Coconut Mochi

These delicious Coconut Mochi cakes are chewy little treats made with sweet rice flour and coconut milk. They are soft, sweet, delightfully chewy and are just the perfect bite size!

The very first time I tasted these lovely coconut mochi was so many years ago when I first started coming around for the holidays at my husband’s aunt’s, when we first started dating. I didn’t know it then, but these are very similar to the classic Hawaiian butter mochi, except that she always made them into these bite size mochi muffins.

I love their mini size but her recipe used a whole box of Mochiko (sweet rice flour) and outside of the holidays, it made too many. So I adapted it into a smaller batch – making just 18 to 20 mini muffins – for ourselves. I also made them with matcha and guava too! Try my matcha green tea mochi and my guava mochi, they’re also fantastic and adorable.

Don’t mistake this mochi cake with Japanese mochi, which is made by pounding steam sweet rice into a sticky paste, then shaped into round balls. Whereas, this is a baked mochi recipe, in the same way you would bake a cake. The difference between this coconut “mochi cake” and a regular cake is that coconut mochi uses rice flour instead of wheat flour making it chewy and gluten free!

Helpful tools

This recipe is super easy to whip up with just a couple of mixing bowls and a hand whisk. You don’t need any special tools whatsoever. You do need a mini muffin tin to bake them in and I recommend using a small cookie scoop to divide the batter.

Ingredients and Substitutions

As always, you’ll find the complete list of ingredients and quantities in the recipe card at the end of this post. Below are some notes and substitution tips:

1. Butter – I used unsalted butter but you can use salted butter in a pinch. Since it is such a small amount, you don’t have to worry about it making the mochi too salty.

2. Sugar – I just use regular granulated sugar this recipe.

3. Egg – just 1 large egg is enough for these.

4. Vanilla – I used just a splash of pure vanilla extract for additional flavor.

5. Mochiko – mochiko is a brand of sweet rice flour. You can use any brand of sweet rice flour but make sure it is either sweet rice flour or glutinous rice flour because regular rice flour is not the same and will not yield the same results. 

6. Salt – I use just a pinch of kosher salt, you can use sea salt or table salt. 

7. Baking powder – this will help the baked mochi rise.

8. Coconut milk – make sure to use canned coconut milk. This has higher fat content than the stuff in the carton and gives the mochi their richness. If you need to make a substitution, I recommend evaporated milk, half and half, or cream.

How to make coconut mochi 

The following instructions, step-by-step photos, and tips are here to help you visualize how to make the recipe. You can always skip straight to the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

First, beat together egg, coconut milk, melted butter and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl.

Next, mix together Mochiko, sugar, baking powder and salt in a small mixing bowl. Add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredient mixture and whisk until a smooth batter forms.

Divide coconut mochi batter into a greased mini muffin tin. Fill each muffin cavity to about ¾ way full.

Bake at 375°F for 13 – 15 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a few crumbs attached.

Baker’s Tips

• How to measure sweet rice flour – fluff the flour, spoon it into your measuring cup and level it.
• Don’t worry about over mixing – unlike regular cake or cupcakes, since sweet rice flour doesn’t contain gluten, you don’t have to worry about the mochi getting too tough due to over mixing.
• They don’t rise a lot – the mochi will rise a little bit but because the texture will be very dense, it doesn’t rise as much as regular cupcakes do so don’t panic if some come out flat.

Storage

Room temperature: store Mochiko cake in an airtight container for up to 3 days. These little cakes will still be soft for up to 5 days to a week but they will start to lose their elasticity and become drier. Reheating them can revive them and make them taste like fresh.

Freezer: you can also freeze coconut mochi for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature and reheat in the microwave to soften and warm them up before serving, they will taste like they were freshly baked.

FAQs

4.89 from 18 votes

Coconut Mochi

By Trang

These delicious Coconut Mochi cakes are chewy little treats made with sweet rice flour and coconut milk. They are soft, sweet, delightfully chewy and are just the perfect bite size!

Servings: 18 mini muffins

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 25 minutes mins

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Equipment

• Mini Muffin Pan
• Medium Cookie Scoop

Ingredients 

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• ▢ ⅔ cup Mochiko, sweet rice flour, 100 g
• ▢ ½ teaspoon "rounded" baking powder
• ▢ ½ cup granulated sugar, 100 g
• ▢ A pinch of kosher salt
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ ½ cup coconut milk, 114 g
• ▢ 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted, ½ oz, 13 g
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ Extra butter or nonstick spray for pan

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Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Prepare a mini cupcake pan by spraying it with nonstick cooking spray or brush with melted butter. Mop up excess oil or butter and set aside.
• In a small mixing bowl, add mochiko, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix with a whisk to distribute evenly.
• In a medium mixing bowl, add egg, coconut milk, melted butter and vanilla, whisk to combine.
• Add the mochiko mixture to the wet ingredient mixture and whisk until combined and smooth. You will get a somewhat runny batter.
• Use a cookie scoop to divide batter into each cupcake cavity, fill it to about ¾ way full. There should be enough batter to fill 18 – 20 mini cupcakes.
• Bake in the middle of the oven for 13 – 15 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a few crumbs attached.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. When the pan is cooled to the touch, use a butter knife to loosen the coconut mochi from the side, place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

• Store coconut mochi in an airtight container, and consume within the week.
• How to measure sweet rice flour: fluff the flour, spoon it into your measuring cup and level it.

Nutrition

Serving: 22g, Calories: 68kcal

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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