Vegan Raspberry Rose Mochi
Eric and I have bought a lot of mochi, my favorite flavors so far were the red bean filled and matcha. But there was also a delicious ube mochi that was pretty bomb. You have to read ingredients of course, because some are not vegan (especially a lot of the ice cream ones, but this post is about the non ice cream) but surprisingly a lot of the packages I checked are vegan! There really is nothing like mochi, it has a unique texture, chewy and pillowy at the same time, and not too sweet, but just sweet enough! I have been wanting to try making my own for a long time, because I thought it would be fun to make new flavors and whatnot. So I decided to try make my own last weekend! I figured I would start with something easy, so I made some Vegan Raspberry Rose Mochi!
I looked at a ton of different recipes, before I decided how to make them and what ingredients to use, and I came up with what seemed best to me and it turned out well, which is why I am sharing it. If it had been a failure and not turned out it would have been back to the drawing board but I lucked out this time. It is pretty clear that glutinous rice flour is a must as the main ingredient, it is what gives the mochi its unique texture! The base of this one just has rice flour, water, sugar (I didn't use too much because I didn't want these over the top sweet), a touch of raspberry powder for extra raspberry flavor in the dough, and rosewater to give them that heavenly rose aroma!
They are not difficult or time consuming to make (at least I didn't think so), and I used the microwave method which only requires about 4 minutes total to cook the dough. One mistake I made was trying to scoop it out before it cooled down, which was a bad idea unless you like to burn yourself. Once it cooled down though it was perfect! You need a generous coating of tapioca starch on whatever surface you are using to make the mochi so that it does not stick and I recommend dusting your hands as well. If you do not have tapioca starch corn starch could also be used.
I used a raspberry jam filling for the centers of these, a well balanced tart sweet raspberry jam that Eric's Dad makes from his home grown raspberries. You can use your favorite raspberry jam to suit your tastes. To make them easier to fill, so that the filling does not run from the center or ooze to the side before I have a chance to pinch it up, I used a little ingredient dish to fill them. To do this you drape the mochi dough over it so that it hangs over the sides slightly then spoon the filling into the center and pinch it together. It worked out perfect! These turned out so delicious! They had the chewy, soft, satisfying texture of the store bought mochi, a hint of rose and plenty of raspberry flavor! I will definitely have to make more in different flavors, and it is one of my favorite things think about dreaming up new flavors for things! If you are a raspberry fan, definitely give these Vegan Raspberry Rose Mochi a try!
Vegan Raspberry Rose Mochi
Makes 8
Ingredients:
- 1 1/3 cups glutinous rice flour
- 1 Tbsp raspberry powder (freeze dried raspberries ground to powder)
- 1 cup filtered water
- 1 Tbsp rosewater
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup tapioca starch
- 1/3 cup raspberry jam
Instructions:
- In a microwave safe bowl, whisk together the rice flour and raspberry powder.
- Whisk in the water and rosewater, then the sugar until well combined.
- Place in the microwave and cook for 3 1/2 minutes covered in plastic wrap.
- Stir and microwave 3o seconds more. Allow to cool until you are able to handle it.
- Generously dust a work surface with the tapioca starch, and scrape the mochi onto it, flip it over so both sides are coated. Cut into 8 pieces and shape into circles. Flatten each one so that it is about 1/4 inch thick and about 3 inches wide. Use a small 2 1/2 inch bowl ( I used an ingredients bowl) dusted with tapioca starch, stretch the circle over it so it overlaps the sides a little. Spoon 2 tsp raspberry jam into the center, then bring the sides together like a purse and pinch the top to seal it. Roll in tapioca starch and set in a paper muffin liner. Repeat with the remaining mochi and filling.
- Refrigerate until cold, then enjoy!
These keep refrigerated for 1 week, in a sealed container.
