Ice creams are like any love affair; they make you feel on cloud nine. Mochi ice cream is a unique Japanese dessert with a chewy texture outside and the softest ice cream within. You will never trust how easy it is to make this lip-smacking dessert at home with minimal ingredients. Besides this, you can play with our favorite flavors and essence to make these tastes unforgettable.
Mochi is a sweet rice cake available in different varieties in any Japanese cuisine. At the time of Japanese New Year, there is a tradition called Mochitsuki where glutinous sweet rice is pounded into small mochi (small glutinous rice cakes). We are here with a simplified version of this Japanese dessert which you can make at home for your family and friends.
Ingredients Required To Make Mochi Ice Cream
Sweet dishes are an all-time favorite for kids and adults. The raw components required to make this ice cream are readily available in any local grocery store. You can even book the ingredients online and deliver them to your doorstep. The list of ingredients goes as follows:
- ¼ cup of sugar
- Potato starch or cornstarch for rolling and dusting
- 1 cup of glutinous rice flour (we recommend Mochiko or Shiratamako)
- 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar
- Food color (it is optional if you wish to change the color of the dough, only then use it)
- Your favorite ice cream
Step-By-Step Instruction To Prepare Mochi Ice Cream
Preparation of Japanese ice cream takes a bit longer than standard ice cream making time. However, the procedure is quite simple to follow. Go through the instructions below and make the tastiest rice cake ice creams ever!
- Take a sheet pan and line it with parchment paper. Coup ice cream balls and place them in a line on the paper. Freeze the pan for about an hour.
- Take a medium-size microwave-safe bowl and mix sugar, powdered sugar, and flour. Take a plastic wrap and cover the bowl. Microwave it for one minute while folding the mixture. Microwave every 30 seconds until the mochi looks shiny.
- On a parchment paper, dust a layer of cornstarch and scrape the mochi dough onto the paper. Dust the top layer of the dough ball with cornstarch.
- With the help of a rolling pin, make a large rectangle of the dough and roll them out to a thickness of ¼ inches. Refrigerate it for half an hour.
- Using a scissor, cut large squares of plastic wrap for wrapping each mochi before freezing.
- Cut out circles from the dough and brush off the extra cornstarch. Place one scoop of ice cream in the center of each mochi and gently press it. Place them in the freezer, wrapping them upside down. Once they are frozen, wrap them in plastic wrappers.
And with this delicious Japanese dessert, Mochi ice cream is ready to be served as a unique and crowd-pleaser dish.
Nutritional Calculation Of Mochi Ice Cream
Mochi ice cream is a finger-licking dessert to grab after any wholesome meal. One-time preparation of this Japanese ice cream yields 8 servings. Per serving has the following nutritional value.
- Calories – 70 kcal
- Carbohydrates – 16 gms
- Proteins – 1 gms
- Fat – 1 gms
- Saturated Fat – 1 gms
- Potassium – 10 mg
- Sugar – 5 gms
- Vitamin A – 1700 IU
- Vitamin C – 161 mg
- Calcium – 1 mg
- Iron – 1 mg
- Fiber – 1 gm
Flavorsome Variations Of Mochi Ice Cream
To make the best quality ice cream home, you must not compromise with the raw ingredients. Moreover, you should go for variations as per your choice. Here is a list of variations you can follow to make your ice cream more authentic and flavorsome.
- Use different varieties of ice creams in the mochi dough. You can even use a combination of two flavors, blend them into one, and then place them in the dough.
- You can swap the dessert filling with Nutella, freshly chopped strawberries, traditional red bean paste, peanut butter, or chocolates.
- In addition to the traditional flavors of the dough, you can mix peanut butter, chocolate, matcha, vanilla, or coconut into the dough for a better taste.
Things To Know Before You Start To Prepare Mochi Ice Cream
Desserts keep us motivated to grab our food early and revitalize our mood. They are the best stressbusters. Before you begin preparing your Japanese stressbuster, you must know a few things about it.
- Mochi Is Very Sticky And Chewy
The dough you prepare for placing the ice cream in the center is sticky and chewy. Using a rolling pin is better to use potato starch, cornstarch, or tapioca flour to avoid stickiness. Also, while folding the dough in the microwave, it is advisable to dip the spatula in water so that the raw ingredients do not stick to it.
- Use Of Dough Cutter
The dough cutter you use for cutting out the circles must be more prominent in size than the ice cream scoop. When you place ice cream in the center and press the dough, you should have space in the edges for easy sealing. Besides this, if you do not have a proper dough cutter, you can use anything circular and more significant than the ice cream scoop.
- Cooking The Mochi Dough
In traditional Japanese restaurants, you will see chefs steaming the mochi dough. But, presently, you can use a microwave for cooking the dough as it is fast, effective, and more accessible. Steaming the dough consumes more time than microwaving it. Hence, you must use a microwave as it is a time-saver while cooking mochi dough.
Other Japanese Desserts To Fall In Love With!
Besides Mochi ice cream, many other Japanese desserts are a must-try. Some of them are:
- Hanami Dango
- Shio Daifuku
- Bachchan Dango
- Habitat Mochi
- Kerikeri
- Neri Yokan
The Final Takeaway
Desserts are irresistibly fantastic and lip-smacking. Whatever be the occasion, desserts never go out of trend. Mochi ice cream is one of the traditional Japanese desserts known for various flavors and essence. If you have a sweet tooth, do not forget to check out this fantastic dessert. We assure you that you will get obsessed with this recipe.