Chocolate Mochi is a delightful treat featuring soft and chewy mochi dough wrapped around a smooth chocolate filling, then coated with cocoa powder for an extra burst of flavor. Learn how to make it with my step-by-step guide below.
A Look At Chocolate Mochi
Mochi is a traditional rice cake in Japan that is loved for its round, chewy, and sticky consistency. It is enjoyed as a dessert for any occasion and season.
Basically, mochi is made with a soft filling that is wrapped around a mochi dough. The dough gets its special texture from glutinous rice flour, along with other enhancing ingredients, including cornstarch, white sugar, oil, and water or milk. Additionally, I include cocoa powder in this recipe for added flavor.
If you’re a regular visitor to Kitchen Misadventures, you might have noticed my love for mochi. I’ve shared various mochi recipes like Mango Mochi, Peanut Mochi, Strawberry Mochi, Mochi With Red Bean Paste, Matcha Mochi, and Taro Mochi in the past.
After conducting several trials and tests, I’ve discovered several helpful techniques and ingredient tips to make the perfect mochi. Don’t worry—I’m not keeping these secrets to myself. I want to share them with fellow mochi lovers. So, I’ve listed them below to guide and assist you along the way.
Here are some tips and suggestions for making Chocolate Mochi:
Mochi Dough
Glutinous rice flour: Please do not remove this from the recipe if you want to create an authentic mochi with a sticky and chewy consistency. Additionally, it’s important to note that Glutinous Rice Flour is not the same as rice flour. You can refer to my guide on Rice Flour Vs Glutinous Rice Flour for more information on the difference between the two. I recommend looking for this in Asian grocery stores, online supermarkets, or Amazon and similar platforms. Use your extra glutinous rice flour to make Nian Gao Recipe, Tang Yuan, and Festive Snow Skin Mooncakes.
Cornstarch: In addition to glutinous rice flour, cornstarch adds a chewy and thicker consistency to the dough, To substitute cornstarch, opt for the following alternatives:
- All-Purpose Flour (1:1 ratio)
- Arrowroot Powder (1:1 ratio)
- Tapioca Starch/Flour (1:1 ratio)
- Potato Starch (1:1 ratio)
- Rice Flour (1:1 ratio)
Sugar: Use white sugar to have a white plain canvas of the mochi. In this way, you can make it easier to add your choice of color when you coat the outer layer of the mochi. If you don’t mind having a tint of brown, you can also use brown sugar, coconut sugar, cane sugar, or muscovado sugar.
Milk: Giving the dough its creamy and rich texture is a small amount of milk. You can use regular milk or any plant-based milk like soy, oat, or almond. If you like coconut flavors, use coconut milk. Water is also an alternative but it won’t make the mochi creamy or rich like milk.
Corn Oil: I recommend any neutral-tasting oil such as corn oil, peanut oil, soybean oil, or vegetable oil. Adding a bit of oil adds extra moisture and fluffiness.
Coating: For the last part, the assembled mochi is coated with a thin layer of cocoa powder. Aside from cocoa powder, you can also coat the mochi with milk powder, coconut flakes, shredded coconut, purple potato powder, red potato powder, or matcha powder, to name a few.
Cooking Method: Similar to the process used in making the Strawberry Mochi Recipe, I cooked the dough by pan-frying a mixture of glutinous rice flour, cornstarch, sugar, cocoa powder, and milk for 30 minutes. Alternatively, you can utilize the steam method as demonstrated in my Peanut Mochi recipe and Taro Mochi recipe. Another option is to cook the dough using the microwave method, similar to what is done in my Matcha Mochi recipe.
Chocolate Filling:
Whipping cream: For the chocolate filling, you’ll need whipping cream. Adding whipping cream makes the filling thick and creamy. If you prefer a thicker consistency, you can opt for heavy whipping cream and adjust the amount as needed. Alternatively, you can use plant-based light cream, coconut cream, coconut milk, melted butter with milk, or evaporated milk. Heat the whipping cream to ensure it melts the chocolate better.
Chocolate: In this recipe, I use chocolate chips.
Filling alternatives: If you’re looking to switch things up, you can experiment with different fillings to add variety to your mochi. Here are some alternatives to chocolate filling that you can try out:
You will need these ingredients:
Chocolate filling:
- 180g chocolate
- 180g warm whipping cream
Mochi dough:
- 100g glutinous rice flour
- 30g corn starch
- 50g sugar
- 10g cocoa powder
- 180g milk
- 15g corn oil
Coating:
- cocoa powder
How To Make Chocolate Mochi: Steps To Follow
Make the filling
Step 1: Melting the Chocolate
Begin by combining 180g of chocolate with 180g of warm whipping cream in a bowl. Stir the mixture until the chocolate is completely melted and the two ingredients are well combined.
Step 2: Chilling the Chocolate Mixture
Next, wrap the chocolate mixture in plastic wrap and divide it into six equal portions. Place these portions in the refrigerator and allow them to freeze for approximately one hour, or until firm.
Make the dough
Step 3: Preparing the Mochi Dough
In a separate bowl, mix together 100g of glutinous rice flour, 30g of corn starch, 50g of sugar, 10g of cocoa powder, 180g of milk, and 15g of corn oil until evenly combined. Sift the mixture once to ensure a smooth consistency.
Step 4: Cooking the Mochi
Pour the mochi dough mixture into a non-stick pan and cook it over low heat. Stir the mixture continuously until it forms a cohesive mass with a chewy texture. This process may take some time, so be patient and keep stirring.
Step 5: Achieving Perfect Elasticity
Once the mochi dough reaches the desired texture, let it cool, and continuously stretch the dough until it becomes firm.
This step is crucial for ensuring that the mochi has the perfect chewiness that makes it so irresistible.
Assembling Chocolate Mochi:
Step 6: Encasing the Chocolate Filling
Now comes the fun part! Use the prepared mochi dough to encase the frozen chocolate filling. Divide the mochi dough into six portions and wrap each portion around one of the frozen chocolate pieces, ensuring that it is completely covered.
Step 7: Adding the Finishing Touch
To complete your Chocolate Mochi, dust each piece with cocoa powder for an extra touch of chocolatey goodness. This not only adds flavor but also enhances the appearance of the mochi.
Homemade Chocolate Mochi Recipe
Ingredients
Chocolate filling:
- 180 g chocolate
- 180 g warm whipping cream
Mochi dough:
- 100 g glutinous rice flour
- 30 g corn starch
- 50 g sugar
- 10 g cocoa powder
- 180 g milk
- 15 g corn oil
Coating:
- cocoa powder
Instructions
Make the filling
- Step 1: Melting the Chocolate
- Begin by combining 180g of chocolate with 180g of warm whipping cream in a bowl. Stir the mixture until the chocolate is completely melted and the two ingredients are well combined.
- Step 2: Chilling the Chocolate Mixture
- Next, wrap the chocolate mixture in plastic wrap and divide it into six equal portions. Place these portions in the refrigerator and allow them to freeze for approximately one hour, or until firm.
Make the dough
- Step 3: Preparing the Mochi Dough
- In a separate bowl, mix together 100g of glutinous rice flour, 30g of corn starch, 50g of sugar, 10g of cocoa powder, 180g of milk, and 15g of corn oil until evenly combined. Sift the mixture once to ensure a smooth consistency.
- Step 4: Cooking the Mochi
- Pour the mochi dough mixture into a non-stick pan and cook it over low heat. Stir the mixture continuously until it forms a cohesive mass with a chewy texture. This process may take some time, so be patient and keep stirring.
- Step 5: Achieving Perfect Elasticity
- Once the mochi dough reaches the desired texture, let it cool, and continuously stretch the dough until it becomes firm.
- This step is crucial for ensuring that the mochi has the perfect chewiness that makes it so irresistible.
Assembling Chocolate Mochi:
- Step 6: Encasing the Chocolate Filling
- Now comes the fun part! Use the prepared mochi dough to encase the frozen chocolate filling. Divide the mochi dough into six portions and wrap each portion around one of the frozen chocolate pieces, ensuring that it is completely covered.
- Step 7: Adding the Finishing Touch
- To complete your Chocolate Mochi, dust each piece with cocoa powder for an extra touch of chocolatey goodness. This not only adds flavor but also enhances the appearance of the mochi.
