Custard Mochi (Daifuku) is a sweet and chewy Japanese dessert! Made with homemade custard wrapped in glutinous rice cake, it is a treat you won't be able to resist. While it's traditionally eaten around the Japanese New Year, the sweet treat can be enjoyed at any time of the year with many different fillings.
Mochi is a sweet and sticky confection made with glutinous rice cake that's stuffed with a sweet filling. It's absolutely irresistible. There's a reason this Japanese dessert has taken the world by storm in the past few years. In the United States, you can even find ice cream mochi at many mainstream stores like Trader Joe's and Walmart.
I love the frozen confection as much as the next person, but there's honestly nothing better than fresh mochi filled with red bean paste or in this case custard. Unfortunately, the latter is much harder to find where I live. I tried the real thing when I visited Japan over three years ago, and I instantly became addicted to the sweet treat. I lost count as to how many mochi I ate during that trip. After fighting my cravings for fresh mochi, I decided it was about time I learn how to make it on my own!
Traditionally, in Japan, the glutinous rice is steamed and pounded until it's smooth and elastic before it's shaped into mochi. Today, we'll be making things easy on ourselves and taking out those steps (it's not really as authentic when you aren't in Japan anyway, right?)
Mochi may look super intimidating to make, that's certainly how I felt at first, but it's actually a lot easier than you would think. Literally. The rice cake part of the mochi can be made in the microwave in four minutes. See? SO easy! Honestly, the hardest part about this recipe is trying to resist eating all of the addicting mochi in one sitting.
Here's What You'll Need to Make Homemade Mochi
- Milk
- All-purpose flour
- Egg yolks
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
- Mochiko sweet rice flour
- Yellow food coloring
- Potato or corn starch
How to Make Mochi with Custard Filling
1. Add the milk to a small saucepan and heat over medium heat to boiling.
2. Slowly whisk in the flour, eggs, and sugar. Heat on low heat until bubbling and thick.
3. Pour the custard through a sieve to remove any clumps. Let custard cool in the fridge for 1 hour.
4. Scoop custard into frosting bag and pipe onto a cookie sheet into 8 dollops.
5. Freeze for one hour.
6. Whisk together the mochi ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap.
7. Microwave for 1 minute, remove plastic then stir. It will not be smooth after stirring it.
8. Replace the plastic wrap and continue microwaving in one-minute intervals until mochi is no longer white. It will have more of a translucent quality and will feel gummy. This usually takes 3-4 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, enough to handle with your hands.
9. Place the mochi on a cutting board generously coated in potato starch. Sprinkle potato starch on top of the mochi. Shape the mochi into a half-inch thick disk.
10. Divide the mochi into eight pieces. Coat your hands with potato starch and roll each piece into a ball, and then flatten into a disk. Place a dollop of custard in the middle. Use your fingers to pinch the mochi closed around the custard filling.
Before you add any flavorings, mochi just tastes like rice (after all, it's made from rice flour.) But mochi has a very unique sticky, stretchy, soft, and chewy texture. Mochi has a subtle taste on its own, which makes it a very versatile food that can be made with a variety of flavorings.
There are a variety of fillings you can put in mochi including red bean paste (anko), white bean paste (shiroan), ice cream, custard, strawberries, and even cookie dough. Get creative with it, the options are truly endless!
Rice flour is made from medium or long-grain rice, but sweet rice flour (mochiko) is made from glutinous short-grain rice. It may be tempting to want to substitute regular rice flour, but the recipe will not yield the same results if you do not use sweet rice flour. Rice flour has a very different texture and flavor and it will not hold together the same way.
Mochi is a rice cake made with glutinous rice. Mochi is not naturally sweet and has a very neutral flavor. Daifuku is literally filled mochi.
You’ll also love these Japanese inspired recipes:
- Fluffy Japanese Pancakes
- Japanese Milk Bread
- Steamed Japanese Pork Buns (Nikuman)
- Pork Tonkatsu
- Easy Homemade Ramen
If you make this recipe, let me know what you think! I’d love it if you could add a star rating ★ and a comment below. Be sure to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook, too!
Shop the Recipe
Mochi with Custard Filling
Custard Mochi (Daifuku) is a sweet and chewy Japanese dessert! Made with custard wrapped in glutinous rice cake, it is a treat you won't be able to resist. While it's traditionally eaten around the Japanese New Year, the sweet treat can be enjoyed at any time of the year!
Ingredients
Custard
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 4 egg yolks
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- dash of salt
Mochi
- 1 cup Mochiko sweet rice flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- dash of salt
- ¾ cup water
- yellow food coloring
- potato starch or cornstarch
Instructions
Custard
- Add the milk to a small sauce pan and heat over medium heat to boiling.
- Slowly whisk in the flour, eggs, and sugar. Heat on low heat until bubbling and thick, about 5-10 minutes.
- Pour the custard through a mesh sieve to remove any clumps. Let custard cool.
- Scoop custard into frosting bag and pipe onto a cookie sheet into 8 dollops. Freeze for one hour.
Mochi
- Add sweet rice flour, sugar, salt, water, and a few drops of food coloring to a microwave safe bowl. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap.
- Microwave for 1 minute, remove plastic then stir. It will not be smooth after stirring it.
- Replace the plastic wrap and continue microwaving for 1 minute intervals until mochi has a translucent quality and feels gummy. This usually takes 3-4 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, enough to handle with your hands.
- Place the mochi on a cutting board generously coated in potato starch. Sprinkle potato starch on top of the mochi. Shape the mochi into a half inch thick disk.
- Using a knife or bench cutter divide the mochi into eight pieces. Coat your hands with potato starch and roll each piece into a ball, and then flatten into a disk. Place a ball of frozen custard in the center. Use your fingers to pinch the Mochi closed around the custard.
- Mochi can be kept at room temperature for several hours, stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or two weeks in the freezer.
Notes
- I highly recommend eating the mochi while it's fresh, but it can be stored in the refrigerator for two days or in the freezer for two weeks.
- If the mochi tends to get dry while you're working with it, you can place it in the microwave for a couple of seconds until it's easier to work with.
- This recipe can easily be made with a variety of different fillings. Some popular mochi fillings include red bean paste (anko), white bean paste (shiroan), ice cream, custard, strawberries, and even cookie dough!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 174Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 95mgSodium: 59mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 1gSugar: 13gProtein: 4g
FOODHEAL says
I love discovering new foods and this is one of them. It looks sweet and soft to melt in the mouth.
veenaazmanov says
Very interesting Japanese dish. Soft and gooey from the inside. Delicious dessert for the family. Presentation perfect.
Ashley says
It's a wonderful dish with the best texture! Thank you!
Paula Montenegro says
OMG I've been wanting to make mochi for a long time and this is the recipe to try! I love the step by step photos, very clear and great for making it from scratch. Thanks for sharing! This is going straight to my Make Now! board.
Ashley says
Thank you! I'm glad you like the photos. You'll have to let me know what you think when you make it! 🙂
Kushigalu says
This Japanese dessert is something new to me. Sounds amazingly delicious. I would love to try this for holiday.
Ashley says
You'll have to give it a try! It's really good!
Ramona says
WOW, this custard mochi looks amazing! my daughter has been convincing me to make this with her and I can't wait to show her this recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Ashley says
It's so good and easy to make! She'll love this recipe!
Marisa F. Stewart says
We love trying new foods and cuisines and Hubby was stationed in Japan and introduced me to quite a few dishes. He never did make any desserts so this custard would be such a nice addition for our Japanese dinner night. I really like that it doesn't seem overly sweet. After a nice meal we like something light.
Ashley says
I love that mochi isn't super sweet. It has just the right amount of sweetness for enjoying after dinner!
Amanda says
This was my first time making mochi, and it came out so good! That custard is so decadent, and I was surprised how simple it was. It was a fun process -- definitely worth trying!
Ashley says
I'm so glad it turned out good for you! Isn't it amazing how easy it is to make?!
Chandice Probst says
Oh my goodness we love traditional mochi with ice cream but this is even better! I love custard so this is perfect thank you!
Ashley says
I love mochi with ice cream too! The custard filling is so yummy!
Laura Arteaga says
I've tried Mochi many times but never even though of making them myself! This recipe explains every step and it looks quite easy so we will definitely be trying it soon! Thank you so much 🙂
Ashley says
You'll have to let me know how it turns out for you! 🙂
Connie says
Yes! Love mochis. I would sometimes buy them at Trader Joes but I love making things from scratch. Glad to have bumped into this recipe. I can't wait to make this from home!
Ashley says
I love Trader Joe's mochi, but homemade is so good! And it's surprisingly easy to make!
Debra says
What a decadent treat! I was surprised how easy these were to make....and super tasty too.
Ashley says
I'm so glad you liked them! 🙂
Kate says
What a great dessert!! I am glad I stepped out of my boundaries and tried something new.