Hawaiian Butter Mochi

Kerri Lehman
Jan 16, 2022
2 min read

Active time: 20 minutes | Bake time: about 1 hour

If you’ve never had butter mochi, imagine it like a mochi cake, so essentially a super spongy and chewy cake-like texture. The rice flour is what gives it that chewy mochi consistency. It is a traditional Hawaiian treat, but I wanted to put my own spin on it by adding the shredded coconut on top which creates a perfect crunchy topping to the mochi cake.

Ingredients:

113g (1 stick / 8 tbsp / ½ cup) butter
450g (3 ⅓ cups) sweet glutinous rice flour
100g (½ cup) granulated sugar
250g (1 ¼ cup) brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
2 cups half and half (can be substituted with milk, either 2% or whole)
4 large eggs
1 tbsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
1 can (13.5 ounces) unsweetened coconut milk
About ½ cup sweetened shredded coconut (also known as desiccated coconut)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper.
Melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave, set aside to cool.
Whisk together half & half, eggs, and vanilla extract in a large bowl.
With a spatula, fold in the rice flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Once the dry ingredients are mostly incorporated, switch to a whisk and whisk until the batter is mostly smooth (there may be a few lumps from the rice flour, that’s okay).
Add the melted butter and coconut milk, mix until well incorporated, the batter should be fairly smooth now.
Pour batter into your prepared pan and bang on the counter a few times to eliminate air bubbles (if using a glass 9x13 pan, bang it on a pot holder on the counter to protect the glass).
Sprinkle coconut flakes on top of the batter in an even layer.
Bake for 60-65 minutes, until the coconut is nicely browned and the mochi does not jiggle at all if the pan is shaken.
Place the pan on a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.