We've made it to Friday, y'all! Woohoo!
Just popping in to quickly share this tutorial for homemade mochi (all the heart eyes), and how to shape them into little cute ice cream sandwiches. Lately, I have been loving having new weekend kitchen projects to look forward to (whether it is homemade croissants, empanadas, or that one time I tried gluten free baking...yikes.) and this was my project last weekend. While the list of ingredients is short, the process is multiple steps so make sure to set aside some time to do it. I would recommend making while you are having a netflix and chill day at home.
I had never tried or heard of mochi until my freshman year at Texas A&M, when my potluck roommate Priscilla introduced me to it. She also showed me the amazingness that is Totoro and Studio Ghibli, as well as was one of the first people to really introduce me to cooking. No seriously, when I went to college I barely knew how to cook an egg. We lived in one of the only dorms on campus that actually had a kitchen, so often we would go up to the fourth floor, carry all of her ingredients and cooking utensils, and she would proceed to make something delicious and incredible that only a college student who lives on greasy dorm food could truly appreciate. I was beyond impressed with everything she made!
Fast forward to today, and Kyle and I both love mochi now, especially when it is paired with ice cream. We often buy mochi ice cream from Trader Joe's, and I thought how fun would it be to make it at home! You can shape them into ice cream sandwiches like I did here (double points if you do), but you can also just do a dollop of ice cream inside each round and shape like regular mochi ice cream. Either way you can't do no wrong, because mochi and ice cream are on of the best pairings ever.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups mochiko flour (sweet rice flour)
- 1 cup water
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- cornstarch, for dusting your work surface
- 2-3 pints of ice cream, I used 1 pint each of vanilla, chocolate, and green tea
Directions
for the mochi
On a large clean surface, roll out a large sheet of plastic wrap (approx 1 1/2 - 2 ft) and dust generously with cornstarch.
In a large microwave safe bowl, combine the mochiko flour, water, sugar, and salt. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Uncover, and stir with a spatula.
Cover back with plastic wrap and pop back in the microwave for another 2 minutes. The dough should be thick and sticky. Stir together with spatula quickly to smooth out any lumps, about 30 seconds.
Dump mochi mixture onto your cornstarch and plastic wrap surface. Lightly dust a rolling pin with more corn starch, and roll out until mochi is about 1/4 of an inch thick. (If mochi sticks to your rolling pin as you roll it out, just dust liberally with more cornstarch.)
Using a 2-inch biscuit cutter, cut out 20-24 rounds, re-rolling the scrap dough out again to make more.
Line a large baking sheet with plastic wrap and lay rounds on top. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 1-2 hours.
for the ice cream
Allow ice cream to soften for 10 minutes on the counter. Spoon the ice cream into a large plastic bag. Using a spatula, smooth the ice cream evenly in the bag until approximately 1-inch thick. Repeat with other 2 flavors if using more than one flavor.
Seal bag(s) tightly. Pop in the freezer until firm, about 2-4 hours depending on the coldness of your freezer.
assembly
Remove mochi from the freezer. Dust as much cornstarch off of the mochi, and lightly dab each round with a little bit of water.
Remove ice cream from the freezer. Working quickly, snip the edges of the plastic bags around the ice cream and peal it off. Using the same 2-inch biscuit cutter, slice out a round of ice cream, and place on top of one of the mochi rounds. Top with the other mochi round, wet side touching the ice cream so they stick. Repeat with remaining rounds.
Place sheet pan of ice cream sandwiches back in the freezer until firm, about 1 hour. Let soften for 5 minutes before eating!
*Wrap any leftovers tightly in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to a week.*
