Name: Butter Mochi Cake
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 60 min
Ingredients: 2 Cups Sweet Rice Flour (Or Thai Glutinous Rice Flour if on a budget. ); ¾ Cup Brown Sugar; 1 teaspoon baking powder (do NOT use baking soda instead); 2 egg ( room temperature, beaten); ½ Cup whole milk; 5 Tablespoons butter; 14 oz coconut cream (You can find 14-oz cans. not to be confused with the thinner coconut milk!); ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

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This easy Butter Mochi Recipe is a delicious, soft cake with a chewy center that requires no mixer and is SUPER easy to make. (You can make it perfectly from the first time!) If you like traditional Japanese mochi or Chinese New Year Cake, you'll LOVE this Hawaiian Butter Mochi Cake Recipe which is extra fragrant thanks to the caramel-like flavor of the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla! Plus the main ingredients are all readily available so you don't have to trek to the Asian Markets.

A round, golden brown, Hawaiian Butter Mochi Cake in a baking tin.

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🥘 Ingredients
Variations
🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions
🥡 How to Store
👩🏻‍🍳 Expert Tips
🥗 Suggested Accompanying Recipes
Butter Mochi Cake
💬 Comments

🥘 Ingredients

You will need a few simple ingredients for this recipe:

2 Cups of Sweet Rice Flour: I use Thai Glutinous Rice Flour instead of Japanese Mochiko Flour/ Sweet Rice Flour as the former is cheaper. Extra (of either type of flour- they're very similar and often used as substitutes) can be used in these sweet glutinous rice flour recipes. There are many brands of sweet rice flour, but Koda Farms brands is the most commonly used. Do NOT USE WHEAT FLOUR as a substitute!
¾ Cup of Brown Sugar: You can use white sugar if you don't have brown but brown sugar will result in a more aromatic cake (and you can easily make brown sugar at home) If you have a very sweet tooth, you can increase the sugar to 1 Cup.
1 teaspoon of baking powder: do NOT use baking soda instead
2 eggs: room temperature, beaten
½ cup of whole milk: I have not experimented with semi-skimmed or plant-base milk (although I do have a vegan mochi muffin recipe!)
5 Tablespoons of butter: both salted butter and unsalted butter work- salt is a flavor enhancer so I usually use salted. However, some don't like salt in their desserts, in which case use unsalted.
1 can of 14 oz of coconut cream: not to be confused with the thinner coconut milk!
½ teaspoon of vanilla extract: if you omit this, you are basically making Baked Chinese Nian Gao, a popular Chinese New Year dessert. It's still tasty but the vanilla makes it smell SOOOO much nicer!

Variations

You can top with shredded coconut or coconut flakes if you like coconut. (The coconut cream doesn't give the cake a strong coconut flavor.)
Chocolate Butter Mochi: Replace some of the sweet rice flour with cocoa powder and add some chocolate fevres to the batter.

🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions

Mixing sweet rice flour, brown sugar, and baking powder in a silver bowl.

Preheat the oven to 350F/ 176C/ 157C fan.

1a. Whilst the oven is preheating, oil a baking tin. (Use neutral vegetable oil or melted butter for this- if using butter, this is IN ADDITION to the 5 Tablespoons of butter specified in the recipe.) I used a round one, but you can also use an 8-inch square tin. (If using a square and not round baking pan, lining with parchment paper will suffice- you can skip the oiling.)

1b. In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients- the sweet rice flour, sugar, and baking powder- well.

Mixing the wet and dry ingredients for Butter mochi cake.

2a. Mix the melted butter, coconut cream, whole milk, vanilla extract, and beaten eggs together.

2b. Pour the wet ingredients from 2a into the dry ingredients/ mixing bowl from Step 1. Stir till well-mixed.

Note: You don't have to worry about overmixing here, as glutinous rice flour has NO gluten so it will not become tough.

Pouring Hawaiian Butter Mochi Cake Batter into a round baking tin.

3. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan. If you want a smooth surface, bang the pan against the table and use a toothpick to poek out the air bubbles on the surface of the cake. (I can't be bothered.)

3b. Bake for 55-60 minutes. The cake should have turned golden brown and should smell amazing.

Using a cake knife to cut a Butter Mochi Cake.

4a. Remove from oven, using oven gloves, and allow to cool on a wire rack,

4b. Cut into equal-sized mochi bars and serve. Delicious served warm with sweet red bean and vanilla ice cream!

Note: I used a plastic knife as cutting in the tin, but if you lift it out before cutting, use a sharp knife so you can get nice, sharp cake edges.

🥡 How to Store

Store extra in an airtight container at room temperature. If you want to keep it longer, store it in the fridge. (Allow to cool first, if not the moisture will soften the originally crispy crust.)

The cake will need to be reheaten before serving (or it will become hard, and not taste as good!)

👩🏻‍🍳 Expert Tips

Tip #1: If you like this cake, but find cutting it too tiresome, try these Matcha Mochi Muffins or these Black Sesame Chocolate Mochi Cupcakes.

Tip #2: Those who like the chewy texture but prefer savory dishes will enjoy these Mochi Cheese Bites and these Cheese Mochi Waffles.

Tip #3: The best part is the crunchiness of the golden edges contasting with the gooiness of the soft centre, so the pieces along the edges of the tin will taste the best.

🥗 Suggested Accompanying Recipes

Enjoyed this easy Hawaiian Butter Mochi Recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below! If you REALLY liked this dish, please consider supporting it by buying me a bottle of soy sauce! 🙂 (No obligation though!) Thank you and have a great day!