Easy Coconut Mochi Cake (Gluten Free) Recipe

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4.78 from 22 votes

Easy Coconut Mochi Cake (Gluten Free) Recipe

Soft, squishy mochi. Fragrant coconut. Coconut Mochi Cake is the simple snack cake you'll be making again and again!

Prep Time5

Cook Time45

Cooling Time10

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Asian, Fusion Food

Keyword: Cake, Coconut, Mochi

Servings: square pieces

Calories: 22kcal

Author: Lis Lam

Equipment

8x8" square baking pan
Parchment Paper
Large Bowl
whisk

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup/200g glutinous rice flour (also called sweet rice flour, sticky rice flour, or Mochiko flour)
3/4 cup/150g sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Wet ingredients:

2 eggs (large)
1 400ml/13.5oz can coconut milk (full fat, not the boxed kind)
1/4 cup/75ml oil (coconut oil, vegetable oil, or grapeseed oil)
1 tsp coconut extract (optional but highly recommended)

Topping:

1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes

Instructions

Prep oven and cake pan. Preheat oven to 350F/175C. Brush oil (any neutral kind works but if you have it, coconut oil is preferred) onto the bottom and sides of a 8x8" square pan. Line with parchment paper, for easy removal, if desired. (The parchment paper is not necessary but makes lifting out of the pan easier.)
Make cake batter. In a large bowl, add dry ingredients: glutinous rice flour, sugar, baking powder, salt. Whisk to combine. Add wet ingredients directly on top: eggs, coconut milk, oil, and coconut extract. Whisk well, making sure there are no lumps. The batter will be loose and runny.
Add coconut flakes. Pour batter into greased, parchment-lined 8x8 pan. Evenly sprinkle coconut flakes on top.
Bake. Slide carefully in oven and bake until cake is golden and puffed with firm edges, about 45 minutes. The coconut flakes will form a crackly, golden-brown crust on top. Cool at room temperature, in pan, for 10 minutes. The cake will deflate slightly as it cools.
Serve. Carefully loosen the edges with a butter knife. Then lift the parchment paper sling and transfer cake to a cutting board. Cut into squares with a serrated knife. Enjoy warm or at room temperature. (The cake is easier to cut when cool.)
*Note: the skewer test won't work on mochi cakes, as they are sticky and dense. Instead, look at the corners and edges of the cake -- if they are firm and pull away slightly from the pan and the cake is puffed in the middle, the cake is done. Make sure to cool before slicing, as it will be very sticky.

Video

Notes

*Coconut Mochi Cake can be easily doubled and baked in a 9x13" pan. The cook time will be 60 minutes.

**After the first day, store Coconut Mochi Cake in an air-tight container. Mochi cake keeps at room temperature for 2-3 days, in the fridge for up to a week, and in the freezer for a month. But the texture will be very, very different.

***To keep that soft, squishy texture, a common practice in Asian cooking is to pan fry hardened mochi before eating. If your mochi cake has hardened too much, reheat by pan frying or placing in the microwave, toaster oven, or Air Fryer.

****To double the recipe, double the ingredients (except the coconut extract -- use 1 1/2 tsp) and bake in a 9x13"pan. The baking time will be slightly longer at 60 minutes. The coconut on top will also be darker.

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