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    Home Β» Recipes Β» Sweets & Desserts

    Chewy Hawaiian Butter Mochi

    Published: Mar 9, 2017 β€’ Modified: Mar 18, 2022 β€’ Author: Joyce β€’ 96 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Mini Hawaiian Butter Mochi recipe lightly sweetened with condensed milk with hints of vanilla & coconut and baked in a muffin tin to maximize the crispy edges on the outside and still have a satisfying chewiness on the inside.Β 

    Mini Butter Mochi Cake on a muffin tin and wooden plate
    Table of Contents
    • What are Butter Mochis?
    • Ingredients and Substitions
    • What Can I Substitute for Mochiko?
    • Tips
    • How to Make Hawaiian Butter Mochi
    • Butter Mochi Variations
    • How to Store Butter Mochi
    • Looking for More Dessert Recipes? Try These!
    • Recipe Card

    My favorite part of this Hawaiian butter mochi treat is the crispy edges and the satisfying chewiness in the center. Whenever I make this, everyone always seems to fight for the corner pieces so why not bake this in a muffin tin so that everyone gets corner pieces?

    If you have never had butter mochi, I highly urge you to give it a try, do keep in mind that they are lightly sweetened so they are not as indulgent as a fudgy brownie but they are wonderful with a cup of tea/coffee or as an afternoon snack.

    If you look at my list of desserts, you'll notice that I also love using condensed milk to sweeten them. It gives any desserts a more buttery-rich flavor and it gives it an amazing scent that wafts throughout the house. If you have extra condensed milk, try using it on our easy moist banana bread that uses yellow roasted bananas!

    What are Butter Mochis?

    Butter mochi originates from Hawaii and is a popular snack made with Mochiko flour (sweet rice flour), sugar, eggs, and coconut milk. They are traditionally baked in a square or rectangle tray and cut into squares. They are typically crispy on the outside, chewy, and buttery in the middle. What makes butter mochi stand out from any other brownie or bar is its satisfying and chewy center combined with its coconut and vanilla flavor.

    Ingredients and Substitions

    Mini Coconut Butter Mochi Cakes Ingredients laid out on a table
    • Coconut Cream - I like to use coconut cream over coconut milk because I find that it has a stronger coconut flavor and it contains a bit more fat as well which gives the cakes a crisper texture. If you cannot find coconut cream, try to find coconut milk with a higher fat content - I find those are generally thicker and have a stronger coconut flavor.
    • Sweet Rice Flour (glutinous rice flour) - I like to use KodaΒ Farms Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour for this recipe and I find that it produces the best results from all the glutinous rice flours I have used, but depending on where you are, it may be more difficult to find.Β  (Note: Although it is labeled as 'Sweet Rice Flour' this is still glutinous rice flour.) If you cannot find this particular brand in the store, please see below in the next section for my recommendation for what to substitute it with along with the changes you may need to make. Make sure you are using glutinous rice flour and not just rice flour.
    • Sweetened Condensed Milk - To sweeten this mochi cake, I like to use sweetened condensed milk. I find it gives the butter mochi a bit more of a creamy flavor and it's just the right amount of sweetness without being overly sweet.
    • Eggs - I use large eggs for all my cooking and baking. I like to use room-temperature eggs for this recipe because I find it makes the edges crispier since the batter is at room temperature before it goes into the oven.
    • Vanilla - I like to use real vanilla extract but artificial vanilla extract works just well for this recipe.
    • Unsalted Butter - This ingredient should not be substituted, since it gives the cake its butteriness and flavor.

    What Can I Substitute for Mochiko?

    Box of glutinous rice flour from koda farms on the left, a bag of thai brand rice flour on the right

    I still highly recommend using Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour to make the crispiest and chewiest butter mochi but I understand that it can be hard to find depending on where you live. I myself sometimes have a hard time finding it as well since they are always sold out where I live, so I have tested this recipe with the other brands and types of glutinous rice flours, mainly the more common ones that come in a plastic bag packaging that comes from Thailand and I'm glad to say that the recipe can be substituted with it with minor tweaks to the recipe.

    • Make sure you are purchasing glutinous rice flour and not rice flour. Usually, the glutinous rice flour ones are packaged with green writing and the rice flour is packaged with red writing.
    • Make sure to check how much flour comes in each bag. Most of the bagged glutinous rice flour from Thailand comes in 1 lb bags (16 oz) but some brands come with 50 gm less flour so you may need to adjust the amount of milk you add to the recipe to make sure the batter is not runny. Instead of adding 1 cup of milk, add the milk ΒΌ cup at a time until you get a pancake batter consistency. Coat the back of a wooden spoon with the batter, and run your finger through the batter. If it leaves a clear line like the photo below, then you're good. If the line doesn't form, the batter may be too runny and you have put too much milk.
      Mochi cake batter thickness tested on a wooden spoon
    • Butter mochi cake is very forgiving. My assumption is because of the texture of this cake - it's chewy and holds moisture well from the rice flour's starchiness, so it's kinda hard to mess up that texture with minor substitutions. As long as your end product has the consistency of a pancake batter - you're good!
    • Keep in mind that the bagged glutinous rice flour is not a perfect substitution but it's pretty darn close and honestly just as tasty. The biggest difference I noticed is that butter mochi made with the bagged glutinous rice flour is a little less chewy.

    Tips

    • Try to have the milk and eggs at room temperature before you start making this recipe. I find that this makes the cake edges crispier since the batter has not been cooled, so that it takes less time to cook and crisp up.
    • After it has been baked, make sure you let the butter mochi fully cool before eating. Letting it cool, lets the crusty outer layer get crispier and it firms up the inside so that it becomes chewier.
    • If you don't have a nonstick muffin pan, grease the pan very well with butter before pouring the batter into each muffin cup. I like to grease each muffin cup with butter and coat it with coarse semolina or cornmeal before pouring the batter into each cup. Just remember to shake out the excess semolina/cornmeal into the sink so that you don't have a thick layer on the bottom. The semolina/cornmeal gives each mini cake an even crispier bottom and it lets each cake easily pop out of the pan.

    How to Make Hawaiian Butter Mochi

    1. Combine the Wet Ingredients Except for the Milk - Melt the butter and coconut cream in the microwave for a few seconds (Approximately 45 seconds but do this 10-15 seconds at a time, butter goes NUTS in the microwave - I did this for 60 seconds straight and half the butter ended up outside of the bowl. Cleaning up butter is not fun.) Add the melted butter and cream into a large bowl and condensed milk, vanilla, and mix well. Add in the eggs 1 at a time and mix well.
    2. Add in the Dry Ingredients & Mix Well - In a large mixing bowl, add in the flour, sugar, and baking powder and mix well. At first, you will see lumps but if you keep mixing, it will become a smooth batter - No need for electric mixers, I found using the whisk was enough.
    3. Add in the Milk - I added the milk last because depending on what type of flour or coconut cream/milk you use, you want to control how much milk to add to get the right consistency. You can slowly add, but you can't take it out. If you are following the recipe without substitutions then 1 cup of milk is good, but if you substitute the coconut cream for coconut milk then add in ΒΌ cup of milk at a time until you reach a nice pancake batter consistency. Run your fingers through the batter and if it holds its shape and it's not too runny and not too thick then you're good! I actually found that if you let your batter rest for 15-20 minutes, it gave the cakes an even better texture!
    4. Butter the Muffin Tin & Bake - If you're as obsessed as me, then you want maximum crispiness. Muffin tin all the way for this. Butter your muffin tinsΒ liberally and pour approximately ΒΌ cup of batter in each muffin cup and bake them for 45 minutes to anΒ hour at 350F (177C) until golden brown on the middle rack in the oven.Β Once you are finished baking it, if you can wait that long (I couldn't!), let them to cool on a wire rack before diving in so that it has a chance to form its crispiness. πŸ™‚

    Butter Mochi Variations

    • Salted Egg - We tried adding about 8 salted duck eggs yolks (they were about 1 inch in size) and they turned out fantastic. You will need to add 1 extra tablespoon of sugar to counterbalance the saltiness and make sure you mash them very well with a fork before you mix it in.
    • Pandan - Start by adding Β½ tablespoon of pandan extract. There are a lot of different kinds of pandan extract and some are stronger than others. I have used some that were pre-sweetened and some that were very strong and floral. You can add Β½ tablespoon more if your first batch wasn't strong enough.
    • Ube - Add in 1 tablespoon or ube extract and mix well.
    • Matcha - Mix in 1 Β½ tablespoons of high-quality matcha into the dry mix before mixing it into the wet ingredients so that it will mix evenly.
    • Peanut Butter - Mix in ΒΌ to Β½ cup of smooth peanut butter while you are mixing the butter into the coconut cream.

    How to Store Butter Mochi

    These keep very well in an air-tight container but make sure you keep it in the fridge since there is milk in it. They will keep for about a week.

    To crisp them up again, pop them in the oven at 350F (177C) for about 15 minutes and then let it cool so that it can get crispy again. I personally think they taste even better the next day.

    Looking for More Dessert Recipes? Try These!

    • Black Sesame Creme Brulee
    • Roasted Banana Banana Bread
    • Black Sesame Chococlate Ruffled Milk Pie
    • Chewy Five Spice Ginger Molasses Cookies
    • Black Sesame Cheese Cake
    • Candy Cane Chocolate Crepe Cake
    Mini Butter Mochi Cake on a muffin tin and wooden plate

    If you like my recipes and want to be updated on when new ones come out, please consider subscribing to my newsletter (we don't spam) and follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for all of my latest recipes!

    Recipe Card

    Mini Butter Mochi Cakes on a muffin tray served on a wooden plate

    Chewy Hawaiian Butter Mochi

    Mini Hawaiian Mochi recipe with crispy edges on the outside and a satisfying chewiness on the inside with hints of vanilla & coconut.
    Print Pin Rate Save Recipe Saved!
    Course: Dessert, Snack
    Cuisine: Hawaiian
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 1 hour
    Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
    32 Mini Cakes
    4.89 from 35 votes

    Recipe Notes

    • If you are not using Koda Farms Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour, the only substitution I have tested and recommend is using the bagged glutinous rice flour made from Thailand. Make sure to check how much flour comes in each bag. Most of the bagged glutinous rice flour from Thailand comes in 1 lb bags (16 oz) but some brands come with 50 gm less flour so you may need to adjust the amount of milk you add to the recipe to make sure the batter is not runny. Instead of adding 1 cup of milk, add the milk ΒΌ cup at a time until you get a pancake batter consistency. Coat the back of a wooden spoon with the batter, and run your finger through the batter. If it leaves a clear line, then you're good. If the line doesn't form, the batter may be too runny and you have put too much milk. Please see the blog post for a photo for example of the batter consistency.
    • Try to find a high-fat content coconut milk if you are substituting it for coconut cream.
    • Some coconut creams are thicker than others depending on what brand you buy. If your batter comes out too thick from the thicker coconut cream, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of milk to thin it down a bit.
    • After it has been baked, make sure you let the butter mochi fully cool before eating. Letting it cool, lets the crusty outer layer get crispier and it firms up the inside so that it becomes chewier.
    • If you don't have a nonstick muffin pan, grease the pan very well with butter before pouring the batter into each muffin cup. I like to grease each muffin cup with butter and coat it with coarse semolina or cornmeal before pouring the batter into each cup. Just remember to shake out the excess semolina/cornmeal into the sink so that you don't have a thick layer. The semolina/cornmeal gives each mini cake an even crispier bottom and it lets each cake easily pop out of the pan.
    • Storage

      These keep very well in a well-sealed container but make sure you keep it in the fridge since there is milk in it. They will keep for about a week.
      To crisp them up again, pop them in the oven at 350F (177C) for about 15 minutes and then let it cool so that it can get crispy again. I personally think they taste even better the next day.
    • Butter Mochi Variations

      • Salted Egg - We tried adding about 8 salted duck eggs yolks (they were about 1 inch in size) and they turned out fantastic. You will need to add 1 extra tablespoon of sugar to counterbalance the saltiness and make sure you mash them very well with a fork before you mix it in.
      • Pandan - Start by adding Β½ tablespoon of pandan extract. There are a lot of different kinds of pandan extract and some are stronger than others. I have used some that were pre-sweetened and some that were very strong and floral. You can add Β½ tablespoon more if your first batch wasn't strong enough.
      • Ube - Add in 1 tablespoon or ube extract and mix well.
      • Matcha - Mix in 1 Β½ tablespoons of high-quality matcha into the dry mix before mixing it into the wet ingredients so that it will mix evenly.
      • Peanut Butter - Mix in ΒΌ to Β½ cup of smooth peanut butter while you are mixing the butter into the coconut cream.

    Ingredients
     

    Wet Ingredients

    • 1 stick unsalted butter (melted, approximately Β½ cup)
    • 1 Β½ cups coconut cream
    • 1 can sweetened condensed milk (300ml, approximately 1 ΒΌ cup)
    • 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
    • 3 eggs (room temperature)
    • 1 cup milk

    Dry Ingredients

    • 1 lb Koda Farms mochiko flour (glutinous rice flour) See Notes for Substitutions
    • 3 tablespoons sugar
    • 1 tablespoon baking powder
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    Making the Butter Mochi Cake Batter

    • Melt the butter in a microwave in 15-second increments until it is fully melted.
    • In a large mixing bowl, add the melted butter, with the coconut cream, condensed milk, and vanilla and mix it together.
    • Add in the eggs 1 at a time while whisking.
    • Add in the baking powder, sugar and mochiko flour and continue to mix
    • Slowly add in the milk and mix until the batter is smooth. You want to achieve a pancake batter consistency. Run your finger through the batter on a back of a spoon and if it keeps it's shape and it's not too runny or thick then you're good.
    • [Optional] Let the batter rest for 15 to 20 minutes so that the batter to come to room temperature, this gives the cake a chewier and crispier texture.

    Baking the Butter Mochi

    • Set the oven to 350F (176C)
    • Butter the muffin tin liberally. Lightly dust the buttered pan with cornmeal, coarse semolina, or flour and shake out any excess over the sink. This will help with the cakes to easily pop out of the tray without sticking and if you are using cornmeal or semolina, it will make the bottoms crispier.
    • Fill each cup with ΒΌ cup of batter per cake and tap the tray gently on the counter to remove any air bubbles.
    • Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour (until golden brown) on the middle rack in the oven. At the 45 minute mark, check to see if they are golden brown.
    • Let them cool for 5-10 minutes to form it's crispiness and enjoy!

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Serving | Calories: 149kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 6g | Sodium: 22mg | Sugar: 7g

    *Nutritional information is calculated using online tools and is an estimate*

    Did you try this recipe?I'd love to hear from you! Let me know how it was and consider giving it a rating! Tag me on Instagram with @pupswithchopsticks to show me!
    Made with β™‘ by Joyce | Pups with Chopsticks

    Disclaimer: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites, however I provide these links to make items easier to find if you cannot purchase this locally and I would never recommend anything I don’t own myself or highly recommend. I would prefer you buy your items locally if possible to support your local shops (and chances are they are cheaper locally as well!) πŸ™‚

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Zoe says

      June 28, 2022 at 11:39 am

      5 stars
      These are very tasty, and I love the texture.
      Some notes:
      This recipe made 18 normal muffins and about 10 mini muffins for me. I am guessing it would have made about 22 normal muffins. I filled the pans right up to the top. I am sure it varies a lot based on muffin pan size.

      The mini muffins were done after about 13 minutes in my oven, although it runs a bit hot so YMMV.

      It may be the brand of coconut cream I used (Savoy), but they don't come out with much of a coconut taste. Very tasty, but not coocnutty.

      My batter was very lumpy. I mixed it for a long time with a whisk and the lumps just weren't disappearing so I ran the batter through a mesh strainer. Next time I will try sifting the mochiko flour to see if it helps. I am guessing that this is a hard recipe to over-mix since it is Mochiko-based not wheat flour-based?

      My muffins looked overcooked compared to the pictures here after 45 minutes (oven runs hot) but tasted great, so don't be discouraged if they come out very brown looking. They were also more bouncy/chewey in the middle rather than fudgy. I am not sure if I overcooked them or if the other mochi muffin I had previously was undercooked (from an amateur baker, not a bakery). TBH I prefer the chewy bouncy texture over the fudgy kind so I will keep cooking them this way.

      Don't worry you will have too many muffins. It is all too easy for a single person to eat 4-5 in a day.

      Overall, I love the texture and would recommend this recipe as a great base for playing with the other flavors Joyce Lee recommends.

      Reply
      • Joyce Lee says

        June 28, 2022 at 1:13 pm

        Hi Zoe!
        Wow thank you so much for this wonderful comment!
        I am so happy you tested it for your oven, even if you are not a baker I think your notes are fantastic and I love them. You are right, every oven is different and it's tough sometimes to be very accurate with it.
        I also used the Savoy brand as well. Was your can a dark blue color? My guess is the lumpiness is from the coconut cream (the actual fat). It is also where most of the coconut flavor comes from as well, so you may have strained some of it out.
        You are right, you can't overmix this batter because it is rice-based and it does not form any gluten! πŸ™‚ So you can overmix it and it will turn out fine.

        I actually prefer the chewy bouncy texture as well! and you're soooo right, eating 4-5 a day is so easy to do haha πŸ™‚

        Hope you have fun experimenting with the other flavors!

        Reply
    2. Mary says

      March 24, 2022 at 2:20 am

      Hi! I want to try using a mini muffin tin, what should the baking time be adjusted to?

      Reply
      • Joyce Lee says

        March 28, 2022 at 12:22 pm

        Hi Mary!
        I haven't tried using a mini muffin tin yet. If I was to use one, I would reduce the baking time by a lot. I would start off by baking it for 15 minutes, use a toothpick and poke the center, if the toothpick still has batter on it then it's not ready yet, and bake it for another 10 minutes. Keep doing this in 5-10 minute increments until the toothpick comes out clean and the tops look golden brown. Once you know how long you put that first batch in, you can do it for the rest with the time you calculated πŸ™‚
        Hope this helps and hope I make sense?
        Hope you enjoy it, if you make it!

        Reply
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