Matcha Mochi Cakes

I’m back from Japan! And I’m horribly jetlagged!

Woo woo woo!

I’m in one of those moods where I’m a little obnoxiously hyper because I’m overcompensating for the fact that I really just wish I was taking a nap. But I can’t take a nap because that would just make this whole readjustment period longer and I’m already back at work and I just need to go go go go…

Go to BED, I need to go to bed.

No I don’t, It’s like 6pm.

Or DO I?

Oh, before I forget, Japan was AWESOME!

I ate so much food.

Luckily, we did a ridiculous amount of walking, so I somehow didn’t gain weight while I was busy slurping soba, ramen and fresh handmade udon, carefully crafted earlier that morning.

Licking cones of soy soft serve. Crunching on little star shaped sugar candies and green tea Kit Kats.

And then all the mochi treats. Oh goodness, the mochi treats.

Have you had mochi before? Most folks encounter this chewy glutenous rice goodness as the outer shell of mochi ice cream at a Japanese restaurant.

In Japan, it most often took the shape of daifuku, where a pad of mochi (flavoured or not) is essentially wrapped around a filling, most often red bean paste, but sometimes strawberry, chocolate or banana.

I ate so much daifuku.

I didn’t make daifuku, because I was feeling too lazy to make daifuku. Daifuku involves fillings and direct heat and making smooth balls of pretty mochi. I want to make daifuku one of these days, but today isn’t that day. So instead, I aimed to make you guys little easy mochi cakes!

And then I went to Japan for 2 weeks and completely forgot where I put the pictures. They’re not on my camera. They’re not on my computer. Or my laptop. I have no idea where they are. They’re digital content. How does one misplace digital content? I have no idea. But I did it. Perhaps they simply dissolved into the ether.

So instead, enjoy Japan photos! Crappy ones from my camera phone! :D And please, enjoy the Matcha Mochi Cake recipe below. I totally made them and they really are delicious, even if you can’t see what they look like. I swear.

Sorry guys. In my defense, my brain is mush right now. :)

Adapted from Humble Bean

Ingredients

• 1 (1 lb.) box glutenous rice flour (this is different than normal rice flour, try looking for it in asian grocery stores. I use mochiko)
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tablespoons matcha powder (You could need anywhere from 2 tsp. to 2 tbsp. of matcha, depends on how strong your matcha is and how much flavour you’re going for. My powder is pretty weak so I use more.)
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 3/4 cup oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a mini-muffin tin or line with paper baking cups.
2. Whisk all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, and oil. Add dry ingredients and stir until incorporated.
3. Spoon batter in prepared tin so that cups are almost full. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until slightly golden.
4. Cool in tin for 10 minutes then cool completely on a wire rack.

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