Contemplating Sweets

Hawaiian Butter Mochi

Butter mochi is a classic Hawaiian treat made with coconut milk and mochiko (glutinous rice flour). All you have to do is mix and bake! 

Butter Mochi- a classic Hawaiian treat made with coconut milk and mochiko (glutinous rice flour).

Butter Mochi- a classic Hawaiian treat made with coconut milk and mochiko (glutinous rice flour).

Butter mochi was a great discovery for me when I “discovered” Hawaii via my now-husband. Butter mochi is another classic local style treat that is a hybrid of cultures. Now, don’t quote me on this, but I believe it’s a mix of Filipino bibingka and Japanese mochi.

I learned today that bibingka is made out of cassava, which I have never used or eaten before. But, the similarity is the coconut. While Japanese recipes don’t tend to use coconut, this butter mochi has an entire can of coconut milk in it! It kind of adds a slightly tropical hint to it.

Butter Mochi- a classic Hawaiian treat made with coconut milk and mochiko (glutinous rice flour).

This recipe is ridiculously easy. You barely even have to measure anything, because you just dump a can of this, a can of that, and a box of mochiko. ALL you have to do is mix, pour, bake, cut. SO easy and the result is so delicious! Fattening, yes, but delicious. And isn’t it okay to indulge sometimes?

This recipe makes a 9×13 inch pan full of butter mochi, so you’ll want to bring this to a potluck or at least have someone to share it with. I had my husband take most of it to work and it was a hit!

Butter Mochi- a classic Hawaiian treat made with coconut milk and mochiko (glutinous rice flour).Mmm, I just love the bouncy texture of mochi. I mean, it looks kind of like a piece of cake, but you bite in to it and… yum.

Some people like to add shredded coconut on the top of their butter mochi, but I like mine plain. Actually, wait… I’ve never had it with shredded coconut. Maybe I’ll try it next time! I bet it would be good…

Even if you aren’t a baker, you can definitely make this, so please give it a try!

Butter Mochi- a classic Hawaiian treat made with coconut milk and mochiko (glutinous rice flour).
4.8 from 29 votes
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Hawaiian Butter Mochi

Butter Mochi- a classic Hawaiian treat made with coconut milk and mochiko (glutinous rice flour). All you have to do is mix and bake!

Course Dessert
Cuisine Hawaiian
Keyword butter mochi, hawaiian desserts, hawaiian food
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 10 people
Calories 560 kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 stick unsalted butter melted
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 16 oz mochiko flour 1 box
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 can evaporated milk 12 oz
  • 1 can coconut milk 14 oz

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and grease a 9x13 inch pan.

    Mix the melted butter and sugar until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Stir in vanilla. Pour in the mochiko and add the baking powder. Stir until mostly combined. Stir in the evaporated milk, stir in the coconut milk. When batter is totally smooth, pour into pan and bake for one hour. 

    Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Remove from pan and cut into pieces on a cutting board. 


Recipe Notes

Adapted from Hawaiian culture stories.

Get coconut milk.

Get mochiko. 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. Oh my goodness, I just made this last night for my daughter’s end-of-year school party (luau theme), and it was AMAZING. I’m glad so many kids didn’t even want to try it, because that means that I got to bring home lots of leftovers. 😉 It really does remind me of my favorite Filipino glutenous rice cake, but it’s so much easier to make!

    Reply

  4. Lived in Hawaii for a time and loved eating butter mochi there (prepared by locals), but never tried making it myself. After moving back to the main land I tried a couple of other recipes I found online, but this one seems the most authentic to what I had in HI. Simple and delicious. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  6. This may be a dumb question but when you say coconut milk can it be like the silk in the refrigerator section, or do you mean like the stuff in the cans? Thanks

    Reply

  9. Made these a week ago and they are delicious! I was wondering how long can i usually keep them for? They turned a little on the grainy side after a week and I’m wondering why that is…

    Reply

    • I never do, but we always finish ours off within a day or two. Maybe if you’re going to keep them for longer, it would be a good idea.

      Reply

    • Hello Ky, I use whatever brand I have on hand. I usually use Thai kitchen organic coconut milk because I get a big box of it at Costco. Evaporated milk brand is whatever the local store has, and I use either Rodelle’s or Costco vanilla. Hope that helps!

      Reply


  12. Good recipe. But I’d like to point out that the nutrition info is very off. (A stick of butter alone is 800 calories.) By my calculations, an entire pan of this recipe is 5550 calories, making one serving (1/10th as you suggest) equal to 555 cal. Just FYI.

    Reply

  13. So i have to make this for my foreign language fair on Friday, and I was wondering how long it took your mochiko to arrive? Its not available in any stores near me so i have to get it off of amazon.

    Reply

    • Hey Andy, I actually get mine at the local Asian store, and put the link up there for those who couldn’t find it at theirs. I’m not sure how long it would take… Sorry about that! That being said, if you can find one that’s amazon prime, it should come in two days, and you could always pay a little more for it to come quicker. Good luck!

      Reply

    • So do you mean using two cans of evaporated milk instead of one can evap and one can coconut? I personally have not tried it, but I’m assuming it would not turn out as good. Sorry!

      Reply