I first tried this chocolate mochi cake when we visited Nori's Saimin shop on the Big Island in 2008. We had just finished dinner at the shop and went to the register to pay, when I noticed a tray of wrapped loaves of mochi cake. Intrigued, I bought one loaf to try for dessert later at the hotel.
Silly silly me.
This dessert was like nothing I've ever tried. It's not super chewy like mochi. And it's not as sweet and heavy as a brownie. It's like a chocolate cake, but had an intriguingly slight bouncy texture. It was so yummy, I almost wanted to drive back to get more as gifts for everyone back home. But I was already showered and in my PJ's...
Once returned to the mainland, I really started regretting not going back to load up on these mochi cakes, so I scoured the internet for Nori's recipe and this 9 cup mochiko recipe below was what was available in 2008. (Two years later, the half recipe was published in the Honolulu Star Advertiser.)
Over the years, I've made this chocolate mochi cake many times, sometimes experimenting by swapping out ingredients. It turns out to be a pretty forgiving recipe. You can swap out the condensed milk for regular milk, non-fat milk, water, or even sweetened condensed milk if you lower the amount of sugar. And if you don't like cakes that are too sweet, you can use less sugar. I've gone as low as 2.5 cups of sugar for 4.5 cups of mochiko flour and it's still good. (Don't use baking splenda sugar substitutes though. I tried and the batter had a weird consistency, and the final baked product wasn't the same texture.)
My favorite combination though is adding in some instant coffee granules and a pinch of salt. (Recipe below) You can't really taste the coffee or salt, but the additions enhance the flavor of the chocolate in the mochi cake.
As a word of warning, this recipe is NOT for those on a diet. I usually only make this for potlucks... cuz gosh, it's just so addictively yummy that if I don't share, I might eat the whole pan myself!!!
Recipe adapted from Beth An Nishijima of Nori's Saimin:
Yields 16 servings
Ingredients:
- 4 ½ c mochiko flour
- 3 c sugar
- 5 T cocoa powder
- 1 T baking soda
- ½ t salt
- 1 T vanilla extract
- 5 eggs
- 1 can of full fat coconut milk (13.5 oz)
- 1 c evaporated milk
- 1 stick of butter, melted (½ c)
- 1 T instant coffee granules dissolved in 1 T water
Procedures:
1. In a bowl, combine mochiko flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder until the mix is blended.
2. In another large bowl, melt butter. Then add coconut milk, evaporated milk, eggs, vanilla extract, and dissolved coffee granules. Mix until well blended.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until the batter is smooth and there are no lumps. Pour batter into greased pans. You can use two 9 x 5 (4 inch deep) loaf pans, or one large 11 x 13 tray. The batter will rise a little, so you should only fill your trays no more than 2/3 full. Tap the trays gently on a cloth lined counter to allow big air bubbles to rise and pop air bubbles with a toothpick.
4. Preheat oven to 350F. Bake at 350 F for 60 to 80 minutes. The amount of time will depend on how wide and deep your pan is. Use a toothpick to check that there is no liquid in the center. Cool at room temperature and then cut into small pieces and enjoy. Keeps at room temperature in an air tight container for 2 days. Freeze any leftovers beyond 2 days tightly wrapped in saran wrap, and warm it in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds to soften.