Mochi Madness

A couple of weeks ago I made the famed blueberry mochi cake, which stems from three fabulous sources. It’s a lovely cake, with a mochi-esque chewiness to it, along with a surprisingly rich flavor. It is as if a golden sponge cake was spiked with buttery humidity, resulting in something between a pound cake, and the most wonderful blueberry muffin you’ve ever had. I highly suggest it, and I halved the recipe, with no issues.

Then I got thinking about the cake, and how versatile it could be, which led me to adapting the recipe to make a chocolate version. The cake is different than you might expect, so be ready. It has the chewiness of mochi, with an almost pudding like interior. Don’t be fooled, I used dark, Dutch-processed cocoa which explains the black color, but the darker the cocoa, the milder the flavor, so it isn’t exaggeratedly chocolate. I also added dark chocolate chips (chopped chocolate or chocolate discs would improve the appearance), in two layers, much like I added the blueberries to its vanilla counterpart.


Above: Batter, ready for baking. I only covered half the top with chocolate pieces as I was not sure how I would like it.

It is not overly sweet in the least, making the small bursts of chocolate pieces a welcome addition. A frosting or glaze would be interesting as well. While I have used evaporated milk here (as in the original recipe), I have found multiple mochi recipes that use coconut milk. I didn’t have any on hand, but now that I do, I can confidently say I will be trying it soon.

Dark Chocolate Infused Mochi Cake
The Cinnamon Quill

4 oz (1 stick) of butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup of sugar + extra for pan
2 eggs
1/2 cup Dutch-processed/dark cocoa powder
5 1/3 oz of sweet rice flour, about 1 3/4 cups (no substitutions)
1 generous teaspoon baking powder
6 oz of evaporated milk (or coconut milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
3/4 cup chopped dark chocolate pieces, or more/less to taste (optional, but recommended)

Oil an 8×8 inch square pan, or other pan of equivalent volume, then dust lightly with some sugar. Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a mixing bowl, combine the melted butter and 1 cup of sugar, then incorporate the eggs. Add the cocoa powder, sweet rice flour, and baking powder, stirring just to mix. Pour the milk and vanilla over the top and stir until the batter isn’t lumpy. Spoon half the batter into the prepared pan, then sprinkle chocolate pieces evenly over top. Repeat with the remaining batter and chocolate pieces. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes back clean. Let cool before cutting and eating.

Keeps for 2-3 days at room temperature, and can be refrigerated after that, though refrigeration does alter the softness of the cake. It is still good, but denser.

*Notes:
The sweet rice flour is measured by weight, but I have also checked the volume each time I’ve made this recipe. As you can imagine, the volume tends to vary a bit, but as long as the measurement is approximate, you shouldn’t have any problems.

Oddly enough, I like this recipe best with salted butter. Unsalted works fine too.

I used Dutch-processed cocoa to avoid the need to add baking soda. I imagine you could use natural cocoa powder and add 1/2-1tsp baking soda. I like the rich color, and mysteriously mild chocolate tones from the Dutched/black cocoa. Black cocoa can be hard to find, but Hershey’s makes a nice “dark cocoa” blend that is readily available.

Finally, I used chocolate chips. but they aren’t very photogenic. Chocolate pieces or discs would look more appealing. Any other ideas?