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!
Table of Contents
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:
- 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.
- Sugar – I just use regular granulated sugar this recipe.
- Egg – just 1 large egg is enough for these.
- Vanilla – I used just a splash of pure vanilla extract for additional flavor.
- 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.
- Salt – I use just a pinch of kosher salt, you can use sea salt or table salt.
- Baking powder – this will help the baked mochi rise.
- 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
No, you cannot! Sweet rice flour gives these gluten free mochi their chewy texture. Wheat flour will not yield the same results.
Yes, this recipe can be doubled, tripled, quadrupled, etc. Make as much as you wish. However, it can be quite tedious to bake so many mini mochi muffins. If you aren’t able to bake everything on the same day, you can refrigerate the batter overnight and continue baking the next day.
If you’ve kept your coconut mochi over 5 days or just thawed it from frozen, wrap it in a damp paper towel and reheat in the microwave for 5-10 seconds. This will revive it and make it taste just like freshly baked.
Hungry for more?
Coconut Mochi
Equipment
- Mini Muffin Pan
Ingredients
- 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
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Hi! Look forward to trying this! Do you use the canned coconut milk which is thick and very coconuty or the more watery coconut Luik that comes in half gallon containers and is more watery?
HI Sarah, I use canned coconut milk.
Made it but it deflated too. Plus it formed a meringue like crust on top. It was good but didn’t look the same as yours. It was also sticky that you cant really take it out clean on the parchement paper. Any idea what i did wrong? The egg i used was straight from the fridge.
Sounds like you may have too much liquid or not enough flour. Sometimes when you measure with measuring cup, it can give different weight. If you have a scale, try to use the weight measurement for the flour (3.2 oz or 91 grams). I don’t usually use paper liner for these, I just butter the cupcake pan really well and use a butter knife to loosen them. They are stickier than your regular cupcakes because of the sweet rice flour, so it’s normal for them to stick to the paper if you use liner.
I love this mochi recipe and am so glad to have found it. thank you. Yes they are chewy and the added baking powder lightens the texture so they are a softer chewy than regular. I adjust the amount of sugar for my desired sweetness. Often I use coconut sugar. I love the flavor of coconut milk, eggs, ghee and vanilla. I delight in the custard flavor in something I can hold in my fingers!
Thanks Robin, I’m glad you like these!
I’ve made these multiple times! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. My 10 year old son requests this all the time. My 12 year old niece just requested I make this for her birthday party. I’ve followed this to the “T” and comes out perfect every single time.
can i make this in a tray instead? i don’t own a muffin pan
One batch will probably fit in a 9″x5″ loaf pan, but too small for an 8″x8″ square pan, you might want to double the recipe if using a bigger pan. The baking time will need to be increased when you baking in a tray, 20 – 30 minutes, possibly, but watch your oven and check doneness with a toothpick.
I’ll have to try again, my first attempt I think the baking powder was old or the coconut milk wasn’t right. Do you mix the thick stuff in the canned coconut milk back into the liquid before adding it to the recipe?
Still delicious♡
Yes, you have to shake the can to make sure the cream and the water in the coconut milk are completely mixed before using.
Hey Trang,
can I also use not sweetend riceflour?
Whats the difference?
Thank you!
Hi Stefsnir, sweet rice flour is a type of rice flour, it is made from glutinous rice or sticky rice. It’s not the same as regular rice flour. If you have ever had Thai mango sticky rice, that’s the rice that sweet rice flour is made from. It gives that chewy texture when baked in this recipe. Make sure when you buy rice flour, look for Mochiko, or sweet rice flour, or glutinous rice flour in the name and packaging.
They are currently in the oven and as i started cleaning up the bench i found the melted butter… hopefully they’ll still turn out ok. If not, try again.
How did they turn out Carine? I hope still delicious!
Does “3.2 oz 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoon + 2 teaspoon of Mochiko (sweet rice flour)” mean 3.2 oz AND 1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons of Mochiko? Or is is 3.2 oz OR 1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons of Mochiko?
Can’t wait to try to make these!
Thanks! 🙂
If you have a scale, measure out 3.2 oz by weight, OR use the cup/tbsp/tsp measurement if you don’t have a scale. Let me know how it turns out 🙂
Hi! These look SO delicious. I started making them this morning, but I noticed in the oven just now that they started cracking and puffing up. Any thoughts on why this happened?
Hi there, that sounds like not enough liquid, wondering if you may have added too much flour?
Hi! I’m thinking of making these in bulk for the holidays and am wondering if you have Ryan’s aunt’s original recipe? Thank you!
Hi Tee, I’m so sorry I don’t have the original recipe anymore. I haven’t made that particular one for years. I usually just double or triple this recipe for the holidays since I usually make tons of other things. But if you want to use the entire box of mochiko which is typically 16 oz, just multiply all the rest of the ingredients by 5! I believe that’s about how I scale it up and down. Hope it helps. Let me know if you have any trouble with it.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I’ve been making it for years, and it has become my go-to dessert for celebrations. However, this time will be very special as I am realizing it is completely Kosher-friendly, and I can share it with a wonderful group of friends from all over the world. It’s fun to experiment with glaze flavors and toppings too as I adapt for different tastes. Your recipe has probably made millions of smiles over the years and many more to come!!
Awwwe thank you so much! I’m so happy to hear that this recipe has put smiles on many faces and I love that it will be shared with friends all over the world.
Thanks for the butter mocha/Babinka nod for us in Hawaii. Will try these like the individual bite size servings. But as an FYI you can try Nutiva organic steam pressed coconut oil. It has a higher flash point to organic cold pressed Virgin coconut oil and a neutral taste. They sell it here at our Costco besides their Kirkland organic cold pressed oil. You can find it it on Amazon too. Try it! I was like you didn’t like the taste in all my stuff but in baking Mochi it’s fine. But gotta have butter too And we add some grated coconut for texture too.
Kalena, thank you for all the tips! We tried butter mochi while in Oahu, and my husband is obsessed, I’d definitely need to try and make it one day, very very soon. This little bite size one is a family recipe from his aunt. It’s is a lighter kind of mochi 😉
These were SUPER delicious (and easy), and I’ll be making them over and over. Great recipe!!!
Thank you Caitlin! I’m so glad you enjoyed them 🙂
I never have tried or made mochi before! They just look so delicious and addictive though – so I have to try out the recipe!
Thalia, I hope you do try these, they’re so easy and yummy!