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Closeup of Hawaiian butter mochi
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4.77 from 51 votes

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.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: Hawaiian
Servings: 32 Mini Cakes
Calories: 120kcal
Author: Joyce Lee

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

Instructions

Making the Butter Mochi Cake Batter

  • Melt 1 stick unsalted butter in a microwave in 15-second increments until it has fully melted.
  • In a large mixing bowl, add the melted butter, with 1 ½ cups coconut cream, 1 can sweetened condensed milk, and 2 tablespoons vanilla extract and mix it together.
  • Add in 3 eggs 1 at a time while whisking.
  • Add in 1 tablespoon baking powder, 3 tablespoons sugar and 1 lb Koda Farms mochiko flour and continue to mix
  • Slowly add in 1 cup 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.
    (Optional) Lightly dust the buttered pan with cornmeal, coarse semolina, or flour and shake out any excess over the sink. This will help the cakes to easily pop out of the tray without sticking and if you are using cornmeal or semolina, it will also make the bottoms crispier.
  • Fill each cup with ¼ 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.
    *If your oven runs hotter, then check at the 30 minute mark to see how golden brown it is.
    **If you are not sure if it is underdone, use a toothpick and insert it into the middle of a few mochis. It will come out cleanly without any batter if the middles are fully cooked.
  • Let them cool for 5-10 minutes to form it's crispiness and enjoy!
    Mini Butter Mochi Cake on a muffin tin

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 ¼ 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. 
  • 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 ½ 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 ½ 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 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 ¼ to ½ cup of smooth peanut butter while you are mixing the butter into the coconut cream.

Nutrition

Serving: 1muffin cake | Calories: 120kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 65mg | Potassium: 102mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 156IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 0.4mg