Black Sesame Mochi Muffins with Candied Yuzu

Black Sesame Mochi Muffins with Candied Yuzu. Crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, these are the muffin version of Hawaiian butter mochi with black sesame and candied yuzu added to them for a unique and delicious twist to the classic recipe.

Butter mochi is a delcious Hawaiian treat made with butter, sweet rice flour, sugar and coconut milk. It is usually baked in a sheet pan of sorts ( like the same pan brownies would be made in) and bake to a signature crispy crust and chewy middle that mochi is known for.

I love making mochi treats from donuts to waffles so I want to try it in muffin form this time.

Fikabröd Box

The past year I have been doing a monthly baking recipe as part of my ambassadorship with Fikabröd Box. A woman owned business with a themed monthly baking box. Lots of different items from all over and this month's theme is Japan.

I love Japanese flavors and ingredients for cooking and baking from matcha to yuzu, cherry blossom to furikake, kewpie mayo and so much more. The ingredients below are from this month's box and I knew I wanted to make something Mochi with the rice flour from Nuts.com

Ingredients for these mochi muffins

• Sweet rice flour - also known as Mochiko flour
• Black sesame seed paste - also known as black tahini
• Candied yuzu peel
• Also butter, sugar - brown and white granulated, baking powder, eggs, coconut milk ( from a can), salt, vanilla and honey.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Just like any muffin recipe the dry ingredients get whisked together in one bowl, the "wet" in another then combined before adding to the muffin pan. I grease the pans with melted butter instead of using paper muffin liners because we want that crispy outside to the muffins.

No step by step images here as I was working quickly to get the muffins baked. You will see that the muffin cups are filled all the way and that is what you want. These mochi muffins do not rise super high.

1. Brush the muffin tin cups with melted butter. Fill all the way with the batter, top with some sesame seeds and candied yuzu peel.

2. Bake 45-55 minutes. These take a lot longer than typical muffins to get that signaure mochi chewiness.

Hint: Use a good muffin pan for these, one that the muffins will easily release from since you are not using paper muffin liners. The muffins should pop right out easily, I often use a thin spatula to help pop them out once cool enough to handle.

Variations

The base of this recipe for traditional butter mochi or mochi muffins can easily be made into any flavor combination you like

• Fruit - you can mix in jams, dried fruit, crushed fruit such as pineapple with the liquid drained, roasted strawberries etc.
• Juice - you can replace some of the coconut milk with fruit juice
• Nuts - you can add in nut butters or chopped nuts on top and folded in as well.

Equipment

Mixing Bowls - Whenever I make a recipe that doesn't require the use of a stand mixer I like to use mixing bowls that have rubber or silcone on the bottom so they grip my countertops better and don't slide around.

Muffin Pan - I love these pans from USA Pan. They are great when used with paper liners or just brushed with melted butter like for these mochi muffins. The muffins pop right out and the pans clean really well.

Storage

Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Good for 2-3 days max. Reheat in a 350 degree oven before eating. They will loose some crispiness but still gave that same mochi chew in the middle.

These muffins don't stand up well to freezing.

Related

More mochi and muffin recipes to try

"Recipe"

Black Sesame Mochi Muffins Recipe

By Shanna

Makes 12 crispy on the outside chewy on the inside mochi muffins. Best eaten same day they are baked!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

cooling 14 minutes mins

Servings 12 muffins

Ingredients

  

• 350 G sweet rice flour (Koda farms Mochiko flour or nuts.com sweet rice flour)
• 100 g granulated sugar
• 100 g brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 80 g butter, melted (plus additional melted tablespoon or so for greasing pans)
• 452 g coconut milk, canned
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 100 g sesame seed paste, unsweetened black tahini - sesame only ingredient (see notes)
• 50 g honey
• 2 tablespoons black or white sesame seeds, divided
• 6 tablespoons candied yuzu peel, diced

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 Deg f. Brush the wells of a 12 cup muffin pan with the tablespoon or so of melted butter.
• In a mixing bowl whisk together the rice flour, sugars, baking powder and salt
• In a separate bowl whisk together the melted butter, coconut milk, eggs. Mix the sesame seed paste and honey together then add to the butter mixture and mix well.
• Add the butter mixture into the rice flour mixture and stir until combine and no flour streaks remain. Fold in a tablespoon of the sesame seeds into the batter along with 4 tablespoons of the candied yuzu peel ( you can use more yuzu peel if you like).
• Divide the batter amongst the 12 cups of the muffin pan. Spinkle the tops with some sesame seeds and add a few pieces of the remaining yuzu peel on top of each mufifin as well.

  Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. They need to bake for a long time to fully bake and get that chewy mochi texture inside and crisp exterior.
• Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes then cool on a wire rack before fully cooling. Best eaten the same day as made. Keep in an airtight container for 2-3 days. You can reheat in the oven to re-crisp the outside. They lose their mochi texture after a few days.

Notes

These muffins take a lot longer to bake than traditional muffins because of the way rice flour cooks, it will stay gooey for a lot longer in the middle and you want to make sure they are well baked. You do not want underbaked muffins.

Because of the nature of the way rice flour cooks, these really are best eaten the same day and even the day after is fine but they will lose the crispy edges but still keep that chewy middle. You can reheat in a 350 deg oven for a few minutes to re-crisp the outside.

You can find black sesame seed paste/black tahini online or at well stocked international or Asian markets. You can also make your own by toasting black sesame seeds lightly, then blending into a paste ( with a little water or the honey from the recipe) until smooth then add into the recipe. I blended 100 g of black sesame seeds with the honey to make my own paste and it takes a while to blend but it works.