Matcha Mochi with Raspberry-Coconut Cream Filling

Japan is one of the most captivating countries that I have had the pleasure to visit. Now that spring is around the corner, I imagine the lovely Japanese gardens filled with aromatic cherry and plum blossoms, and scarlet maple tree leaves... Japan is a land of rich culture, kind people, and magnificent cuisine. And it also gives us one of the most interesting desserts in the world.

Mochi is one of these memorable Japanese sweets. This dessert consists of a gooey sweet center that can often be a ball of ice cream, sweet bean paste, or a fruit mousse, and a sticky rice flour exterior, covering the filling entirely. There exist many different types of mochi flavor combinations that you can try out at home. Homemade mochi is relatively simple and fast to prepare.

Today we will prepare matcha mochis and will fill them with an indulging cream of coconut and raspberries. The flavors of this mochi are subtle but exotic and unique. The softness of the creamy center combines well with the chewiness of the sticky rice exterior. Let us now jump to the recipe.

Ingredients:

Matcha Mochi:

• 100 g sweet rice flour

• 60 g coconut sugar

• 2 g matcha powder

• 180 ml water

• cornstarch

Raspberry-Coconut Cream Filling:

• 150 g raspberries (frozen)

• juice of half a lemon

• 200 ml coconut cream

• 45 ml maple syrup

• 5 g vanilla

Preparation:

Raspberry-Coconut Cream Filling:

1. Let us first make the filling, consisting of raspberry jam and coconut cream. Add the frozen raspberries, 15 ml of maple syrup, and lemon juice in a pot and bring it to the stove. Let the mixture simmer for 15 minutes until it thickens up. Allow it to cool.

2. Scoop out the solid thick part from a can of coconut milk.* That makes enough coconut cream for this recipe.

3. Add the remaining maple syrup and vanilla to the coconut cream and whisk them with a mixer.**

4. Combine the raspberry jam with the whisked coconut cream and mix well using a spatula.

5. Scoop out small balls of about the same size from the mixture and freeze them.

Matcha Mochi:

1. In a bowl, combine all ingredients except for the cornstarch. Mix well until there are no visible lumps.

2. Cook the mochi in a steamer (at 100 degrees C) for 15 minutes.

3. Transfer the cooked mochi dough to a working surface dusted with cornstarch. Dust the dough with more cornstarch as the former is quite sticky.

4. Roll out the mochi to about 1 cm thickness, allow it to cool, and cut it into identical squares. Each square will be filled with raspberry-coconut cream.

5. Take the raspberry-coconut cream balls out of the freezer, transfer each ball to the center of the squared mochi, and using your fingers, make two opposite ends meet. The dough is sticky, so the two ends of the square will stick together easily. Repeat with the other 2 ends and make sure you close all the gaps in the mochi. You should end up with a lovely round green mochi. Enjoy with a cup of matcha latte!

Tips:

* Preferably chilled in the fridge overnight.

** Do not over whisk to keep the cream light and fluffy.