Sunday, September 12, 2010

Butter Mochi . . . Cake???


No, that's not cornbread you're seeing, nor is it a plain Jane yellow cake. This is something much, much better. It's Butter Mochi Cake (and I do emphasize the "butter" part).

My sister could absolutely live off of butter mochi. It is her all-time favorite. In fact, when we were at the store, she was actually willing to pay more than $5 for a few small pieces of it. That to me was unthinkable. So, I convinced her to put that measly tray back by promising her that I would make an entire panful of the stuff just for her (much cheaper that way).

Of course, I had never made butter mochi before in my life, so I guess it was sort of a risky promise. But, I had faith in my baking skills and was sure I could find a good recipe, so we bought the ingredients and I put myself to the test.

First off, finding a decent recipe. If I could do that, the actual making of it would take care of itself. I went straight to a book called "Hawaii's Best Mochi Recipes" by Jean Watanabe Hee.

(picture taken from Amazon.com)

This is a wonderful little book with all sorts of recipes for mochi - blueberry mochi, pumpkin mochi, strawberry mochi, and more. I bet you didn't know there could be so many variations for that chewy little treat. Upon looking, I found not one, but three recipes for Butter Mochi. Each one differed regarding the ingredients and the amounts used. How was I going to choose? Well, I did the only thing I could do, I crossed my fingers, hoped for the best, and picked one.

The ingredients used are very rich - one WHOLE stick of butter (no substitutes), 2 1/2 cups of sugar, and a whole can of coconut milk (I used the good stuff, not the lite - after all you only live once). After combining the ingredients, you pour everything into a well greased pan (mochi is very sticky). Then, you pop it into the oven and let it bake.

The smell from the oven was heavenly - imagine the air wafting with butter and a slight coconutty undertone. Once it was done baking, I pulled it out and stared in awe at its beautiful, luscious, shiny, golden surface. It's 24 Karat goodness alright.

(go ahead, you can stare at it too)

The only thing we noticed was that it differed in texture from other butter mochi we had eaten before. Butter mochi is usually very dense, but this one was, dare I say, fluffy, like a cake??? But, upon tasting it, all was forgotten. The taste was perfect, spot-on. It was buttery and sweet, like eating warm sunshine itself. My dad even said that he liked it better as a cake. As for my sister, she was happy as a clam. I don't think she'll ever buy butter mochi again.

Butter Mochi (from Hawaii's Best Mochi Recipes by Jean Watanabe Hee)

1 pound mochiko flour (16 oz. box)
2 1/2 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 c. butter
5 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1 can coconut milk (12 oz.)

Melt butter and set aside to cool. Combine butter with sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla. Add the coconut milk. Combine the baking powder with the mochiko flour and add. Mix with spoon until batter is smooth. Pour into well-greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 375F for 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool and cut into squares.

23 comments:

  1. This sounds heavenly! So rich and decadent - I bet it's addicting!

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  2. I have actually never had mochi- I'm dying to try it! This looks so good!!!

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  3. man i've never heard of this but it sure sounds good!

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  4. A friend was just talking about mochi the other day... I wonder if it was like this recipe. Where do you get mochiko flour?

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  5. I can almost smell the aroma of this cake! Gorgeous golden color and the fluffy texture has my tastebuds wanting a piece.

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  6. I've never made mochi, and all the varieties from the book sound so interesting. Your butter mochi looks great!

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  7. I have never heard of this before..It looks so delicious. I am so happy to found your blog. Now following!!

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  8. I was recently on a mochi kick as well - the butter mochi version you have is very similar to the recipe I use...but mine leans more towards the denser texture...it has two cans of coconut milk and only 1/2 a stick of butter...all the other ingredients are the same. It will give you that dense chewy texture you're looking for.

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  9. This looks delicious and I can't wait to try it! I like the "happy as a clam" statement - I always say that, too!

    Best,
    Veronica

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  10. I've had a butter cake before too- but yours looks much better.

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  11. Wow, I would love to try this

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  12. I've never even heard of this cake--but being that it is cake, I am 99.9% sure I;d like it!

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  13. Bookmarked! I have a box of mochi flour just calling my name! I would love to track down a copy your mochi cookbook. That looks so neat.

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  14. I LOVE butter mochi. Seriously. I am definitely going to make this!

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  15. Looks absolutely fantastic! Thanks for sharing -- I'm saving the last picture as my desktop background.

    :D

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  16. I love mochi but I've never made it myself. It looks so rich and I can imagine what it's texture must be like just from looking at it. Nice to see something other than the usual cookies, cakes, etc. out there!

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  17. I have never tasted mochi. And now, thanks to you, I know I totally have to... :)

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  18. This sounds very delicious. I have never heard of mochi or mochiko flour, but I would love to try it. Your cocoa mochi cake looks great too:)

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  19. Going to pick up the mochi now...was the cake chewy at all?

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  20. Yummy! I love butter mochi and I've always made it that dense sticky ones. When I saw your images I said to myself I need to make it that way. I just finished baking it and oh my goodness, I will always make it this way. Tnx for sharing!

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  21. Yummy! I love butter mochi and have always made the dense texture ones. But when I came across ur recipe I just had to try it! I've just finished baking it and it was so yummy. Tnx for sharing!!

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  22. 3 Researches REVEAL Why Coconut Oil Kills Fat.

    This means that you literally burn fat by eating Coconut Fat (also coconut milk, coconut cream and coconut oil).

    These 3 researches from major medicinal magazines are sure to turn the traditional nutrition world around!

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