Black Sesame Mochi Donuts

hand holding mochi donut with bite taken out

5 from 3 votes

An easy, Asian-inspired dessert: Black Sesame Mochi Donuts. All the stretchy, bouncy fun of mochi. Deep fried into donut form. Deliciously savory and satisfyingly chewy. An easy, one bowl recipe that's also gluten-free.

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Course: Breafast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: Black Sesame, Donuts, Mochi

Servings: donuts

Calories: 331kcal

Equipment

Cast Iron Enameled Dutch Oven
candy thermometer
Rolling Pin
3-inch biscuit cutter + donut hole cutter

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients:

2 cups/ 250g glutinous rice flour
1/2 cup/100g sugar
1/4 cup/60g black sesame powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients:

2/3 cup/ 150ml warm milk
2 Tbsp oil (I use grapeseed oil)
1 large egg

Matcha Glaze:

1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp matcha powder (if you like things sweeter, add only 1 tsp)
3 Tbsp heavy cream (add more if needed, 1 tsp at a time)

Instructions

Dough:

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl: glutinous rice flour, black sesame powder, sugar, baking powder, salt. Combine wet ingredients in a measuring cup: warm milk, oil, egg. (I add the milk first then heat in the microwave for 30 seconds. After removing from the microwave,I add the oil and egg.) Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix with a fork until large clumps form.
Gather clumps with hands and form into a large ball. Knead until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. It will be very sticky. (Feel free to add more rice flour, up to 1/2 cup, if it's too sticky to handle).
Generously flour a work surface with rice flour. Transfer dough and roll out until 1/2-inch thick. Cut into 3-inch circles and donut holes. Knead the scrap pieces and keep cutting until you have 8-10 donuts. (Again, the dough will be very sticky so be sure to generously flour with rice flour - the rolling pins, the biscuit cutters, the dough.)
Prepare for deep frying: Fill a cast iron dutch oven with 1-2 inches of neutral oil with a high smoke point. (I use grapeseed oil.) Clip a candy thermometer and line a baking sheet with paper towels.
Heat oil on medium heat until the temperature reaches 350F/175C. Add donuts, making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Fry until golden and puffy, about 1-2 minutes on each side. Transfer to paper towel lined baking sheet to drain oil. Keep frying in batches until all donuts are fried on both sides. Keep an eye on the thermometer and adjust heat level so the temperature stays between 340-350F.
(Make sure not to overcook! When you take a bite, the donut should be chewy and a little bit stretchy. It's ok if it doesn't look fully cooked, that's the nature of mochi. As long as it's not raw, it's better to undercook rather than to overcook.)

Glaze (optional):

While the donuts cool, whisk heavy cream and matcha powder in a small, shallow bowl. Dip donuts, one at a time, and swirl the glaze around. The glaze will be thick. If you like it thinner, add more heavy cream, 1 tsp at a time.
Otherwise, simply dust donuts with powdered sugar. Eat immediately! They are best eaten on the same day they are made. The next day, they will lose their chewy texure.

Notes

*Warm milk makes the dough very pliable and easy to work with.

Nutrition