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This is the archived version of the Milk Street website and is no longer up to date.

Please visit 177milkstreet.com to see the current website with all of the latest recipes!

Brown Sugar Butter Mochi

Makes sixteen 2-inch squares

2 hours 20 minutes active, plus cooling

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Butter mochi, a riff on traditional Japanese mochi (rice cakes made with sweet rice) is a popular baked treat in Hawaii. Its defining characteristic is a uniquely chewy, satisfyingly sticky texture, and though it’s rich with butter and coconut milk, its taste is something of a blank canvas. We use brown sugar and deeply browned butter; together they give the mochi delicious notes of caramel and butterscotch. A sprinkle of shredded coconut onto the batter just before baking adds contrasting crisp texture. Sweet rice flour, also known as glutinous rice flour or mochiko (the Japanese term for the ingredient), is essential for achieving the correct chewiness. Koda Farms brand, sold in a white box with a distinctive blue star, is widely available. Half of the 1-pound box works perfectly in this recipe. We found Bob’s Red Mill sweet rice flour to be too coarse to yield good results. We prefer light coconut milk here; regular coconut milk is too rich. Leftovers will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for a couple days.

Makes sixteen

2-inch squares

Tip

Don’t underbake the mochi or the center will taste starchy and raw. It’s best to err on the side of overdone. For easiest slicing, allow the mochi to cool completely. A plastic utensil, such a disposable knife or plastic dough scraper with a sharp edge, is ideal for cutting the mochi, as it sticks less than the metal blade of a conventional knife.

2 hours

20 minutes active, plus cooling

Ingredients

  • 42

    grams (3 tablespoons) salted butter, cut into 3 pieces

  • 1

    14-oz can light coconut milk

Directions

Reviews

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