Tag Archives: baking

Mochi Muffins Three Ways: Black Sesame, Matcha, Original

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The first time I encountered the magical mochi muffin was 2 years ago at Contraband Cafe in San Francisco. It was a muffin that had a crispy exterior, and firm, but chewy, on the inside. The muffin had a buttery, toffee-like taste to it, but the best part about it was that it wasn’t too sweet (which is the best compliment I can give a pastry or dessert). Especially since some of my close friends are intolerant to gluten, it’s one of my favorite sweet treats to bake. I’ve been making this recipe for a few years now, and recently decided to tweak it to test out two of my favorite flavors when it comes to pastries and desserts: matcha and black sesame!

Mochi Muffin base (makes 12 muffins)

  • 350g mochi flour (I use the Mochiko brand)
  • 1/3 cup coconut oil, plus 2 tbsp coconut oil to add into the flavored muffin mixtures later
  • 180g sugar; I usually use monkfruit sweetener, but cane sugar works too
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 can of coconut milk (full-fat is best!)
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 3 tsp agave nectar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract

Additional ingredients for flavored muffins:

  • Matcha: 1/2 teaspoon of matcha powder per muffin
  • Black sesame: 50g black sesame seeds per muffin, ground

Directions:

  1. Preheat an oven to 350 and either grease the sides of a muffin tin with coconut oil.*
  2. Mix the dry ingredients together and make sure there are no clumps: mochi flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, salt.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients together: the coconut oil, coconut mlik, eggs, agave nectar, and vanilla extract.**
  4. While stirring the dry ingredients, slowly pour in the wet ingredient mixture and mix well, ensuring there are no clumps in the mixture.
  5. Split the mixture into 3 separate bowls.
  6. In one bowl, mix in 2 teaspoons of matcha powder, and 1 tbsp of coconut oil.
  7. In another bowl, mix in 200g of ground black sesame seeds***, and 1 tbsp of coconut oil
  8. Divide each bowl’s mixture across 4 muffin tins, sprinkling a few whole black sesame seeds on the top of each.****
  9. Bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  10. Remove the muffins and let them cool for 30 minutes on a wire rack. This part is really important so the inside of the muffins can set to a chewiness that is firm, but not soggy.

Notes:

* You can also line the muffin tins with baking cups, but baking right against the metal creates a darker, crispier outside.
** I beat the eggs before adding other wet ingredients to make the wet mixture smoother.
*** To grind sesame seeds, I measured out 200g into a food processor and blitzed it.
**** You can also split the mixture based on how many of each flavor you want to make. Each muffin will require about 85g of the mixture.

Spiced Persimmon and Fig Muffins (GF, NF, Paleo)

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Fall is in full swing, and it’s my favorite season for several reasons. Not only do the leaves change color and introduce stunning shades of yellow, orange, and red to the scenery outside, but the produce available in supermarkets now includes fun, seasonable items: different types of squashes, pumpkin, and fall fruits inspiring bursts of creativity in my kitchen.

Of all the fall goodies to feel excited about, persimmons are my absolute favorite. I grew up eating both types of persimmons (Fuyu and Hachiya), and my dad is very enthusiastic about drying persimmons to snack on. It’s fairly common to see dried Fuyu persimmons topped with powdered sugar eaten as a snack in China, and I certainly had my fill of sugar highs from indulging in one too many per sitting when I was younger. Yep, I’ve had portion-control problems since 1991.

There are two distinctly different types of persimmons. Fuyu persimmons are shaped like beefsteak tomatoes, and textured like apples. They have a slight crunch to them, and are mildly sweet. Hachiya persimmons are teardrop-shaped; when they’re ripe, they’re incredibly sweet and juicy, which makes them perfect for baking. It’s best to avoid eating these before they’re fully ripened, as their sharp taste usually causes an extremely dry mouth as a side effect. When using Hachiya persimmons in recipes, make sure that they’re soft; the persimmon should feel like a water balloon about to burst. To ripen them faster, place them in a brown bag with a banana for a day or two.

I’ve had a craving for muffins lately, and thought it’d be fun to incorporate persimmons into an easy recipe. I am also a huge fan of dried figs (as a snack, or as an ingredient in baking) because they bring a toffee, caramelized flavor when used in baking. For this recipe, I actually experimented with three variations, pairing the batter with Turkish figs, white mulberries, and cranberries. Though all three combinations turned out well, I thought the fig and persimmons pairing was the most delicious by far, so that’s the one I’ll be sharing, but honestly—get creative and replace the dried figs with whatever fruit you want! The beauty of this recipe is that there is room to experiment. The two magical ingredients in this recipe are Fuyu persimmon chunks, and dried figs. While Hachiya persimmons are better for incorporating into batter because they’re juicier and softer, biting into chunks of Fuyu persimmon in the finished muffin is absolutely divine. Dried figs, on the other hand, add a gooey layer of caramelized sweetness to the muffin.

 

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cups gluten-free flour
  • 2 ripe Hachiya persimmons
  • 1/2 Fuyu persimmon, chopped into small pieces
  • 5 dried figs, chopped into small pieces
  • 1/4 cup honey, agave nectar, or rice malt syrup
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp pink salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
  2. Microwave the Hachiya persimmons, honey, and coconut oil together in a bowl for 30 seconds on high.
  3. In a large bowl, mix together the microwaved mixture, vanilla extract, pink salt, cinnamon, baking powder. You can use a hand mixer to mix this, or manually mix by hand if you want an arm workout.
  4. Let the mixture cool to room temperature before mixing in the eggs, so the heat from the mixture does not cook the eggs. Popping the mixture in the fridge for 5-10 minutes can speed up the cooling process.
  5. Taste test your mixture, adding coconut sugar or stevia to sweeten as necessary. I wouldn’t sweeten with a syrup such as honey or agave here, as the mixture will already be extremely moist. As a rule of thumb, batters always taste sweeter than the finished product.
  6. Add the chopped Fuyu persimmon pieces, and 4 of the 5 figs, to the mixture by hand to preserve their shape and texture.
  7. Pour the mixture into baking cups, and top with the remaining fig pieces.
  8. Bake for 50-60 minutes.

When your muffins are finished baking, they will likely be very moist and slightly soggy in the center, so make sure to let them cool for at least 30 minutes. The juices from the Fuyu persimmon pieces seep through the muffin when warm, and it makes for glorious, gooey bites. When eating these muffins after they’ve completely cooled, take the taste to the next level by heating them in the microwave for 10 seconds prior to devouring.