Anyone who has ever tried a Mochi doughnut will wholeheartedly agree that it is an unforgettable experience. Unfortunately, not every location has a Mochi donut shop nearby. However, this means you get to make them at home. Yay!
Mochi donuts are light and airy on the inside and chewy and satisfying on the outside, thanks to a deep-frying technique. And mochi donuts have recently taken the dessert world by storm for a good reason.
After tasting this donut, I knew I had to learn how to make one and share this delight with everyone. So, I have spent a considerable amount of time perfecting this mochi donut recipe, which is second to none; they taste exactly like the real thing.
Moreover, they can be served as a dessert, or you can serve them with tea or any drink of your choice. Keep reading for the secret to delicious mochi donuts.
Flavor and Consistency of Mochi Donuts
Mochi doughnuts are deep-fried dough balls in a ring shape with a chewy texture and crispy coating on the outside. Furthermore, mochi donuts combine the greatest qualities of both donuts and mochi.
Mister Donut of pon de ring donuts in Japan is responsible for popularizing these bubble-ring-shaped doughnuts. In addition, the chewy texture interior and crisp deep-frying exterior have made it a fan favorite. I mean, anything deep-fried is a winner.
Flavors from Asian markets inspire the gorgeous mochi doughnuts and glazes. Therefore, it is common to find flavors like lilikoi or passion fruit, matcha, or ube-flavored mochi donuts.
What is Mochi?
Typically, mochi is prepared from short-G sticky rice and additional components, including sugar, water, and cornstarch. With a mortar and pestle, the rice is ground into a paste to form the appropriate form. The Japanese term for this preparation ritual is “mochitsuki.”
Moreover, mochi is a Japanese rice cake produced from glutinous or refined sticky rice. In addition, gluten-free tapioca powder or glutinous rice flour is often used to make mochi doughnuts. Even though some of the recipes call for all-purpose flour, they may easily be adapted to be gluten-free.
Japanese New Year celebrations wouldn’t be complete without Kagami mochi, mirror cakes, and the traditional soup ozone, which has mochi. And when cherry trees bloom in the spring, Anko is used to stuff mochi.
Consequently, mochi, in its delicious variations, is popular in places with large populations of Japanese emigrants from all over the globe.
The tapioca flour used in Pon de ring donuts makes them fluffy and easy to tear apart. The Brazilian cheese puff called Pao de queijo, which similarly uses tapioca flour, inspired the famous pon de ring design.
Donuts made with glutinous rice flour, commonly referred to as sweet rice flour, are a denser take on the traditional Japanese mochi donut.
Mochi Donuts Ingredients
These Japanese treats are made using a delicious combination of glutinous rice flour or tapioca starch, egg, sugar, milk, and baking powder.
Compared to dishes made with tapioca starch, those made using glutinous rice flour have a thicker, chewier consistency.
However, the tapioca starch will make it light and airy instead of a heavy, dense consistency. Additionally, To provide a third option, some recipes ask for a mixture of the two, so it’s ultimately up to you to determine which you prefer.
After trying several different donut recipes, we observed that in other homemade recipes, the consistency of their doughnuts was never quite as wonderful as store-bought donuts.
After doing a little research, we found this was a consistency issue. The store-made donuts had a runnier consistency which is the secret to delicious mochi donuts.
There’s no shortage of frosting recipes to choose from. In most cases, you’ll use a simple sugar glaze consisting of icing sugar and milk. Afterward, you may modify the taste by introducing other components, such as vanilla, matcha, strawberry, or chocolate.
Additionally, most mochi donut shops dye their frosting to make the pastries more visually appealing.
The Quick and Easy Way to Make Donut Flower Rings
The Mochi donut typically comes in the cutest flower shape. Nevertheless, you could do a normal ring donut, but where is the fun in that? Plus, the flower ring shape provides more surface area for a crispier texture.
I would advise you to use a piping bag and a piping tip to form the dough into the right shape. We made these ring donuts by carefully squeezing one ring of eight dough balls onto parchment paper.
If you want to go the extra mile, draw a circle on the parchment paper with dots to guide you in piping. However, if you don’t have a piping bag and tip, a ziplock bag with a corner snipped off may be used in place of a piping bag and tip.
Cutting the dough with a paring knife is good for releasing the dough from the bag. In addition, this helps to produce more uniform dough balls.
In addition, the donuts can have even more uniform spheres by dipping a finger in water and smoothing down the tops of the balls.
Frying the Mochi Donuts
Vegetable oil is our go-to for deep-frying mochi donuts since it can endure the heat, is readily available, and doesn’t cost too much. Additionally, vegetable oil has a mild flavor that will not affect the taste of the donuts.
When frying donuts, we fill the pan with oil within two inches of the rim and heat it to 340 degrees. Keeping the frying oil at the appropriate temperature is essential, so invest in a thermometer with a quick readout.
To begin, place the donut and the parchment paper into the pan and press down gently with tongs.
Allow the donuts to rest in the oil for 30 seconds, then use tongs to remove the parchment paper.
After one minute, turn the doughnut and soak it entirely using your filter. When golden brown on all sides, take it off the heat and place it on a rack lined with paper towels.
Due to the absence of wheat flour, the donuts should be removed from the oil when they are faintly golden rather than fully browned.
Glazing the Doughnuts
Once you remove the donuts from the fryer, drain off the extra oil on a rack. That’s the perfect time to dip the donuts into the frosting and let them rest again for another minute. The glaze will solidify a little bit in this process.
If you want to make a strawberry topping, put the white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe dish and melt them. Once they’re melted, add the fresh strawberries and one drop of pink food coloring.
Next, mix them using a conventional blender. Sprinkle the donuts with sugar and lay them on a cooling rack after dipping them in the glaze.
Also, you can use matcha glaze. Combine the white chocolate chips with hot, simmering heavy cream. Then whisk in the matcha powder and combine again. Then, finally, let the donuts dry after dipping them in the glaze.
For a Nutella glaze, combine the cocoa powder and powdered sugar by sifting them together. Then, combine the mixture with warm milk and whisk them together. Dip the doughnuts and then let them set.
Serving and Storing Mochi Donuts
You can keep mochi donuts for two days at room temperature in an airtight container. On day one, they are most tender and chewy. However, over subsequent days, they dry up.
Hence, refrigerating them will cause them to harden, so keeping them at room temperature is best.
FAQs
What do mochi donuts contain?
Mochi donuts are often composed of a Japanese sticky short-G rice flour called mochiko, sugar, tapioca starch, milk, and baking powder.
Is mochiko synonymous with sticky rice flour?
Compared to other sticky rice flour forms, mochiko flour stands out. This type is different from other rice flour available in Asian grocery stores. This glutinous rice flour is made from long-G sticky glutinous rice.
Do mochi donuts preserve their texture?
Mochi donuts have significant textual consistency changes after storing them for more than a day. You shouldn’t plan for them or put them away.
How to Make Mochi Donuts
Best Mochi Donuts (Crispy Outside, Chewy Inside Pon de Ring Donuts)
Try these amazing mochi donuts tested in our kitchens.
150gmochiko flour115 g tapioca starch, and 8 g baking powder
8gsalt
75gwhite sugar
One big egg
150gwhole milk
24gvegetable shortening
Neutral frying oil
Strawberry Glaze
120gpowdered sugar
32gwhole milk
1tspstrawberry jam
Instructions
Donuts Rings
Mix the mochiko flour, baking powder, tapioca starch, and salt using a mixing bowl. Put the liquids in a mixing bowl. Add the egg, sugar, milk, and vegetable oil to a large mixing basin. Mix well. We will use pea-sized pieces of vegetable shortening.
Mix dry and liquid materials by sifting. Make sure to incorporate the shortening into the sticky dough of the donut by mixing and stirring it with a spatula until it blends well.
Make 3x3-inch squares out of parchment paper. A 2 1/2-inch circular template made from regular paper and taped to the work surface will simplify piping. Create an 8-ball ring by drawing eight dots at regular intervals. These will be the locations where you pipe the balls. Place additional parchment paper on top and use a piping bag to trace the dotted lines.
Prepare a piping bag with a piping tip. To make doughnut holes, put some donut dough in a piping bag and snip off the end.
Each dot on the baking sheet should have one teaspoon of dough. Remove the dough from the piping bag's tip by slicing it off with a butter knife. Then, clean the knife after each cut you make. Do the sequence again until you've connected all eight dots. Connect all the balls slightly, forming a donut with eight rings.
Frying the Donuts
Put enough oil to cover the bottom of a pot and place it over medium heat. Have the oil ready at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Carefully place one doughnut in the hot oil on a sheet of parchment paper. Two doughnuts will fit into my three 1/2 quarts saucepan at once. Do not attempt to cram the doughnuts.
After 1 minute, take the parchment off with tongs and discard it. Flip the donut in a sieve and push it down into the pot to immerse it. Wait approximately a minute, or until it becomes a light brown, before taking it off the heat. Since this batter does not include gluten flour, it will not become very dark.
Place the doughnut in a colander on a rack set over a sheet pan coated with paper towels. Repeat with the remaining doughnuts.
Strawberry Glaze
Whisk the milk, powdered sugar, and strawberry jam in a bowl. The consistency should be that of maple syrup.
Add an extra layer of powdered sugar if you want it thick. Slowly add extra milk if you'd like it thinner.
Serving
It's better to eat donuts warm, so grab one off the cooling rack, dip it in glaze, then set it back on the rack without using a paper towel.
Resting it for a minute will help the glaze set. Replace the doughnuts in the oven and do it again. You can serve them as a dessert or pair them with tea or coffee.
With this easy and quick mochi donuts recipe, we hope you can now make mochi donuts comfortably at home. Remember to store them properly if you want to enjoy them in their best state.
Cassie brings decades of experience to the Kitchen Community. She is a noted chef and avid gardener. Her new book "Healthy Eating Through the Garden" will be released shortly. When not writing or speaking about food and gardens Cassie can be found puttering around farmer's markets and greenhouses looking for the next great idea.
