Our chocolate mochi recipe is a spin on the traditional Japanese rice cake but with added chocolatey sweetness. As tasty as the classic red bean daifuku is, its chocolaty centre is a dreamy experience for chocoholics.
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What is it?
Chocolate mochi is a Japanese rice cake with a chocolate filling. Traditionally, this heavenly treat only comes with a sweet red bean paste. However, this wagashi is the modernised version. It is inspired by chocolate truffles, combining Japanese and Western sweets.
Usually, a chocolate mochi recipe includes chocolate ganache stuffing. Chefs will also cover the outer layer with cocoa powder. Some patisseries in Tokyo also combine chocolate ganache with their seasonal strawberry daifuku.
What does it taste like?
This bite-sized confection is like a combination of marshmallows and taffy. Not only is it soft and chewy, but it also has a rich chocolaty centre that melts in your mouth. The outer part is a little sweet and has an earthy flavour from the glutinous rice.
Unlike cakes, this little piece of heaven is not too sweet. Yet enough to satisfy a sugary craving. However, by testing out our chocolate mochi recipe, you can further tweak that bittersweet balance of this treat.
Popularity
Ever since daifuku became popular, chocolate daifuku has been a favourite worldwide. We all can see how it became a best-selling menu item out of Japan. Especially in Asian supermarkets and Japanese restaurants such as Yo Sushi.
In Japan, mochi is more than just a sweet treat. It is also a symbol of good fortune. Today, this versatile wagashi comes in various flavours. It is eaten daily as a sweet Japanese snack or dessert.
Recently, an innovation of this traditional treat is mochi ice cream which has taken the world by storm. One of our favourite flavours is no other than chocolate mochi ice cream.
Calories
This little decadent dessert contains about 88 calories per serving. However, by making the chocolate mochi recipe at home, you can better adjust the calorie count to your desired amount.
Ingredients
Making this dessert requires some ingredients that you can quickly get from most grocery stores:
- Chocolate: You are free to choose any chocolate you want as the filling. Milk or white chocolate will make the dessert sweeter. However, on the other hand, dark chocolate is richer in taste and may create a vegan chocolate mochi recipe. For this particular recipe, we will use Valrhona chocolate.
- Mochi Flour: Save yourself from all the struggles of making the glutinous rice cake balls from scratch by purchasing mochi flour. It is short-grained glutinous rice that has been milled into flour and is readily available at any Asian supermarket.
- Cocoa Powder: This is an essential ingredient to add more cocoa goodness to your wagashi! Natural cocoa powder will work. However, we recommend using a high-quality Dutch-processed cocoa powder. This will give you a better taste and appearance.
- Unsalted Butter: This ingredient is the one that would make your ganache smooth, creamy and rich in taste. It will also keep your soft and chewy wagashi from hardening and maintain its softness even after it is refrigerated.
- Heavy Cream: This makes the ganache richer and gives it a silky texture. The liquid will also keep the ganache from completely solidifying at room temperature. To make this chocolate mochi recipe vegan, mix non-dairy milk with olive oil. Such a mixture will function similarly to heavy cream.
- Sugar: This adds a little more sweetness to your chewy treat. If you’re using milk or white chocolate for the filling. You can also use other sweeteners to sweeten up your dessert.
- Milk: Although you can use water, milk will make your mochi mixture creamier.
Cooking Tips
- It takes about 4 hours for the ganache to chill and solidify. Therefore, preparing it before the rest of the chocolate mochi recipe process is better. Once it has firmed up, it will be easier to scoop it into a ball. Then, you can wrap it with the mochi without making a mess.
- Instead of microwaving the ingredients to make the ganache, you can also use the double boiler method.
- Using a melon baller instead of a spoon will make scooping the ganache into a ball easier.
- Try to avoid touching the ganache directly. Especially when you're placing the ganache ball onto the mochi’s centre. Otherwise, the ganache might melt and prevent the mochi from sticking.
How To Store
You can store this indulgent treat in an air-tight container in a cool room if you plan on eating it within a day. However, keeping it in the fridge can save it for another day.
This process will solidify the ganache. If you still want it creamy, microwave it for a few seconds. Otherwise, the daifuku would still taste excellent with solidified ganache.
Chocolate Mochi Recipe
Ingredients
Ganache
- 170 grams Valrhona chocolate
- 40 grams unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
Chocolate Mochi Recipe
- 100 grams mochi flour
- 20 grams cocoa powder
- 90 grams sugar
- 1 cup milk
- 45 grams unsalted butter
Instructions
- Add the chocolate, butter, and heavy cream to a microwave-friendly bowl. Microwave it for 1 and a half minutes at 600 watts. Then, let the mixture rest for another 30 seconds.
- Stir together the mixture until it is smooth and free of lumps. Then, cover the bowl and refrigerate for 4 hours until it solidifies.
- Meanwhile, line a 5x5-inch pan with parchment paper. Add mochi flour, cocoa powder, and sugar into a bowl and whisk them until evenly combined.
- Whisk in the milk bit by bit until the mixture turns smooth and lump-free. Pour in the remaining milk and whisk until the mixture smoothens. Then, heat the mixture in a microwave at 600 watts for 2 and a half minutes.
- Break up any solidified lumps with the whisk and add butter into the mixture. Continue whisking until the butter melts and emulsifies with the variety. Then, heat it in the microwave again for 3 minutes and 30 seconds.
- With a spatula or wet wooden paddle, knead the mochi until smooth and elastic. Pour the mixture into a prepared mould and spread it evenly. Let it cool to room temperature and cover it while waiting for the ganache to firm up.
- Once the ganache is ready, cut up the mochi into 16 squares of the same size. Then, scoop a ball of ganache out of the bowl. Flatten a piece of mochi into a 2-inch disk of even thickness with your fingers.
- Place the scoop of ganache into the centre and wrap it with the mochi. Seal by pinching the seams together with your fingers.
- Roll it in cocoa powder to prevent it from sticking. Adjust the shape of the ball as needed. Repeat the steps and serve.
Nutrition
Calories have been calculated using an online calculator. Nutritional information offered on Honest Food Talks is for general information purposes and are only rough estimations.
If you want to make the chocolate mochi recipe vegan-friendly, you will have to change the dairy ingredients to plant-based variants. Albatross Meals Delivery has an excellent video recipe for preparing a vegan version. Here they use oat milk and chocolate powder instead.
Why don’t you try making this Japanese dessert this coming weekend? Share with us your results by tagging us on Instagram @honestfoodtalks! We would love to see how they turned out!
Are you looking for something more classic? Then, check out how to make the beloved Japanese style taro mochi next.
Kt
I’ve always struggled to make mochi balls sweet enough without packing it full of sugar or ice cream but this is perfect without it being sickly or super unhealthy
Bob
Great mochi and tastes delicious. I gave the mochi a 5 however, it is very sticky to clear up and hard to scrub off even with a brush, but doesn't change my overall score.
Tranh
The mochi itself can be quite sweet so definitely recommend using dark chocolate instead of milk for anyone giving this a go.