Mochi Muffin Recipe

This butter mochi muffin recipe is a sweet combo of a crispy outer crust with a soft, chewy center. This dessert has a light nutty flavor with hints of vanilla, coconut, and brown sugar butter. It’s the right amount of sweetness, making it the perfect snack by itself or as a companion to a cup of tea or coffee.

I first learned about mochi muffins from Third Culture Bakery, a small bakery in San Francisco. Their muffins are dense and stick to your teeth chewy and soft and delicious, but the problem was they did not rise like regular muffins.

To me, a muffin needed to rise in order to enjoy its textures. You need to be able to squish into it and appreciate all its crunchy chewy textures.

After testing dozens of recipes, I nailed the harmony of textures. I made these mochi muffin rise, light and chewy, with a nice golden brown crisp on the outside.

Give this recipe a try. You’ll be surprised how easy it is to make mochi muffins, even for beginners.

Traditional Japanese mochi

The chewiness of this recipe is inspired by the texture of one of my favorite childhood snacks: Japanese mochi. Japanese mochi, also known as rice cake, is soft, stretchy and chewy. Mochi-making involves a ceremony called “mochitsuki“, in which steamed glutinous rice is pounded into a paste and then served when it has reached the perfect sticky consistency.

My favorite form of mochi was Daifuku, where a round ball of mochi is stuffed with a sweet filling, most commonly a sweet Azuki red bean paste.

I remember my mom telling me that the red bean paste was chocolate. Being the trusting little sweet-toothed kid that I was, I would stuff my mouth with as many pieces of mochi and “chocolate” as she would let me. I couldn’t help it. It was soft, chewy, fun, and simple. I was hooked!

What is butter mochi?

Fast forward a couple decades to our family vacation in Hawaii. I discovered a local treat at a farmer’s market called butter mochi, a fusion between a brownie and Japanese mochi. The center is soft and chewy like mochi, while the crust is surprisingly crispy like a brownie. It was a perfect combination of the soft chewy texture from my childhood, now with a crispy bonus.

Butter mochi is made by baking Mochiko flour, butter, coconut milk, eggs, and sugar on a flat pan. The end result is a delicious treat that’s soft and chewy on the inside and crispy on the crust.

My mochi muffin recipe has similar texture to the butter mochi dessert, but with the crisp texture surrounding the whole mochi inside.

These mochi muffins rise like classic muffins, adds a crunchiness, and retains the signature chewy texture of mochi on the inside.

What is Mochiko flour?

Mochiko is the secret ingredient in this recipe. Mochiko means “Mochi flour” in Japanese, but it is also known as sweet rice flour or glutinous rice flour, despite not having any gluten in it.

This special flour gives these muffins the stretchy and chewy consistency on the inside. After trying different brands, I’ve found the best results with Koda Farms Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour.

Most American grocery stores usually do not carry this product. Your best bet to get Mochiko is by visiting your local Asian grocery stores. If you can’t find Koda Farms at your grocery store, grab these online.

I’ve also listed my recommendation for substitutions below.

Substitutions

Mochiko substitute

Although Mochiko flour would yield the best and most consistent results, if you’re unable to find it, you can substitute it with glutinous rice flour in the following ratio: For every 1 cup of Mochiko flour, use 1 1/4 cups of glutinous rice flour instead.

Most of the glutinous rice flour found in grocery stores are made from Thailand long-grain or short-grain glutinous rice, whereas Mochiko Flour is made from Japanese short-grain glutinous rice. As a result, there will be a difference in texture in the finished product, but at the end of the day, it’ll still be delicious!

Alternatively, Bob’s Red Mill has Sweet Rice Flour which is more readily available at most bigger chain supermarkets. You can substitute it for Mochiko in a 1:1 ratio. However, sweet rice flour tends to be denser than Mochiko flour and doesn’t have the same level of starch. So the texture, again, won’t be exactly the same.

Coconut milk substitute

If you do not want to use coconut milk, you can substitute with whole milk in a 1:1 ratio, but just so you know, you will compromise on the sweet coconut aroma. In this case, I would recommend adding an additional 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract to give a nice aroma to compliment with your finished mochi muffin recipe.

Tips for best results

Keep ingredients at room temperature

It’s easier to mix the ingredients and create a uniformly smooth batter when they’re all the same temperature.

Take the refrigerated ingredients (eggs, butter, and milk) out to get to room temperature before mixing them all together.

Mix the batter

Make sure to mix the batter well to achieve a smooth consistency in the batter and eliminate any lumps.

Muffin tins

Traditional butter mochi recipes calls for baking in a 9″x13″ pan, then cutting into smaller squares for serving. While I certainly do enjoy it like this, baking butter mochi using a muffin tin increases the surface area. This increases the amount of crispy edges that each individual piece has, so each bite has a little bit of crunch and chewiness to it.

Grease the muffin tin

It’s important to make sure to fully grease or butter your muffin tin before pouring your batter into each muffin cup. This helps each muffin come loose a lot easier after baking. It also contributes to the crispy outer texture of the mochi muffin.

Fill up the muffin tin

Although these butter mochi muffins will rise a little bit due to the baking powder, they won’t rise as much as regular muffins. So feel free to fill it close to the top of the muffin cup to achieve a muffin-like shape, without the fear of it overflowing all over the place.

Tap out air bubbles

Air bubbles in batter can occur for a number of reasons, from how much chemical leavener is used (i.e. baking powder), whether the recipe has gluten, how the batter is mixed, how long it was mixed for and that’s just to name a few.

Air bubbles in the batter would result in a more airy mochi muffin, however if you prefer a more dense center, after you have poured the batter into a muffin tin, give the muffin tin a few good taps on the counter before putting it in the oven. Tapping the tin allows the batter to settle into the muffin tin and also helps push out air pockets in the batter.

Let it cool

If you’re anything like me, after waiting 30+ minutes of baking, you’re ready to have a bite right when anything comes out of the oven. It doesn’t matter if it’s a cake, a brownie, or a mochi muffin. However, in the case of the mochi muffin, it does pay off to have a little bit of patience before digging in.

As the mochi muffin cools, the outside layer gets crispier, whereas the inside becomes more firm and chewier. So basically the more you allow the mochi muffin to cool, the more delicious it becomes!

I’d wait at least 15 minutes after cooling before trying the first mochi!

What to serve it with?

You can enjoy it with various sweet jams, creams, whipped creams, butters, and even fruits.

I like to have it with strawberry coulis, a delicious strawberry jam.

The flavor is so lightly sweet, and the dessert has such a distinct texture, that is both distinct and gentle, that this desert can pair well with anything sweet. Maybe even savory?

What you need

• 2 ½ cups Mochiko sweet rice flour
• ½ cup granulated white sugar (or cane sugar)
• ½ cup light brown sugar (or dark brown sugar)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 13½ oz coconut milk (1 can)
• ½ cup of butter (melted)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 ½ teaspoons molasses (optional, but recommended)

How to make it

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Butter or grease a muffin tin .
3. In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients: Mochiko flour, sugar, baking powder, salt.
4. In a separate medium bowl, mix wet ingredients: coconut milk, melted butter, eggs, vanilla extract, molasses.
5. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, gently stirring and mixing as you pour.
6. Mix well until there are no lumps and the mochi muffin batter has a smooth, even consistency.
7. Pour the mochi muffin batter into each muffin cup in the prepared muffin tin.
8. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 mins on middle oven rack.
9. Remove and let cool on wire rack to room temperature before serving
10. Optional: Top with white and black sesame seeds and fine powdered sugar. Serve with your favorite hot drink, cold ice cream, favorite fruits or just enjoy it by itself!

Storing

I recommend storing them in an airtight container. They’ll keep for 2-3 days at room temperature, about 1 week in the refrigerator, and about 1 month in the freezer.

Keep in mind that freezing them may change the texture a bit.

Reheating

You can reheat mochi muffins in just the microwave, but my favorite method is to do a combo.

I warm them up in the microwave for 10 seconds, then reheat them in the toaster oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 3-5 minutes to re-crisp the outside layer while the inside stays soft and chewy.

Variations

If you want to make Matcha Mochi Muffins: mix in 1 1/2 tablespoons of your choice of matcha green tea powder into the dry ingredients. The higher the quality of the matcha powder, the greener the final product will be.

Pandan Mochi Muffins: add 1 tablespoon of pandan extract to the wet ingredients and stir to mix well.

Also try Matcha Mochi Muffins, Pandan Mochi Muffins, and Black Sesame Mochi Muffins.

FAQs

Can I use a mini muffin pan?

Yes, you can use a mini muffin pan for smaller bite size mochi muffins! Mini muffins are great for kids due to their size.

You’ll want to adjust the baking time (take them out sooner). Keep a close eye on the muffins while baking to ensure you don’t overbake them. Use a toothpick to poke the center of the muffins when you think they might be done. If nothing sticks, you’re good to go.

Can I use regular rice flour instead of Mochiko?

I would recommend against using regular rice flour instead of Mochiko flour. Regular rice flour will not result in the desired chewy mochi texture. If you have both options available, please try the recipe with Mochiko flour first.