Use this easy recipe to make Mochi Ice Cream, the popular and tasty Japanese frozen treats!
A layer of sweet, soft and chewy rice flour surrounds the creamy vanilla ice cream in these fun and unique scoops of ice cream.
Homemade mochi are gluten-free, easy to make without dairy, and can be made with or without food coloring.
We started enjoying tasty little frozen mochi sundaes when we found them at our local Asian grocery store.
Among the freezers of frozen potstickers and specialty items, a small dessert section contained individual soft serve ice cream cones, popsicles made with unusual ingredients, and multiple flavors of mochi.
We didn’t know what they were at first, but once we tried them, we were hooked on this sweet ice cream!
You can find mochi ice cream desserts filled with common American flavors like vanilla ice cream, strawberry ice cream, and chocolate ice cream.
But you can also find fun and interesting Japanese favorites like matcha, black sesame, and red bean ice cream!
This Mochi Ice Cream recipe starts out simple.with an interior filling of vanilla ice cream, and a sweet coating that much easier to do than you think.
Why You’ll Love This Mochi Ice Cream Recipe
I really love making my own mochi from scratch, and the main reason is that save a ton of money!
Mochi at the grocery store often costs upwards of $6 for an 8- or 12-piece box, which is a huge markup on what the ingredients actually cost.
This recipe makes 14 individual mochi balls, for less than $2and that is if I order the special flour needed for this recipe on Amazon.
If I buy glutinous rice flour from that Asian supermarket, it’s even cheaper!
Can Save your hard-earned money by making other sundaes too. Try making a homemade ice cream cake instead of buying one, or mix up chocolate milkshakes at home instead of going to the drive-thru!
Homemade Mochi Ice Cream Ingredients
Vanilla ice cream – Use your favorite, but make sure it’s a good quality brand or homemade. Since each mochi only has a bit of ice cream inside, you want it to be the best.
glutinous rice flour – This is the most important ingredient of homemade mochi. The chewy outer coating relies on this sticky rice flour for its texture and its ability to turn into an easy-to-work dough.
Powdered sugar – This gives the mochi layer a subtle sweetness. Be sure to use powdered sugar, as granulated sugar will not incorporate into the rice mass.
Cornstarch – This will help you roll out the rice flour batter without it sticking to your countertops! While you may think you can use regular flour, don’t. The flour will not cook and will leave a less than flavorful texture to the mochi.
pink food coloring – This is optional, but I love how cute and fun they are in bubblegum pink! You can also use any other color you want.
You need a glass of water also to unite everything!
How to make Mochi ice cream from scratch
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and scoop out scoop-sized scoops of ice cream in that. Each ball should be the size of a ping-pong ball. Place the ice cream tray in the freezer to chill for at least an hour, or until completely firm.
- to make the doughAdd glutinous rice flour and powdered sugar to a medium microwave-safe bowl and mix to combine.
- Add the food coloring to the water first, then slowly add the water to the rice flour mixture, whisking constantly until blended.
- Microwave the mochi dough for 90 seconds. Then stir with a rubber spatula and microwave again for 60 seconds. At this point the batter will have thickened and it will be piping hot!
- Dust a non-stick work surface (I suggest a Silpat mat) with lots of cornstarch. Carefully transfer the hot mochi batter to the surface. Sprinkle top with more cornstarch and roll out until just ¼-inch thick. Chill rolled dough in the refrigerator until cool to the touch, about 30 minutes.
- When the mochi dough has cooled, remove it from the refrigerator and cut out as many 2.5” circles as you can. The dough can’t really be re-rolled.so try to cut the circles as close together as possible.
- Brush any excess cornstarch off each circle, then wrap it around a scoop of frozen ice cream. Pinch the seams together at the bottom.
- Wrap each mochi ball in plastic wrap and return to the freezer for 2 hours or until set.
These numbered steps match the numbered photos above and are for illustrative purposes. For the full list of ingredients and instructions, see the recipe below.
How to store homemade mochi
Keep mochi individually wrapped with plastic wrap in an airtight container in the freezer. They can be stored this way. up to 1 week.
You’ll want to let the mochi sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften before you bite into it!
Mochi Ice Cream Tips
Use quality ingredients – Since these sundaes are small and simple, you need to make sure that you are using good quality ice cream.
Chill out –There are several chilling steps in this recipe, make sure you don’t skip any of them! The success of this mochi ice cream recipe depends on the ice cream being very cold and the dough having the right temperature to wrap it.
Cornstarch is your friend – Dough made from sticky rice flour is, well, sticky! It will stick to your hands, your tools and your surface. Don’t be afraid to use a lot to help.
try other flavors – Instead of vanilla ice cream, fill your mochi with any flavor of ice cream you can imagine!
To make this recipe dairy free – Use your favorite vegetable ice cream as a filling.
Is there gluten in glutinous rice flour?
No! The only ingredient in glutinous rice flour is glutinous rice, also known as sticky rice or sweet rice. Rice of all types is gluten free! Despite its name, this flour is gluten-free. The term “glutinous” just means that it is starchy and sticky.
More homemade ice cream dessert recipes
Our Favorite Ice Cream Tools:
- Cuisinart 2QT Ice Cream Maker – Works with ice cream, sherbet and frozen yogurt.
- Loaf pan – You can use any 9 x 13 loaf pan or a shallow pan, but we like this one.
- Ice Cream Scoop – Make sure you have a good ice cream scoop. This is one of our favourites.
- Ice Cream Containers – We love to keep a couple of ice cream containers on hand for when we make homemade ice cream.
Note: Each of these links will take you to the exact product on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a little on every qualifying purchase.
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Yield: 14 Mochi
mochi ice cream
Use this easy recipe to make Mochi Ice Cream, the Japanese frozen treats layered with sweet, soft and chewy rice flour around creamy vanilla ice cream.
preparation time
20 minutes
cooling time
3 hours 30 minutes
Total Time
3 hours 50 minutes
Ingredients
-
2 cups vanilla ice cream (or another flavor)
-
1 cup glutinous rice flour
-
¼ cup powdered sugar
-
1 cup of water
-
⅛ teaspoon pink food coloring (optional)
-
½ cup cornstarch, to dust the work surface
Instructions
- Line a quarter sheet pan with parchment paper and scoop out scoop-sized scoops of ice cream (you should get about 12 ping pong ball-sized servings). Place the ice cream scoops on the parchment then place in the freezer to chill until fully firm, at least 1 hour.
- Add the glutinous rice flour and powdered sugar to a medium microwave-safe bowl and mix to combine.
- Add the food coloring to the water and stir to combine. Slowly add the water to the rice flour, whisking constantly until fully combined.
- Microwave the mochi dough for 90 seconds. Then stir it in with a rubber spatula and microwave it for an additional 60 seconds. The batter should have thickened and it will be piping hot!
- Place a silpat mat on your work surface and sprinkle it with cornstarch. Use the rubber spatula to transfer the mochi batter from the bowl to the silpat (be careful, it will be hot!). If you don’t have a silpat mat, parchment paper will also work.
- Dust the mochi dough well with cornstarch, then roll it out to just ¼-inch thickness. Slide the silpat onto a rimmed baking sheet and place the mochi dough in the refrigerator to chill until cool to the touch, about 30 minutes.
- When the mochi dough has cooled, remove it from the fridge and cut out as many 2.5” circles as you can (try to get as many mochi rounds as you have scoops of ice cream). You can’t re-roll the mochi dough, so make sure you stack the cutouts close together!
- Brush any excess cornstarch from your mochi dough and then wrap it around a scoop of ice cream and pinch the seams to seal the ice cream. Wrap the mochi in plastic wrap and place in the freezer. Repeat with the remaining mochi.
- Allow the assembled mochi to chill in the freezer until firm and set, at least 2 hours. Enjoy.
grades
- Use Quality Ingredients – Since these sundaes are small and simple, you want to make sure you use good quality ice cream.
- Chill Out: There are several chilling steps in this recipe. Make sure you don’t skip any of them! The success of this mochi ice cream recipe depends on the ice cream being very cold and the dough having the right temperature to wrap it.
- Cornstarch is your friend – dough made with sticky rice flour is, well, sticky! It will stick to your hands, your tools and your surface. Don’t be afraid to use a lot to help.
Nutritional information:
Produce:
14
Portion size:
1
Amount per proportion:
Calories: 109Total fat: 2 gSaturated fat: 1gTrans fat: 0gUnsaturated fat: 1gCholesterol: 8 milligramsSodium: 17mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 1gSugar: 6gProtein: 2 g
Spread the love for ice cream!
