Simple Mochi Ice Cream
An ice cream of your choice is wrapped in a soft and chewy rice dough to make a refreshing Japanese rice cake!
What is Mochi?
Generally, mochi refers to a Japanese sweet rice dough made from glutinous rice flour. It can be filled with anything from red bean paste to peanut butter, but for this recipe, we’ll be using ice cream!
Mochi is really simple—the dough itself only needs 4 ingredients, and I’ve opted to use an easy microwave method instead of the traditional technique of steaming it. Ingredient-wise, you’ll need:
- Glutinous rice flour. The main component of mochi dough is the rice flour—I can’t emphasize enough that it must be glutinous rice flour, otherwise your mochi will not have its trademark chewy texture. You can buy it on Amazon, like I did, or you can try to find it in a local Asian supermarket.
- Granulated sugar. Sugar sweetens the mochi, but it’s not overpowering.
- Water. Water is mixed with the rice flour to create the dough.
- Cornstarch. Once the dough is made, it will be extremely sticky. Cornstarch helps to roll out the dough without it sticking to your countertop and rolling pin.
- Ice cream. Any ice cream or sorbet will do; that’s up to you!
How to Make Mochi?
- Scoop the ice cream. Scoop spoonfuls of ice cream onto a sheet lined with parchment, then let it rest in the freezer. It’s best to give the ice cream adequate time to freeze—that way it won’t melt when you wrap it in the mochi.
- Make the mochi dough. In a bowl, you’ll mix the rice flour, sugar, and water. After covering it with a plate or plastic wrap, you’ll microwave the mochi in 1 minute increments until it becomes thick and sticky, then you’ll roll it out on parchment paper that’s heavily dusted with cornstarch.
- Roll and shape the mochi. With a 3 inch cookie cutter, punch out circles of mochi dough, then quickly wrap each bit of dough around a scoop of ice cream and pinch to seal. Wrap each mochi in plastic wrap and let them set in the fridge for at least an hour before eating.
That’s it! Hope you guys enjoy making mochi—it’s a fun treat to make that’s the perfect bite-sized dessert!
Simple Mochi Ice Cream
An ice cream of your choice is wrapped in a soft and chewy rice dough to make a delicious Japanese rice cake!
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Servings: 8 -12 mochi
Ingredients
- 1 pint ice cream (any flavor)
- 1 cup glutinous rice flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- Cornstarch (for dusting)
Instructions
- Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop, dollop scoops of ice cream onto a pan lined with parchment paper. Place the ice cream into the freezer.
- In the meantime, whisk the glutinous rice flour with the sugar. Pour in the water and mix until smooth.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and microwave for 1 minute. Stir the mixture, cover it, then microwave for 1 minute. Mix once again, then microwave for 30 seconds (it will be very sticky).
- Place a large sheet of parchment paper onto a work station and dust it heavily with cornstarch. Carefully transfer the mochi dough from the bowl to the parchment square, as it will be hot.
- Heavily dust the top of the mochi with cornstarch and roll it out to ¼'' thickness. Transfer the sheet of parchment with the rolled out dough to a pan and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Take the mochi out of the fridge. With a cookie cutter of a 3-inch diameter, cut out circles from the dough. Cut squares of plastic wrap large enough to wrap the mochi in later and set aside.
- Working one at a time, make the mochi. Hold a circle of dough in one hand, then place a ball of ice cream into the center of the circle. Working quickly, bring the mochi dough up and over the ice cream, pinching to seal. Place the mochi into a square of cling film and wrap it tightly. Immediately put the mochi into the freezer and repeat with the remaining mochi.
- Once formed, let the mochi set in the freezer for at least an hour. Allow to thaw slightly before eating. Mochi ice cream will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
