layer of Belgian almond praline and caramelized crispy rice.

"People like that the moon-cakes are already cut into individual pieces," Guzman said. "Traditionally, the centerpiece chocolate is saved for the grandmother or grandfather in the family, depending on who's still alive. If they're both alive, well, then, the grandparents have to fight for it," Guzman said with a laugh.

Guzman said customers have been both Asian and non-Asian, and customers tend to buy the individual mooncakes for family and friends and save the nine-piece package for corporate gi giving. She also said selling the mooncakes has been eective in introducing customers, many of which are foreign tourists, to the Mid-Autumn holiday and moon-cake tradition.

"We had some Brazilian tourists come in looking for something with marzipan. I told them that we don't have anything with marzipan, but we do have this [Mandarin cherry hazelnut] mooncake that has a marzipan taste," Guzman said. "They ended up loving it and then they're curious about the mooncake and want to know more about them."

Chin said Godiva changes its mooncake fillings every year.

"In terms of other competitors focusing on the Mid-Autumn Festival, or on chocolate mooncakes, we haven't seen anything here," Chin said. "Godiva is quite unique in the US market."

Contact the writer at carolineberg@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 09/19/2013 page1)