Easy Butter Mochi Recipe (Hawaiian Style Mochi Cake) (2024)

FAQs

What is mochi cake made of? ›

Gooey-bouncy on the inside and crispy-chewy on the outside, mochi cake has a texture we just can't get enough of. Made from glutinous sweet rice flour, it's naturally gluten-free. Based on Hawaiian butter mochi, this highly adaptable version can even be made dairy-free by using coconut oil and coconut milk.

Mochi is a rice cake that is soft and sweet like candy. Rice is soaked overnight and steamed before being placed in a large stone or wooden bowl (usu) and pounded with a heavy wooden mallet (kine, or kee-nay) until the consistency is soft and uniform.

Butter mochi can last for up to three days left at room temperature. A week in the fridge, or if frozen up to a month. If you freeze the butter mochi to consume simply take them out and put them in the microwave for a minute to defrost.

Butter mochi is probably a descendant of bibingka, a Filipino cake that marks celebrations and is also borne from the magic of rice flour and coconut milk (though sometimes it's casava), butter mochi is now firmly, of Hawaii. In Hawaii, butter mochi is more popular than brownies, though it's baked into similar tins.

Fresh mochi and homemade mochi can get hard/go bad quickly. It's best to consume it within 1-2 days if you leave it at room temperature. Otherwise, you can extend its life by storing mochi in the fridge.

Is Mochi Healthy? Mochi is a versatile and healthy snack, and was popular amongst rice farmers and Samurai for increasing stamina and for its convenient format. Mochi is one of the few carbohydrate sources that is packed with protein, and is free from cholesterol.

Hawaiian butter mochi isn't as sticky as the Japanese wagashi kind, but it's got the same chew. It also tastes like yellow butter cake. It's chewier than a chewy blondie / brownie, and with a butterscotch-y, caramel-y flavor that's addictive.

Because it's not dry like traditional cake, mochi cake doesn't even need icing; you can eat it on its own, or top it with toasted coconut, sesame seeds, powdered sugar, or lemon curd.

Mochi with fresh fruit cannot be taken on airplanes to the U.S. Mainland because of agriculture restrictions, but you'll want to eat them immediately anyway. Order by phone first or choose from one of the prepared boxes when you arrive.

The mochi is air sealed in a wrapper before being put in a box. It is dry mochi so it has a lengthy shelf life and does not require refrigeration to stay edible. Once opened eat the contents within the next couple of days. I would say don't hold on to a box longer than 2 months though, just as a precautionary measure.

Can you overcook mochi? ›

It is best to check every 1-2 minutes as it is very easy to overcook the mochi especially in a high power (i.e., 1200 watt) microwave oven. Cut around the edges. Let it cool down in the microwave for about 5 to 10 minutes.

Baking the butter mochi

There's a few ways to tell if it is done. It will be a golden brown colour on top, it should feel completely set, and a toothpick inserted into the centre should come out clean. Then once it has baked, leave it to cool before cutting.

[ U ] a type of rice used in Japanese cooking, which is sweet with short, rounded seeds that stick together when cooked: Cooked mochi is more sticky than conventional Japanese rice. [ C ] plural mochi.

Mochi donuts, also known as poi mochi, are a fusion pastry crossing traditional American-style doughnuts and Japanese mochi. The mochi donuts' "hybrid batter makes for a doughnut that is fluffy and moist, with a satisfying chew". An early iteration can be traced back to Hawaii in the early 1990s.

A dictionary dating from before 1070 calls the rice cake "mochii." Around the eighteenth century, people began to call it "mochi." Various theories explain the name. One is that “mochi” came from the verb “motsu,” “to hold or to have,” signifying that mochi is food given by God.

Mochi is made of mochigome, a Japanese variety of sweet glutinous rice, that is soaked overnight, steamed, pounded into dough and molded into various shapes. Some sweet mochi confections contain fillings such as bean paste, ice cream or fresh fruit.

On its own Mochi tastes like semi-sweet rice but with the texture of thin and chewy dough. However, Mochi often has sweet addition on the inside (typically ice cream if your in western country) along with sweet powder on top.

Korean Mochi (Tteok): Ingredients and Preparation Techniques

Korean rice cake or tteok, is made from steamed flour. The flour can come from any type of grain, including glutinous rice. Unlike mochi, which can't be made with regular rice, tteok can be created with non-glutinous rice.