Butter Mochi with Coconut

A rare baking post for me as I am really not much of a baker.  I dream creating light, fluffy swirls of sugary decadence…the stuff that makes co-workers and family members beg for more.  But no, that’s not  my thing and this recipe?  Definitely not light.  Decadent?

Yes!

I asked a good friend for her favorite “tried and true” recipe for butter mochi, a sort of hybrid dessert with roots from Japan mixed  with Hawaiian-cooking ingenuity.

Of course being me I couldn’t resist tweaking the directions a bit.  The batter called for water, but I skipped that part; I wanted a thick, rich slab of chewy coconut and butter goodness.

Another wacky thing I tried (and it turned out fantastic) was cooking half the recipe using my rice cooker!

But first here’s the conventional instrucions.

Beat 4 eggs  and set aside.  You’ll add this to the other liquids ingredients shortly.

Use a larger bowl than what I picked.  I told you I’m not much of a baker!

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a seperate bowl.  Set aside. 

Now I could be wrong, and some of you more experienced bakers can correct me, but isn’t it true that you should not over mix or work the batter too much?

I think that’s where I got my-fear-of-dough.  Too much “food-tv”.   Like I’m going to ruin it somehow.

In another larger bowl ?one that I should of used for the eggs? mix all the liquids together.

When the it’s all blended add the liquid to the dry and mix well.  Then add 1 cup of shredded sweetened coconut.  Mix again.

It’s a thick batter. Not like cake.

Pour half of the batter into a brownie pan.

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.  I placed this pan on top of baking sheet to avoid burning the bottom.  After 50 minutes of baking, sprinkle the top with more shredded coconut.

You can see  a piece of the finished mochi in the top photo. Golden and slightly crisp on the outside.

Now here’s where I got creative.

I poured the remaining half of the batter in my rice cooker pot, (my very old rice cooker),  which ended up about a smidge over 1 inch deep, then  covered with more shredded coconut before cooking.

Turned it on and waited for the chime.  “Ding!”  It was about 30 minutes.  The hard part was not taking a peak but I managed to leave the lid alone to let the mochi steam… another 30 minutes then I lifted the lid and there it was!

It cooked!  It really cooked!

Not as golden as its baked counterpart but it was cooked through. UPDATE:  You may have to cook it twice, I’ve been told by friends  who attempted this, that they had re-set the cooker a second time to turn this out perfectly.

Now the hard part…how to get it out of the pot?

I did have presence of mind to butter the inside of the pot before adding the batter… and  I was praying that my cleverness payed off!

To remove your mochi from the rice cooker, wedge a rubber spatula between the mochi and the pan then sip your fingers under and wiggle your way all the way around  until you get your hand under the whole piece.

Lift!

And transfer to a plate.

The bottom was slightly browed.

Good stuff!   If pressed… I would say I like the “rice cooker” version better.

Why?

It’s moist, very moist.

But that’s not to say that the baked version is dry because it  certainly is not.  The baked piece is chewier and  lighter where it’s steamed cousin  is dense but almost melt-in-your-mouth!

Saba Man preferred the baked version. Which means that I ‘ll have to do both from now on! 

If you’ve never eaten mochi before than be aware that this is not cake-like.  It’s heavy, but delicious heavy.

And very difficult to resist. Be careful if you try this as I cannot guarantee that you won’t eat it all at once.

Luckily I had plans to pack most of it for a gift so  I summoned up my will power and did not eat all of the second batch!

Okay, Saba Man and I ate a couple of chunks…for quality controls of course.

Butter Mochi with Coconut

4 cups mochiko (sweet rice flour)

2 1/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup powdered sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

4 eggs, beaten

3/4 cup melted butter

1 can coconut milk (approx. 12 oz.)

1 can evaporated milk

1 tablespoon coconut extract

2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, 1 cup for the batter, 1 cup for the topping

Mix together dry ingredients in large mixing bowl. Mix all liquids together in a separate bowl.  Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients. Blend until smooth.  Add 1 cup of coconut flakes.  Pour into greased 9 x 13, or 2 square cake/brownie pans.

Bake at 325 degrees for 50 minutes  then sprinkle the remaining coconut onto the top.  Bake for about 5-10  more minutes, or until golden brown. Cool and cut into pieces.

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