recipe: lemon butter mochi

The second recipe I made from the cookbook, Mochitsuki, was lemon butter mochi. Butter mochi, in general, is a Japanese sweet that comes from northern Japan. In the cookbook, Kristin Morita, has many different versions of butter mochi using the base and mixing in other flavors such as cafe latte, pumpkin, guava, ube, snickerdoodle, strawberries and cream, and chocolate. Out of these I chose the lemon butter mochi since I was curious how closely it compared to lemon bars in US. 

My verdict is that I would combine parts of the ingredients and instructions of butter mochi and lemon bars next time to see if I could create the ideal dessert. I have not had success in mastering the cook time of lemon bars to get a fully cooked and beautiful bar. In that aspect the butter mochi was much easier to achieve because of the mochiko (rice flour). However, I found the lemon butter mochi a bit bland in flavor and missing the amazing contrast of a crust to the soft chewiness of the center since butter mochi is crustless. Therefore, I would use the lemon butter mochi recipe, but punch up the lemon flavor and add the crust of a lemon bar.

Below is the lemon butter mochi recipe from the cookbook, which is what I made but I will be tweaking as described.

Lemon Butter Mochi

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Bake Time: 45 minutes

Makes: 16 pieces

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups mochiko

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 cup whole milk

zest and juice of 3 lemons (about 1 tbsp zest and 1/2 cup juice)

4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp orange blossom water (optional)

Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Instructions:

Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat a 9 inch square metal baking pan with cooking spray, then line the pan with parchment paper, leaving about 1 inch hanging over the sides.

In a large bowl, whisk together the mochiko, granulated sugar, salt, and baking soda. Add the milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, melted butter, eggs, and orange blossom water (if using) and mix until well combined, scraping the bowl to ensure no dry lumps of mochiko remain.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the butter mochi cool completely, then dust with powdered sugar (if using) and cut into sixteen pieces. Leftovers can be stored, in an airtight container, at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Notes:

The mochiko I bought is Bobs Red Mill sweet rice flour. Weee! is also a great source for Korean and Japanese products. I have a large list going of items I would like to purchase from this site. Once I do I will share all of my finds. They do have Mochiko as well.