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Easy Mocha Mochi Rice Cakes 찹쌀떡

In todays video, we make easy homemade mochi that is soft and plush with a gooey chocolate center. You can make it entirely in a microwave!

Easy Mocha Mochi Rice Cakes 찹쌀떡

Making homemade mochi rice cakes doesn’t have to be a long winded affair.  It’s true that traditionally, it’s a more difficult, tedious task between pounding steaming sticky dough and standing over a large hot pot that could itself burn you just as badly as the hot mochi dough and it definitely takes as much elbow grease as it does time.  However, with the right proportion of ingredients and an introduction to a contemporary setting, mochi can be made from scratch at home in less than 20 minutes.

This scaled down version is perfect for the home cook but it doesn’t mean it’s been scaled down in either flavor or texture.  My recipe for homemade mochi will produce soft and plush rice cakes with a rich and delicious surprise center.  Within the video, I will show you how to ensure that your mochi is bouncy and chewy, making it look and taste like you created these the hard, old fashioned way.  Only you or I will know that it took less time than baking a cake!  These mochi rice cakes are quick, easy, and delicious and would make fabulous gifts when tucked into pretty tissue in festive boxes too.  Who wouldn’t want a gorgeous array of mochi, each with different colors and flavors?  Check out my cherry cheesecake mochi here and my green tea mochi ice cream here.  And if mocha doesn’t happen to be your thing, you can also substitute the coffee for water and chocolate for the more traditional filling of sweetened red bean paste {or anything else your heart desires}.  Whatever flavor combinations you go with, you can look forward to each incredibly pillowy bite that melts in your mouth.  It’s a textural delight that I can’t quite put into words so I highly recommend trying it for yourself.  You won’t regret it!

https://youtu.be/r8jVliYJt_E

4.8 from 8 reviews

Mochi Rice Cakes
 
Prep time

Cook time

Total time

 

Author:
Serves: 6-8 Mochi

Ingredients
Mochi
  • 1 cup of *sweet* rice flour {not regular rice flour}
  • 4 tb sugar
  • 1 tb sifted cocoa
  • ½ ts fine salt
  • 1 cup of cold coffee
  • Dusting of wheat/corn starch/sweet rice flour
Chocolate Ganache
  • ½ c bittersweet chocolate
  • ¼ c heavy cream
  • ¼ ts fine salt
  • 2 ts rum, bourbon, grand marnier, etc {optional}

Instructions
  1. In a bowl, whisk together the rice flour, sugar, cocoa and salt.
  2. Slowly pour in the cold coffee and whisk until smoothly combined.
  3. Cover with plastic wrap, leaving space for steam to escape and microwave for 1½ minutes.
  4. Unwrap and work the dough with the back of a wooden spoon. Smash and stretch the dough until it gets thick, sticky, and cohesive.
  5. Cover again and microwave for another 1½ minutes.
  6. Unwrap and stretch/beat the dough again for about 3-5 minutes.
  7. On a surface dusted with wheat/corn starch or sweet rice flour, roll the dough into a long log shape. Cut into 8 equal pieces. Flatten each piece, tuck a piece of truffle into the center and pinch to seal.
  8. To make the truffles, pour boiling cream into the chocolate with the salt and liquor {if using}. Allow to set in the refrigerator for about an hour.

Notes
My microwave is 1.58 kw.

Recommended Sweet Rice Flour: http://amzn.to/1wfcUYT

Love,

Your Squishy Monster ^.~

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67 thoughts on “Easy Mocha Mochi Rice Cakes 찹쌀떡

  • yummychunklet says:

    Tasty!

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    Thanks =)

  • Norma Chang says:

    Never thought of using the microwave to cook the sweet rice flour dough, this sure is an easy method.

  • Lester. says:

    OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Chocolatey! Sexy, Naughty! Delicious and wonderful looking Angie!!Thanks for sharing this with us!!

    Love.

    Les.

    May you and your family enjoy this Christmas season!!

  • Jenn and Seth says:

    oh my gosh these sound soooooooo good! I need to find some sweet rice flour and make these asap!

  • shuhan says:

    Love mochi! You amde it so much simpler with your video! Brilliant! Also saw the linked up post for green tea icecream mochi… WTF!!- going over now.

  • brian says:

    i am so lazy. i think i would buy plain mochi from the store + just squirt in the chocolate! haha…chocolate filled donuts is one of my favorite.

  • Ash-foodfashionparty says:

    I’ve never tried this, and can’t wait to make em’ sometime. What an interesting dessert.

  • Evelyne@cheapethniceatz says:

    Nom nom for mochi. A very easy recipe indeed but so delicious, look at that ganache oozing out.

  • Sarah & Arkadi says:

    We love mochi cakes!

  • Amy (Savory Moments) says:

    Mmmmm… these look really yummy! I’d like to receive some as a gift

  • Joanne says:

    I’ve always wanted to learn to make mochi!! This is great!

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    This is a great starting point since it’s so easy.

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    These make great gifts (so easy, cute, and delicious)!

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    I’m happy to see it on more menus here.

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    That was definitely my favorite part!

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    Thanks, Ash!

  • cailee says:

    I love Mochi!! Thanks for sharing… it looks delicious!! YUM

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    lol–that works too!

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    I can’t decide which one reigns as my ultimate favorite…tough choices =)

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    G’luck with the search, they’re fab!

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    Thanks, Les!

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    I remember mama would burn her hands with the traditional method…now it’s yummy mochi sans icky burns =)

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    Thanks, Cailee!

  • Sandra | Sandra's Easy Cooking says:

    I LOVE mochi and I made them before, but Coffee didn’t enter my mind. Thank you so much for the recipe, sounds so, so delicious..I mean coffee+ chocolate,hello!!!It got be be delicious!

  • Amelia says:

    Hi Angela, coffee and chocolate…… wooohoooo great combination. Love these chewy mochi, yours look awesome.

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    I know how much you love your coffee =)

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    lol–hope you enjoy it =)

  • Grace says:

    Hey Angela!

    I recently found your channel while searching up mochi recipes for a mochi contest in my Japanese class! Can’t wait to give it a try!

    PS. I love how you’re korean! Whoo! (:

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    Thank you so much, Grace! That’s my mama’s name {great name}! I hope it turns out to be a success. Always happy to meet a fellow food lover + Korean gal =)

  • Monica says:

    hi
    i love your recipe
    but, i want to ask some thing
    if i use regular rice flour what’ll happen?
    and if i use the heat from the stove and not from the microwave, is it ok?
    thankyou

    i hope you reply my message

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    Great questions, Monica. Sweet rice/rice flour are not the same. The latter can be used for a different type of rice cake but if you’re looking for tender, chewy mochi cake, you need sweet rice flour. Recently, I’ve even found some in the bulk aisle of my health food stores. You can always find them online and at ethnic stores as well. I’ve not used the stove top method but imagine you will need a steamer basket with a cheesecloth of some sort {or something to line it with}. It would be fun to experiment. Let me know how it works out for you =)

  • Josh says:

    When you use cocoa powder in the video. Is it required? Instead of heavy cream can it be milk? And for the chocolate, my local japanese supermarket does not have bittersweet chocolate. I just bought the meiji milk chocolate is that okay?

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    Hey Josh! No cocoa powder/milk can def. be substituted with/and the meiji is so yummy! Let me know how it turns out as it should be just fine =)

  • Josh says:

    How long do i have to leave the chocolate in the fridge?

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    Hey Josh, allow to set in the refrigerator for about an hour =)

  • lok says:

    1cup of sweet rice flour means how many (g)?

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    About 160 =)

  • Lorraine says:

    I made regular daifuku mochi yesterday, and it came out delicious. Going to try your recipe today, which looks amazing! One note, you forgot to include the sifted cocoa in step 1 in the written instructions. If someone doesn’t watch the video, they would have it left over. Also, I think you mean Grand Marnier (I know, persnickety, LOL! – but maybe you want you know) – in any case, I LOVE YOUR BLOG! Favorited and bookmarked, and shared.

  • payne says:

    is it heavy whipping cream or just heavy cream?

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    You can use either =)

  • Agnes says:

    Hello Angela!! I’m a big fan!!! I’m making the chocolate ganache but i can’t mold it to being round. Please help me!!

  • Mai says:

    Hello Angela!! Im a HUGE fan!! Because of you, I’m having the burning desire to cook! Anyways, i tried making the chocolate ganache but it wont set so i cant make it round. Please help me!

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    Hello! I’m so happy you’re here!! If it’s not setting at room temperature, try sticking it in the fridge/freezer for a bit and it’ll be a scoopable consistency then =)

  • Lisa says:

    Hello!

    I’m going to attempt this very soon, luckily i have almost all the ingredients in my pantry. Even the sweet rice flour! I just wanted to know if I can use semi-sweet chocolate over bittersweet? I have a lot of semi-sweet chocolate and I’d love to use what I have instead of going to the store for one item.

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    Thought their percentages are a bit different, for me personally, I can’t detect too much of a strong change and use them pretty interchangeably in my kitchen. Either/or will be perfect. Happy mochi making, Lisa!! =)

  • Lisa says:

    Thank you! I figured Id just try it and it turned out well. I just need to work on my folding and pinching, they looked a little funny and some filling came out but overall they tasted yummy!

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    This makes me incredibly happy to hear, Lisa!!

  • Katie says:

    Ahh, I’m so excited to make these! I’m assuming I can replace with the coffee with water?

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    Hi, Katie. Absolutley =)

  • Teresa says:

    Hi Angela!
    Just wanted to let you know that I made this for a party of 50 people! (Asian family lol)
    It was a little tough because I just timed your ingredients by 6 but making that big of a batch didn’t quite come out the same way. I also substituted the chocolate for red beans paste (boiled, pureed, then let set). It turned out alright but I think I can do better if I make asmaller batch next time.
    Do you have Any tips for making large batches? I have another party next month.
    Thanks!

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    Hi, Teresa! I’m so impressed by your undertaking—you go girl! For the filling, I often use this one for adzuki beans: http://thesquishymonster.com/2014/10/steamed-panda-buns-찐빵.html as for multiplying it for that many, I would try and do it all in one fell swoop over the stovetop in a large sturdy pot. This route is much harder {as it requires babysitting and lots of elbow grease} but the act of continuously beating/stretching the dough will yield a much chewier and bouncy finished product. The trick is to never leave its side. It will get really thick {almost impossibly so} but as long as you’re patient and work with it and really pound out the dough, you should be satisfied with the mochi at the end. I hope this helps!

  • corina says:

    hello angela~~ i want to ask about the sweet rice flour. I am from indonesia and we don’t have sweet rice flour i guess. we only have glutinous rice flour which i use to make pasta for kimchi. can i use them? and about the microwave, i don’t use them. I use traditional oven that heated by the stove. can i use them too??? thank you

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    Hi, Corina! It’s the same thing =) Additionally, you can check out my cherry cheesecake mochi for a stove top version =)

  • Esra says:

    Hey! I love this recipe. But I want to ask something. Can I use nuttela instead of chocolate

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    Hi, Esra! Sure, that would be delicious!

  • Sabrina says:

    Thank you so much! Finally, I found a mochi recipe for my picky daughter who doesn’t like red bean & green tea filling. My daughter definitely like this chocolate filling mochi. I made mochi ice-cream with your recipe last time, she kept asking for more. Thank you for making my cooking a little easier since I’ve a picky eater in the family.

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    I’m so happy to hear it, Sabrina! Thank you for sharing this with me, I’m so glad you and your daughter enjoyed this mochi. I hope you both have a great weekend!! =)

  • Mao says:

    I made it my boyfriend!! We both LOVED it!! Although the chocolate truffle inside wasn’t firm as it was supposed to be!! Haha it was still really awesome!!
    I wish I can post the picture here tho! Lol

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    Hi, Mao! That’s awesome to hear. Thanks for letting me know =) I like to freeze my little truffles to make life easier {or you can always scale back the liquid}. I JUST started using Instagram if you want to post it there =) @ASquishyMonster

  • Smash says:

    Could I possibly swap out the cold coffee for cold hot chocolate? Do you reckon that might work as well?

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    I would swap it with water =)

  • Terese says:

    I am so excited to have found this recipe! We were recently in Japan for a visit and I purchased a small box of these candies at the airport going back to the US. On the plane I tasted it for the first time in my life and it was such a funny, but delicious experience! The soft, velvety, squishy surface and with yummy chocolate in the center, it really was so strange but also very tasty. I so regret not having purchased more! Now at home I decided to do a search but I didn’t even have a name to go by since I could not understand the writing on the box. LOL! Using search words such as gelatine, squishy, chocolate, Japanese candy, I finally figured out what the name must be, and then suddenly a recipe!!! Wow, never thought I could make this myself!My teenagers will also be excited, they all thought it was so weird to touch it but loved it at the same time. Almost feels like you’re touching skin! LOL! I originally thought the outside was a super soft gummy candy or gelatin, so this was interesting. I have never used sweet rice flour before. I’m excited to go find an oriental store now and see if they have it. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Love, a Norwegian in USA.

  • Terese says:

    Quick question: what is the wooden tool you’re using to pound the dough, called? Thanks in advance!

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    I’m just using a plastic rice paddle here =)

  • The Squishy Monster says:

    That’s awesome, Terese! Thank you so much for sharing. I love that you had such an exciting foodie adventure in Japan. Much love to you and your teens =)

  • Terese Sherman says:

    Thanks so much!

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