Perfectly chewy and stretchy vegan mochi filled with the creamiest chocolate ganache. Vegan, gluten-free, and so decadent! These chocolate mochi make the perfect sweet snack!
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Chocolate mochi is coming your way!
Have you ever tried fresh mochi? Not the ones you get in a box, I'm talking about the homemade ones, made the same day, with minimal ingredients, and no preservatives or flavorings. If not, it's time to fix that!
📘 What is Mochi?
Mochi is a Japanese sweet that consists of a glutinous rice cake usually filled with sweet bean paste, cream, or fruits.
The type of mochi filled with a ganache is sometimes called Nama Mochi.
🥣 How to Make Vegan Chocolate Mochi
Chocolate Filling
It starts with the filling, that is basically a chocolate ganache. To make the chocolate ganache, you will need just 3 ingredients:
- Chopped Dark Chocolate
- Unsweetened Almond Milk
- Tahini (optional)
Bring almond milk to a boil, then pour it over dark chocolate chunks, and whisk until fully melted and combined.
For extra creaminess and a subtle nutty flavor, you can stir-in a tablespoon of tahini (or your favorite nut butter), but that is up to you and it's not essential.
Regarding the chocolate, I recommend using dark chocolate bars cut into chunks instead of chocolate chips. Why? Because you will have more control over the percentage of cacao and sugar. Here, I went with 65% dark chocolate, but feel free to adapt to your taste.
Once the ganache is fully combined, refrigerate it for a couple of hours. Once set, scoop out about 1 teaspoon balls and transfer to a plate. Keep the chocolate balls in the refrigerator so they stay firm.
Mochi Dough
Now it's time to prepare the dough that consists of just 5 ingredients:
- Sweet rice flour (also called glutinous rice flour)
- Water
- Coconut Milk (for richness)
- Unsweetened Cacao Powder
- Sugar
Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl until fully combined. You should end up with a very liquid batter.
There are two ways to cook the mochi dough, you can either:
- Steam: Steam in a bamboo basket for about 20 minutes. Make sure to stir once halfway through steaming.
- Microwave: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the microwave for 1 minute on high heat. Stir the mixture using a rubber spatula and microwave again for 1 minute.
As it cooks, the mixture thickens and become sticky and stretchy. Remove from heat, cover with plastic wrap to touch and let it cool completely.
Working with the sticky dough can get quite messy (so messy that I couldn't take photos of the shaping step!).
Since we are making chocolate mochi, you can use cacao powder instead of cornstarch to flour your working surface and prevent the dough from sticking too much.
Wrapping
Flatten the mochi dough between two layers of plastic film using a rolling pin. Next, cut out rounds of dough and wrap balls of chocolate ganache with the mochi dough. Pinch to seal it, and dust with cacao powder.
Finally, refrigerate for a couple of hours and enjoy!
📔 Tips
- Let the mochi dough cool completely: it will get a bit easier to work with and will prevent the filling from melting. Wrap the dough in plastic film and let cool at room temperature, or in the refrigerator to speed up the process.
- Do not use too much cornstarch or you will have trouble sealing the mochi. The dough should be just slightly sticky.
- The smaller the mochi, the harder it is to wrap. Do not hesitate to make large mochi if you are having trouble wrapping!
- Chocolate mochi is best enjoyed the same day.
💬 FAQ
- Can I substitute the sweet rice flour? No, it is essential to get a soft and stretchy dough.
- Can I make this recipe coconut-free? Yes, simple replace the coconut milk with water and add a teaspoon of oil to the batter.
If you like chewy sweets, you are going to love these chocolate mochis! They are tender and chewy on the outside, and rich and chocolatey on the inside. Plus they are not overly sweet compared to the store-bought ones and taste much better!
More Asian-Inspired Sweet Recipes
Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Chocolate Mochi
Ingredients
Chocolate Filling
- ½ cup chopped dark chocolate
- ⅓ cup almond milk*
- 1 tablespoon tahini optional
Mochi Dough
- 1 cup glutinous rice flour
- 3 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoon cacao powder
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup full-fat coconut milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- cornstarch or cacao powder
- 3 tablespoon cocoa powder for dusting
Instructions
Chocolate Filling
- Place the finely chopped dark chocolate into a bowl and set aside.
- Heat the almond milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Once it has come to a boil, pour into the bowl, over the chocolate chunks. Add the tahini if using, and whisk until the chocolate is fully melted and everything is combined. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate for about 2 hours, or until the ganache is firmer.
- Once firm, scoop out about 1 teaspoon balls of ganache and place them on a plate lined with parchment paper. Keep in the refrigerator. You will transfer it to the freezer for about 10 minutes just before wrapping them to make the balls harder and easier to work with.
Mochi Dough
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the glutinous rice flour, sugar, cacao powder, water, coconut milk, and vanilla. The mixture will be liquid but will thicken once cooked. Transfer to a glass or ceramic bowl/dish.
- Steam for about 20 minutes, stirring halfway through steaming using a rubber spatula. To steam, I recommend filling a large pot with about 2 cups of water, then place a metal basket inside the pot and place your bowl on it. Cover with a lid wrapped with a kitchen towel (to prevent water from dropping into the mochi dough). You can also use a bamboo basket steamer.
- After 20 minutes, you should have a sticky dough. Let it cool a few minutes, then cover with plastic film to touch and refrigerate for about 2 hours, or until cold. If the dough is warm it will not be easy to work with and could melt the chocolate ganache.
- To assemble: place the balls of ganache in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Dust your working surface with cornstarch or cacao powder. Roll out the mochi dough between two layers of plastic wrap into a ½-inch thickness. Using a cookie cutter, cut 2.5-inch rounds of the dough. If the dough is too sticky, dust with more cornstarch or cacao powder.
- Place a ball of ganache in the center of the mochi round. Wrap the dough around the ganache and pinch the edges to seal. You can use plastic film to handle the dough if it's too sticky. Dust off excess cornstarch, and place your mochi on a plate line with parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining dough and ganache. Dust with cacao powder, cover with plastic film, or place in a airtight container and refrigerator for at least 2 hours before enjoying!
- You can enjoy mochi straight from the refrigerator or leave it out for 5-10 minutes before eating. Mochi is best eaten the same day but will keep for up to 2 days in the refrigerator.
Thomas, hands down, you have the most interesting, tasty, beautiful and unusual dishes I've ever seen online!! You always seem to go the extra mile in every dish you prepare.
I've watched the traditional pounding of mochi on YouTube and thought 'Wow, how cool, but I'll just keeping buying them at the store'. Not any more! Thanks for opening up our minds to all kinds of new expediences!
Thanks so much for your kind words Annie 🙂 I really appreciate it!
Is there any suitable sub for the rice flour. I'm sensitive to it.
I'm afraid there is not Kathy, that's the main ingredient of mochi.
Can you make these gluten free?
Deb, these are already gluten-free 🙂
please, please.....step 2 mochi dough says to steam......what do you mean? to place above a steaming pot? from Chile, my gratitude in advance!!!
Hi Leticia,
I describe exactly the process in step 2. You can steam in a basket, or place a small grid inside a big pot, add about 2 cups of water, and place your bowl of dough on the grid so it doesn't touch the water. Then cover with a lid and steam. Hope this helps 🙂
Hi Thomas,
Is it possible to use the full-fat coconut milk in the chocolate filling as well as the dough?
Hi James,
Sure! It should work 🙂
This was delicious !! I’d been wanting to try mochi for a while but couldn’t find a vegan one (I live in Latin America so vegan products are scarce). It intimidated me a little bit but the instructions were easy to follow and the end result was fantastic <3
Thanks Cami! Most mochi you can find in supermarkets are vegan but they are not very good or healthy.
Glad you liked the recipe 😉