Hazelnut Butter Mochi

Like many mochi lovers, every now and then I have to get my mochi fix in. After posting about MochiCream over the weekend, the urge to make some of these chewy, pillowy treats was more than I could resist.

What started out as a recipe to use up the last can of sweet red bean paste hiding in the back of my pantry soon took a turn for the delicious when a jar of hazelnut butter caught my eye. Could I fill my mochi with hazelnut butter? Sure I could…and the results were amazing!I ended up using Justin’s, a brand of hazelnut butter with less sugar than the more popular brand of Nutella. The consistency of this nut butter is closer to that of a red bean paste–thicker, less goopy, and better able to hold it’s shape.

If you wanted to used Nutella for this recipe, no prob: simply spoon it out in round blobs onto a sheet of parchment paper. Place them into the freezer to harden ahead of time, and when it’s time to stuff the mochi, you’ll have a neat little balls of goodness to wrap into the cooked rice dough. 
Despite my efforts to make mochi making neater, and the end of the day, it’s a truly messy affair. If you’ve ever worked with powdered sugar or cornstarch before then you’ll know what I’m talking about.

My best recommendation for making these is to wear white, from head to toe. If you are dressed in black (like I was) you’ll be looking like a hot mess post-mochi making. Luckily, nobody will care if you hand them one of these nutty, chocolately rice cakes to munch on before they can say anything! Serve them with a cup of Chocolate Pu’erh from Chambre de Sucre for a rich pairing. 

Hazelnut Butter Mochi

Makes 15 pieces.

Ingredients:

8 oz mochiko (sweet rice flour)

1 can coconut milk

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup white sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla

1-16 oz jar chocolate hazelnut butter (I used Justin’s)

katakuriko (potato starch), for dusting work surface

non-stick coconut or vegetable oil spray

Equipment:

medium bowl

whisk

rubber spatula

microwaveable 9 x 13 rectangular casserole dish

sharp knife

large work surface

1 1/2 Tbsp measure

15 mini cupcake liners

Directions:

1.) In a medium bowl, combine the mochiko, coconut milk, water, sugar, and vanilla and whisk thoroughly until you get a homogenous batter.

2.) Pour batter into a casserole dish evenly sprayed with non-stick oil spray. Distribute the batter evenly. Uncovered, microwave the batter on high for 1 minute at a time, stirring and mixing the batter in between each minute until it becomes a semi-translucent dough. When the dough is finished it should not look powdery or whitish at all. In this step you are cooking the rice flour, looking for the rice dough to be homogenous and cooked through. My dough took about 7 minutes to cook through. Spoon this blob of cooked rice flour dough on to a work surface generously dusted with katakuriko.

3.) Divide the dough into 15 equal pieces using a sharp knife. The dough will be hot, so be careful.

4.) Dust each piece with katakuriko to prevent them from sticking to one another.

5.) To make the mochi, roll one piece of the dough into a ball. Flatten the ball into a round disk, about 3 1/2″ across. Spoon 1 1/2 Tbsp of the hazelnut butter into the center of the disk, then pinch the opposite edges of the disk together to seal the mochi.

6.) Flip the sealed mochi over to reveal a smooth, rounded top. Repeat this process to make 15 stuffed mochi. Place the pieces into small cupcake liners for easy serving. Mochi are best eaten within a day or two, and can be stored at room temperature.