Butter mochi

This article is about the Hawaiian dessert. For the mochi variant from the Akita Prefecture, see ja:バター餅.

Butter mochi is a cake made from coconut milk, glutinous rice flour (mochiko), sugar, butter, and eggs.^[1] It is a popular dessert in Hawaiian cuisine, where it is more popular than brownies are in the continental US.^[2] Having originated in Hawaii,^[3] it is an example of Hawaiian "Local Food".^[4] It has been described as "a combo of cake and mochi."^[5]

Butter mochi

Type	Confection
Course	Dessert
Place of origin	Hawaii
Associated cuisine	Hawaiian cuisine
Main ingredients	coconut milk milk sugar butter eggs mochiko
Similar dishes	Bibingka
Media: Butter mochi

Description

Butter mochi combines textures and flavors of its two main influences, mochi and cake. It features a similar chewy ("Q") texture as mochi,^[6] but less pronounced through the addition of traditional cake ingredients such as eggs and butter as well as leavening introduced via baking powder.^[7]

The specific proportions of butter, sugar, eggs, and milk used in mochi determine the texture, which can approach in extremes that of custard or poundcake.^[5] Varying the milk used – fresh, evaporated, coconut, a combination – changes the flavor, sometimes resulting in nutty or caramel-like flavors.^[5]

Unlike other mochi, Butter mochi is baked rather than steamed,^[7] lending it a color and texture comparable to blondies and chess pie.^[6]

History

The exact origins of butter mochi are unknown.^[1][5] According to the New York Times, recipes exist in community cookbooks all around the Hawaiian islands, including in pamphlets which date back "generations" (as of 2021).^[5] Rice flour, the main component of the dish, became the main starch of Hawaii due to Japanese immigration,^[2] and among other ideas the dish has been proposed to have Japanese origins.^[8] However, according to Rachel Laudan, neither the ingredient mixture or the cooking method appears traditionally Japanese.^[1] She speculates that it could possibly be an invention of Hawaiian home economists, employed by "the gas or electric companies", prompted by the introduction of ovens.^[1]

It is also possible that it is a descendant of bibingka, a similar cake from Filipino cuisine.^[1][9][2] Traditionally, bibingka was made with wet rice flour, coconut milk, sugar, eggs, and natural yeasts, in a container over the fire with embers on the lid; in modern times baking powder replaces yeast and an oven replaces the container.^[1] Some Filipinos in Hawaii use bibingka as a "loose term", occasionally referring to butter mochi.^[5]

Recipes in modern Hawaiian cookbooks include influences from various cultures, such as adding sweetened bean paste (Japanese), adding black beans or cheese (Filipino), or adding cocoa powder (a haole addition).^[1]

Gallery

• 
  Variant marbled with a blueberry filling
• 
  As served with fruit
• 
  Entire tray after baking

See also

• Food portal
• Hawaii portal

• Chichi dango, another confection based on glutinous rice flour popular in Hawaii.
• Bibingka
• Wingko