ONE of my daughter’s favourite treats at a local sushi restaurant is mochi, the chewy glutinous rice confection filled with red bean paste, peanut butter or pandan lotus seed paste.
Although most of us know it by its Japanese name, the practice of steaming and pounding glutinous rice into a smooth, elastic dough dates back thousands of years in China, where it evolved into treats such as lo mai chi, known in Mandarin as nuomici.
Japan refined the technique into its own distinctive tradition, while across South-East Asia, similar rice dough desserts evolved into treats such as muah chee in Malaysia and Singapore or moa chi in Taiwan.
Baked mochi cake, however, is a much more recent creation.
It emerged in Hawaii during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when Japanese immigrants arrived to work on the islands’ sugar and fruit plantations.
By combining traditional mochi ingredients with Western baking methods, they created a cake with a crisp, lightly caramelised exterior and wonderfully chewy centre.
While the original Hawaiian versions born from this cultural melting pot more than a century ago, typically contained coconut milk and melted butter, the recipe my sister shared during her recent visit home from New Zealand takes a simpler approach.
Over the years, she has refined it into a recipe that is remarkably simple.
The batter comes together in about 30 minutes, after which the oven does the rest, leaving the cake ready to enjoy by teatime.
She uses rice bran oil, although any neutral-flavoured oil will work just as well.
Smooth peanut butter makes an ideal filling, providing a creamy contrast to the crunchy topping of roasted peanuts and toasted sesame seeds.
Once the cake has cooled completely, cut it into 2cm to 3cm squares for the perfect bite-sized treat.
It is so effortless to prepare that it has already earned a place on my list for the next church gathering.
Peanut Mochi Cake
Batter
454g glutinous rice flour
1 cup rice bran oil
2½ cups milk
1½ cups raw brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
3 eggs, beaten
Filling
1 cup smooth peanut butter
Topping
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
¼ cup roasted salted peanuts, roughly chopped
Directions
Preheat the oven to 165°C. Grease a 20×40cm baking pan and line it with baking parchment.
In a large bowl, combine the glutinous rice flour, oil, milk, brown sugar and baking powder until smooth.
Stir in the beaten eggs until fully incorporated, then pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Drop small spoonfuls of peanut butter into the batter at roughly 3cm intervals, allowing each spoonful to sink in just below the surface.
Sprinkle the sesame seeds and chopped peanuts evenly over the top.
Bake for about 55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Cool completely before slicing.
