Tahini & Jelly Butter Mochi

Sesame Butter Mochi 2.0 with a PB&J twist.

Hi Bakers!

Last year, I shared my mom’s butter mochi recipe with a modern twist (think brown butter, sea salt, and vanilla). Today, I am excited to bring you Sesame Butter Mochi 2.0 for Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

Butter mochi is an insanely chewy, coconut dessert commonly found in Hawaii. Made with glutinous rice flour, coconut milk, and a few other pantry staples, this uniquely textured treat is unlike any other bar, cake, or brownie. 

If you haven’t tried butter mochi before, heed this warning: it is super addictive and may lead to multiple batches of this custardy, gooey treat. The centers have that stretchy quality like most mochi recipes with a slightly crispy edge. 

Butter mochi is typically made with a just a handful of ingredients. The glutinous rice flour is non-negotiable. Coconut milk is key for an ultra rich and creamy texture, but there are many recipes that use different liquids in its place.

The flavors of modern mochi are vast. This viral corn mochi sent me into a deep dive of possibilities. From black sesame to s’mores mochi from Big Boi Mochi and Daphne’s liliko’i mochi with matcha lemon curd swirl, it seems like you can mochi-fy anything. It was her swirls that inspired my Tahini & Jelly Butter Mochi.

I wanted to make a PB&J inspired mochi. Since last year’s version turned out great with the sesame seed topping, I doubled down on the sesame aspect and added tahini to the mix. 

Tahini is made from ground sesame seeds. It is a major ingredient in hummus and used in a lot of Middle Eastern cuisines. Add into sweet recipes, and they take on a nutty, earthy flavor. 

For the design, use a smooth, seedless jam in a piping bag to create lines of jam. Pull the tip of a toothpick through the mixture to create the feathered pattern (like you would with royal icing on a cookie).

Tahini & Jelly Butter Mochi

The Ingredients:

½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
½ cup (100g) light brown sugar
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 ½ cups coconut milk
3 tablespoons tahini
2 cups + 2 tablespoons (250g) glutinous rice flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder

Seedless strawberry jam for swirling 
Sesame seeds for sprinkling 

The Method:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and line an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.

• Using a hand or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the sugars and eggs on medium speed until slightly thickened and pale in color, about 3 minutes. 

• Add the melted butter, coconut milk, vanilla extract, and tahini. Mix until well combined.

• Stop the mixer and sift in the rice flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix on medium-low speed until smooth. Don’t worry about over-mixing too much here.

• Tip the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top with a spatula.

• Place about ¼ cup of seedless jam into a piping bag and snip the tip to create a small opening. Pipe thin lines over the top of the batter in a zigzag motion - going from one side of the pan then all the way to the other.

• Take the tip of a toothpick and drag it through the lines perpendicularly. The lines should be about ¾-inch apart. Rotate the pan 180° and drag the toothpick the other direction in between the previous lines (see Notes).

• Sprinkle the top with sesame seeds.

• Bake until the top is golden brown and dry to the touch, about 40 minutes.

Serving and Storage:

• Allow the butter mochi to completely cool before slicing. For super clean slices, cool several hours or overnight.

• Store butter mochi in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. It will have a slight crunch to the crust on the first day, but it will soften overnight. 

Baker’s Notes:

• Be sure to use glutinous rice flour, like Mochiko Flour. Regular rice flour will not work with this recipe. Despite the name, glutinous rice flour is gluten-free.

• The caramelized crust will soften overnight.

• For clean slices, wait until completely cooled and clean the knife between slices.

• The piped jam uses a technique called feathering. You can watch me do the same thing with royal icing on sugar cookies in the third video of this post (around the 9:00 minute mark).