Chocolate Mochi Donuts (I Want MO Mochi)

Just Another Mochi Monday

I have been eyeing the Chocolate Mochi Donuts from Snixy Kitchen for quite a while.  This past dreary, rainy week was the perfect time to finally give the recipe a go.  If you have jumped on the mochi band wagon like me,  you are familiar with mochi donuts.  It is a delicious gluten-free, baked not fried (a la Third Culture Bakery), donut alternative.

Mochi donuts are delightfully chewy and springy.  If you live in the Bay Area you might have found yourself standing in line for hours at the Modo Donuts’ pop-up at Mitsuwa Market.  You could easily make a couple of batches of mochi donuts in the time you stood in line.  These donuts, like Hawaiian Butter Mochi or Mochi Muffins, start with Sweet Rice Flour.  My go-to brand is Mochiko by Koda Farms, pretty widely available.  Bob’s Red Mill also has SWEET rice flour  (do NOT use plain Rice Flour) that you can find at Whole Foods.

These Chocolate Mochi Donuts are so easy to make.  If you make brownies in a bowl with a wooden spoon, this is the mochi equivalent.  Besides the sweet rice flour, the rest of the ingredients are probably sitting in your pantry, cocoa, dark chocolate, butter, and eggs.  Okay, you need coconut milk too, which you may not have on hand-Asian markets and most larger supermarkets carry coconut milk (unsweetened, not the cocktail kind). Snixy Kitchen topped her donuts with chocolate icing and matcha icing.  I opted for a strawberry icing made with freeze-dried strawberries (damn delicious) instead of Matcha. Sprinkles are a no brainer-everybody likes happy donuts.

My next batch of donuts will be a black sesame chocolate donut and yes, there will be a next time and I won’t wait for inclement weather to make them.

The Icing on the Donut

Commit this to memory, FREEZE-DRIED FRUIT.  Yep, previously known only to cereal eaters and backpackers, it is my favorite way to add flavor and color to desserts.  I used freeze-dried strawberries from TJ’s for the icing on these donuts and was pleasantly surprised at the vibrant color and flavor of the glaze.  I actually liked it more than the chocolate icing.   Grind the fruit in a mortar and pestle (if you are a pharmacist by trade like me, lol), or smoosh it with a rolling pin.  You can use a food processor but that’s no fun.  Add the fruit “dust” to powdered sugar and milk, and bada bing, bada boom-strawberry icing.  You are limited only by the variety of fruits that are freeze-dried. I frosted half the donuts with chocolate icing for the classic chocolate-on-chocolate donut, and half with the Strawberry Icing.  Finish the donuts with sprinkles, jimmies, chocolate curls, whatever your little heart desires cause that’s how we roll or sprinkle.

So, if you want something a little different, or need a dessert for gluten-intolerant friends or family-make these donuts.  Not in the mood for chocolate? Try Butter Mochi Muffins, or Peanut Butter Mochi from Two Red Bowls, or Mango Mochi Muffins all fabulous options.

Don’t have a donut pan because you don’t have an addiction to kitchenware like me?  This totally works as muffins.  You will need to bake muffins a little longer, I’m guessing 40 minutes but definitely check often with that first batch to figure the optimal baking time.

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Chocolate Mochi Donuts

Delicious gluten-free chocolate donuts made with mochi, sweet rice flour!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Asian-American

Keyword donut, Gluten free, Mochi, mochi donut

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 32 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for greasing pans 2 ounces
• 2 cups mochiko sweet rice flour (different from "white rice flour" or "brown rice flour") 320 grams
• 1 cup organic dark brown sugar (see note) 200 grams
• ¼ cup cocoa powder or sub in 1/4 cup ground black sesame seeds for a chocolate black sesame version! See note.
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 13.5-13.66- ounce can full-fat coconut milk see note
• 2 large eggs room temperature
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate 60-70%, melted and cooled
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• Optional for garnish: flaky salt, black sesame seeds, shaved chocolate

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F and place the oven rack in the middle of the oven.
• Generously grease the sides and top of two non-stick donut pans with soft butter. (Alternatively, you can bake these as muffins - the batter for 1 muffin is the same amount as for 1 donut).
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the sweet rice flour, dark brown sugar, cocoa powder or black sesame powder, baking powder, and salt.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, coconut milk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Pour in the melted cooled chocolate and mix until smooth.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until completely combined.
• Divide the batter among the 12 donut cavities of the prepared donut pans, filling each one all the way to the top edge.
• Bake 32-35 minutes until the top is set and the donut gently springs back when poked with a finger. It might not spring back as much as a muffin: do not bake any longer than 35 minutes. The donuts crisp up as they cool and if you continue baking them, they'll get ROCK HARD on the outside. If you like your donuts a little gooey, bake 30-31 minutes.
• Let cool 10 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.
• Prepare the glaze just before you're ready to glaze the donuts because it will firm up as it sits.

Notes

This recipe is easily halved, makes 6 donuts and 1 muffin.

If making a full recipe, transfer the batter to a Ziploc bag and cut off a corner.  Pipe the batter into the rings.  Easy peasy.

For the chocolate black sesame version, sub in 1/4 cup ground black sesame seeds instead of cocoa powder. Grind up the black sesame seeds in a coffee grinder, small blender jar, or small food processor until fine like a powder. Balck sesame powder can be found in Asian Supermarkets also.

You can also bake these as muffins. The batter for 1 muffin is the same amount as for 1 donut – Bake for ~45 minutes, check to not overbake!

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Strawberry Icing or Glaze

Icing made with freeze-dried strawberries, tasty and vibrant

Course Dessert

Cuisine Asian-American

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups powdered sugar divided
• ½ cup freeze dried strawberries*
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup milk
• dash salt
• Sprinkles, chocolate curls, decorating sugars, Jimmies

Instructions

• Combine powdered sugar, salt and freeze-dried strawberries in the bowl of a food processor. Process for a minute or two or until strawberries are powderized. Alternatively, use a motar and pestle or rolling pin to pulverize strawberries. Add powdered to sugar and continue with next step.
• Pour mixture into a medium-size bowl. Add milk and stir until smooth, adding more milk by 1/2 teaspoonfuls if glaze is too thick to spread. If too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar.
• The icing will set so make this wile the donuts are cooling.
• Spread quickly on donuts and sprinkle with toppings before it sets.

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Chocolate Icing or Glaze for Donuts

Chocolate on Chocolate Donuts With Sprinkles

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Chocolate Icing

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate 60-74%, melted and cooled
• 2-2½ tablespoons milk or coconut milk
• 1 cup powdered sugar sifted
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

• Combine melted and cooled chocolate with 1 tablespoon milk, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Add remaining milk, a splash at a time, just until it's smooth enough to glaze. It should be thick enough that when you swirl it, the swirl stays for a few seconds then collapses back into itself.
• It will firm up as it sits, if it's too thin, let it sit for a few minutes and give it another stir. If it's too thick, add a bit more milk or zap it in the microwave for a few seconds to loosen it up.
• Vary the type of chocolate, milk, semi-sweet, bittersweet and don't forget the sprinkles

Notes

Recipe can be esily halved