Deliciously soft and squishy Mochi Cornbread is what you get when you combine Hawaiian Butter Mochi and Cornbread! A genius move enhanced further by the nuttiness and complexity of brown butter. 😜
I just happened to be testing this recipe when my husband was having a DnD night, and everyone pretty much flipped out about them. There were no complaints and no refusal when I offered to pack the extra for to-go. They all loved it!! It was a definite win.
Trang’s Recipe Highlights
- FLAVOR: Nutty, buttery with a light hint of coconut.
- TEXTURE: Moist, soft, squishy and perfectly mochi-mochi.
- EASE: Sooo easy!! Don’t be intimidated by the brown butter, follow my tutorial for step by step instructions on how to brown butter.
Ingredients you’ll need
You’ll need 9 ingredients to make these amazing mochi cornbread muffins. As always, for the full list of ingredients with quantities and step-by-step instructions, skip straight to the recipe card.
- Mochiko or sweet rice/glutinous rice flour – Like with all of my mochi recipes, you have to start with sweet rice flour. No, you cannot substitute flour, or gluten free flour, not even rice flour. You have to use either Mochiko which is a Japanese sweet rice flour made from short grain glutinous rice, or the Vietnamese/Thai brand sweet rice flour in a plastic bag.
- Cornmeal – I just use the Target brand cornmeal normally, any brand should work though. I would stick to finer ground rather than coarse cornmeal for this recipe.
- Coconut milk – use canned coconut milk for a richer and more coconut flavor. Any brand will work but my favorite is Thai Kitchen.
Slight variation
You can add whole corn kernels to the batter to make a slight variation of these mochi cornbread. I used ½ cup of frozen sweet corn when testing this variation. The corn kernels do add a bit of extra moisture to the batter so you’ll need to bake a minute or two longer to bake the muffins completely.
Try both versions and see which one you prefer. I enjoy the plain version for the mochi-mochi texture with no distraction. 🥴
Hungry for more?
Mochi Cornbread Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 oz unsalted butter, 113 g, brown
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ¼ cup coconut milk, 294 g
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup brown sugar, 100 g
- 1 cup cornmeal, 160 g
- 1 cup mochiko or sweet rice flour, 149 g
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder, 7 g
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, 3-4 g
- Extra melted butter for muffin pan
Instructions
- Brown the butter – Place the butter in a light colored saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter melts, it will become foamy. When the foam subsides, you will see clear bubbles, start whisking continuously at this point to keep the milk solids from burning. When the butter is caramel in color and smells nutty, remove from heat and set aside to cool down.4 oz unsalted butter
- Preheat the oven – Set the oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F.
- Prepare the baking pan – Brush 12 muffin cups from a standard size muffin pan with melted butter.Extra melted butter for muffin pan
- Prepare the wet ingredients – Whisk together brown butter, eggs, coconut milk and vanilla extract in a medium mixing bowl until thoroughly combined. Add brown sugar and beat again until completely incorporated.2 large eggs, 1 ¼ cup coconut milk, ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract, ½ cup brown sugar
- Add dry ingredients – Add cornmeal, sweet rice flour, baking powder and kosher salt to the wet ingredients. Mix until completely incorporated and smooth. This batter is gluten free so you don’t have to worry about overmixing.1 cup cornmeal, 1 cup mochiko or sweet rice flour, 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Bake – Divide batter evenly in the prepared muffin pan and bake in the preheated oven for 18 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the mochi cornbread comes out clean with just a few crumbs attached.
- Cool – Remove the cornbread from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. To remove them from the muffin pan, use a butter knife to loosen the sides and pop them up and out of the cup.
Notes
- Storage: You can store these mochi cornbread at room temperature for 1-2 days and in the fridge for up to a week. But they are best consumed immediately for the best texture. If stored too long, they can become moldy unless you freeze them.
- Reheating: It is the nature of butter mochi to harden if refrigerated. You can warm these up in the microwave for 20-30 seconds, covered with a damp towel or plastic wrap, to soften them. They’ll taste like freshly baked.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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