These Matcha Mochi Ice Cream are a sweet and cool little frozen treat. Mini scoops of delicious matcha ice cream are wrapped with a thin chewy mochi skin.
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Have you ever had mochi ice cream?
You may have seen them in Asian supermarkets labeled as "daifuku."
It's a Japanese mochi with ice cream filled inside.
The mochi skin is slightly chewy and it melds right into the creamy matcha ice cream. They are a bit tricky to make, but they're worth it.
What is mochi?
Mochi is a Japanese confection made with glutinous rice flour and has a sweet filling such as red bean paste.
What is in it?
There's only 2 components in mochi ice cream!
- mochi dough
- ice cream
The mochi dough wraps the ice cream, similarly to how mochi covers a filling in a regular daifuku.
How to prepare the ice cream
You can use a store-bought ice cream, or use a homemade matcha ice cream.
First, you'll need to scoop out the ice cream into small balls prior to making the mochi ice cream.
The best way to do this is by using a small ice cream scoop.
Place the scooped balls of ice cream onto a parchment-lined baking tray and get them right into the freezer as soon as you can.
Let the ice cream balls freeze for at least 6 hours, until frozen solid.
Tip: try not to do this on a hot day, as the ice cream will melt quickly.
Making the mochi skin
Combine the glutinous rice flour, water, and sugar in a shallow bowl.
Give it a stir, cover, and microwave 1 minute at a time, for 2-3 minutes. Stop and stir after each minute.
Dust a silicone mat with roasted soy bean powder (kinako), cooked glutinous rice flour (koh fun) or cornstarch.
Divide the cooked mochi dough into 6 equal portions.
Take 1 portion of dough and dust liberally with soy bean powder/glutinous rice flour/cornstarch. Flatten into a round circle with a rolling pin as thin as you can without puncturing the dough. Let it cool.
Remove a matcha ice cream ball (previously prepared) from the freezer and place it in the centre of the mochi dough. Work quickly to seal the edges and pop it back into the freezer.
Repeat with the remainder.
Note: It's important to work quickly or the ice cream will melt and you'll have a gloopy mess on your hands.
Freeze for at least 4-6 hours.
How to store & serve
Keep the mochi in the freezer.
Whenever you have a hankering for a little ice cream, take one out -- leave at room temperature for 5-10 minutes, and enjoy.
Other mochi recipes you may like
If you love the chewy texture of mochi, try out these other mochi recipes:
Let me know if you try this Matcha Mochi Ice Cream. I love seeing your creations! Tag me on Instagram @siftandsimmer or leave me a comment/rating below.
Matcha Mochi Ice Cream
For accuracy and precision in baking recipes, use weight (metric) measurements when available.
Ingredients
- 6 small balls matcha ice cream, appx 30g each portioned out and frozen
- 70 g mochiko glutinous rice flour
- 100 g water
- 15 g granulated sugar
- 30 g roasted soy bean powder (kinako) or cooked glutinous rice flour (koh fun) for dusting
Instructions
- In a shallow bowl, combine mochiko glutinous rice flour, water, and sugar. Stir to combine. Cover.
- Microwave for 2-3 minutes in 1 minute intervals. Stop and stir the mixture after each minute.
- Mochi dough will be translucent when fully cooked.
- Divide dough into 6 equal portions.
- Use a rolling pin dusted with soy bean powder or cooked glutinous rice flour (koh fun) to roll out and flatten into a round circle.
- Let the dough cool a little bit.
- Remove a pre-portioned scoop of matcha ice cream and place it in the centre of the mochi dough, and quickly pinch the seams together. Remember to work quickly.
- Dust with additional powder and place it right back into the freezer. Repeat with the remainder.
- Freeze until solid, about 4-6 hours.
- To serve, bring to room temperature for about 15 mins.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided should be considered as approximate and is not guaranteed. Please use your best judgment to ensure food is safely prepared and/or a good fit for your diet.
Rahul@samosastreet.com
I love icecream. With the weather so hot outside. I churn up some icecream often. Your recipe is unique Michelle. I have regular rice flour. Would this works?
Michelle
Hi Rahul, regular rice flour will not work for this recipe. It needs to be glutinous rice flour, which is actually different than rice flour.
Christie
I love your version of matcha mochi ice cream Michelle! It looks so good and I am such a big fan of matcha in my mochi's as well! This looks so tasty and I would love one for dessert.
Michelle
Thanks Christie! 🙂
Healthy World Cuisine
Absolutely, Beautiful!!! Daifuku is one of our favorite Japanese treats. While living in Japan, one of our favorite things to do was to go down to B1 in the department stores and try all the delicious treats. Can't wait to try this with matcha ice cream. Stay well and take care
Michelle
Thank you very much! 🙂
Tasia ~ two sugar bugs
We love mochi at my house and I know my girls would have so much fun helping to create these treats! Pinned!
Michelle
Thanks Tasia! Mochi is definitely a kids' favourite here too 🙂
Linsey
I first came across mochi ice cream with chestnut flavour in Hong Kong. Very delicious treat! Your recipe prompt me to make this matcha ice cream mochi.
Diana Reis
These are so beautiful. I'm going to use this recipe to augment our homeschool lessons. Thanks for posting.
Ana F.
I always wanted to make my own Mochi at home and now I have the perfect recipe! Can't wait to try this. Thanks for the recipe!
maryanne
This recipe sounds so delicious! I have been experimenting with mochi recently, so will be adding this to my "must try" list! Thanks for the recipe!
Andrea
I love matcha desserts but I've never had it this way. Sounds fantastic!
Mairead
These ice creams look delicious. Thanks for sharing this wonderful Japanese recipe.
Hiroshi
This worked great cooking for the full 3 minutes and using 1 tablespoon glutinous black rice for a beautiful purple colour instead of the sugar. With my homemade ice cream, I don't need any extra sugar. I used kinako over the cutting board and used it to help seal it up. I got about 4 regular-sized scoops of homemade ice cream to fit in each batch. Thank you for the recipe. 🙂
Michelle
Hi Hiroshi, thanks so much for you your feedback. Glad to hear that it worked out well for you 🙂