Matcha Butter Mochi Recipe (Green Tea Rice Cake)

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Hi Bold Bakers!

WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE: Matcha Butter Mochi is an unforgettably luscious rice cake with a contrasting texture blending soft and elastic interior with a delicately crispy exterior. Each bite bursts with the pleasantly refreshing taste of matcha and creamy tropical coconut notes. It’s quick and simple to make, gluten-free, and a real crowd-pleaser–kids love the delightful gooey texture, adults will appreciate the sophisticated matcha flavor, and everyone will rave about the lovely jade-green color! 

Matcha Butter Mochi is a refreshing addition to my mochi recipe collection, joining Gorgeous Hawaiian Butter Mochi, Chewy Mochi Brownies,  Japanese Mochi Ice Cream Recipe and Chocolate Mochi Ice Cream Recipe. Try them all and let me know which one you like best. I’m excited to hear what your favorite is!

Table of Contents

• What is Matcha Butter Mochi?
• Tools You Need
• Key Ingredients and Why
• How to Make Matcha Butter Mochi
• Can I Make Matcha Butter Mochi in Advance?
• How to Store Matcha Butter Mochi
• FAQs
• Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips
• More Mochi Recipes

What is Matcha Butter Mochi?

• Matcha Butter Mochi is a deliciously moist, springy rice cake with a buttery, coconut flavor combined with the delicate, mild bitter taste of matcha powder.
• Butter Mochi is a sweet comfort food that’s been popular in Hawaii since the early 20th century—it’s a mash-up of Japanese mochi dough made with sweet rice flour and buttery cake. Check out this recipe for Gorgeous Hawaiian Butter Mochi.
• This Matcha Butter Mochi recipe includes creamy coconut milk and gorgeously bright green matcha powder to perfectly balance out the sweetness.
• It’s a no-fuss dessert—just pop it out of the oven, let it cool a bit, cut, and enjoy like brownies or blondies.

Tools You Need

• 9×13 baking pan
• Parchment paper
• Large bowl
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Whisk

Key Ingredients and Why

• Sweet rice flour

  • Sweet rice flour is a must to achieve mochi’s distinctive chewy texture. It’s also known as Mochiko Flour (“Mochiko” means “mochi flour” in Japanese) or glutinous rice flour.
  • You can find it at Asian markets, and you can order mochiko flour online.

• Granulated sugar

  • Sugar not only sweetens butter mochi, but also contributes to the dessert’s moist, pleasantly gooey texture.
  • Also, sugar in the recipe gives butter mochi its caramelized golden-brown top.

• Unsweetened matcha powder

  • Matcha powder is finely-ground green tea leaves from shade-grown plants.
  • Matcha powder has a rich, earthy taste that adds a perfect balance to desserts.
  • Because it’s a powder, it’s easy to incorporate into recipes.
  • Bonus! Matcha powder is extremely good for you as it’s full of antioxidants.

• Baking powder

  • Once mixed with liquid, baking powder causes a quick chemical reaction that creates carbon dioxide, creating bubbles in the batter and forming an airier crumb.
  • Baking powder gives the Matcha Butter Mochi a lighter texture, contributing to its unique chewy, springy quality.
  • Read my post, How to Make Baking Powder and Baking Soda Explained to whip up a homemade version!

• Eggs

  • Eggs act as a binder and help hold the butter mochi batter together and give it structure.
  • They also add moisture to the batter and are crucial in giving Matcha Butter Mochi its slightly custardy quality.

• Whole milk

  • Whole milk adds creaminess, richness, and flavor to Matcha Butter Mochi.

• Full-fat coconut milk

  • The sweet, nutty taste of coconut milk adds depth to the cake.
  • Its tropical flavor is reflective of Matcha Butter Mochi’s Hawaiian roots.
  • Velvety full-fat coconut milk helps create butter mochi’s plush texture.

How to Make Matcha Butter Mochi

Prep

1. Bring eggs to room temperature. For quick and easy ways to do this, read my post, How to Get Room Temperature Eggs.
2. Preheat the oven and line a 9×13-inch pan with parchment paper.
3. Melt the butter and let cool to room temperature.

Mix the batter

1. Whisk the mochiko flour, sugar, matcha powder, and baking powder together in a large bowl.
2. Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Whisk the eggs first, and then whisk in the milk, coconut milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract. (Check out my article Why Do You Mix Dry Ingredients and Wet Ingredients Separately for more info on why this technique is so important!)
3. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together until well-blended.

Bake and serve

1. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
2. Bake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
3. After the cake is cooled completely, cut into 16 squares.

Can I Make Matcha Butter Mochi in Advance?

This cake is best prepared right before you bake it. The good news is that it only takes 10 minutes to come together!

How to Store Matcha Butter Mochi

• You can store leftover Matcha Butter Mochi in an airtight container for up to two days at room temperature.
• It will keep in the refrigerator for up to five days.
• You can also freeze leftovers for up to one month. Wrap the pieces individually before freezing.

FAQs

• Can I substitute another type of flour for the mochiko flour?

  • No. Mochiko flour, a glutinous/sweet rice flour is butter mochi’s signature ingredient, and no substitute will achieve the same result.
  • Glutinous/sweet rice is a different type of grain. It has virtually no amylose, and it contains just one component of starch, amylopectin, which is responsible for the sticky quality of glutinous rice.

• Can I use green tea leaves instead of matcha powder?

This isn’t advised as green tea leaves, even if you grind them, have a coarser texture than matcha powder, which would be noticeable in the butter mochi. They also won’t give you the same vivid green color as matcha powder.

• Can I make this recipe dairy-free?

You can replace whole milk with a dairy-free milk of your preference in this recipe. But just note that the result may be different in terms of flavor.

• Can I use an egg substitute in this recipe?

Yes, but note that your result will not be the same in texture and flavor.

• • Silken tofu is mentioned by vegan bakers as an egg substitute in butter mochi.
  • See directions for this and other ideas in my 12 Best Egg Substitutes for Baking Recipes.

• Can I make this with less sugar?

  • Sugar is important to not only the taste but the moist texture of butter mochi. That said, you can try to reduce the amount of sugar, but I wouldn’t recommend reducing it by more than 25%.
  • If you’re looking for a sugar substitute, check out my post on Baking Without Sugar and Baking With Sugar Substitutes. Note that allulose, a naturally occurring sugar from figs and raisins, is a zero-calorie sweetener that can caramelize to yield the closest result to sugar.

• What would be good to mix into Matcha Butter Mochi?

Chocolate chips, chopped toasted nuts, and cooked sweetened or unsweetened adzuki beans (red beans) would all be delicious and would add texture contrast.

Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips

• The matcha flavor in this butter mochi is very subtle. If you are a big matcha fan, feel free to add an extra tablespoon of matcha powder.
• Be sure that you’re buying matcha powder and NOT matcha green tea bags for this recipe.
• Because it’s so fine and clumps easily (it has a similar texture to cocoa powder), sift matcha powder into your dry ingredients for a smooth result.
• Matcha powder and chocolate are a match made in heaven! So once your butter mochi is completely cool, drizzle some ganache on top and let it set before serving!
• For added texture, you can sprinkle a half-cup (1½ oz/43 g) of shredded coconut on top before baking.

More Mochi and Matcha Recipes

• Mochi Donuts (Pon de Ring Donuts)
• Chocolate Mochi Ice Cream Recipe
• How to Make Japanese Mochi Ice Cream
• Matcha Coconut Ice Cream (Dairy-Free /No Machine)
• Delicate & Sweet Matcha Shortbread Cookies

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