Chocolate Mochi Brownies - Recipe from Mochi Magic

Most people love brownies, but have you ever heard of mochi brownies? I tend to think of Brownie and Mochi = Brochis! But first you might be asking, what is mochi? Mochi is a form of sticky rice cake that is made from Japanese short grain rice called "mochigome". Mochigome is a chewy, sticky rice that is actually naturally sweeter than regular rice. You can have mochi either savoury or sweet and with different fillings inside. In this particular recipe, the mochi flour is used to make these brownies extra chewy. The best way to describe these particular chocolate mochi brownies are that they are full of decadent chocolate and chewy goodness. The recipe is from Kaori Becker's new cookbook "Mochi Magic". 

Now if you never had mochi before then you should certainly get her book! The best thing is that I have been given permission to share with you this recipe for Chocolate Mochi Brownies! I would highly encourage you to use mochiko flour if possible. Initially when I made a few recipes from the book I wasn't able to source mochiko so I used a Korean style of ground rice flour that seemed to match what we were looking for (finely ground rice flour). In chatting with Kaori through instagram she indicated that this would be a good substitute or glutinous rice flour could do the trick as well; though taste would be different. 

Kaori herself describes these brownies as "Crispy on the outside and ooey-gooey mochi-licious on the inside, these brownies come together quickly and pack a serious chocolate punch!"

Chocolate Mochi Brownies (makes 10 pieces)

Ingredients 

• 3 cups mochiko
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 3/4 cup brown sugar 
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate 

*original recipe is 2 cups of light brown sugar, vegetable oil and semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Butter a 9x13 inch baking tray. 
2. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). 
3. Sift together the mochiko, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
4. Beat the eggs in another large bowl. Stir in the sugar, milk, oil, butter and vanilla. Mix well. Scrape this mixture into the bowl with the mochiko mixture and whisk until uniform in texture (make sure there are no lumps). Stir  in half of the chocolate.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, then scatter the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate on top.
6. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until the brownies are golden brown. Enjoy hot with vanilla ice cream or let cool to room temperature.
7. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. 

These chocolate mochi brownies are so good! I can't convey how good they are through just the pictures alone so you will just have to make them yourselves! I did cut each brownie and made them rather large for these photo but I also had no issues just eating the entire brownie square myself! While we were taking pictures, we happened to be near Luna's crate. (as it has really good light). She ran inside thinking she would get a treat as we have been praising her efforts of staying in the crate on her own. Of course we did not give her any of these brownies! 

Please make them and enjoy each massive piece all by yourself! With ice cream while they are warm as Kaori suggests or just by themselves with a cup of tea or coffee! 

Excerpted from Mochi Magic by Kaori Becker. Copyright © 2020 Published by Storey Publishing. Reproduced by arrangement from the author Kaori Becker. All rights reserved.

Pictures in this blog post are all taken by Lillian Tse (Beyond Umami).