Halloween Baking 2

Melting butter and chocolate chips together

For the evening Halloween party last night, the host of the party had asked me whether I could make the "gluten free chocolate cake" again. "Gluten free chocolate cake"???? I couldn't remember making anything like that. It seems that in recent years, many people have discovered that they are wheat sensitive. Many people are getting on the gluten free diet. I love bread, and I just love wheat products in general, so I couldn't think when I had bake a gluten free cake. Suddenly I realized that he had to be talking about one of those mochi cakes that I often bake. I grew up with mochi. Mochi is made of rice, so it is naturally wheat and gluten free. Any mochi dish I bring to potluck these days becomes an instant hit.

Baking 2 mochi brownies

Most people love brownies. I have never been a big fan of it because it is usually too sweet and rich for me. These days, wheat sensitive people are saddened by the fact that they can't eat regular brownies. I baked 2 trays of mochi brownies last night. It's super easy and you can adjust the amount of sugar and chocolate to your liking. I don't make it super sweet or rich, and people seem to love it just fine.

I get just about all of my mochi recipes from Jenn, so I am not going to repeat the recipe here. Just click on Chocolate Mochi Brownies and follow Jenn's step by step instructions. Check out other recipes while you are there.

They are done!

Bite Size Candy Cap Mochi Cake

Powder dried candy cap mushrooms in a coffee grinder

It seems more and more people are wheat sensitive these days. When I first brought mochi cake to Master Ken's class, people were pleasantly surprised, and it became an instant hit. Other people have started to look for mochi recipes to try. Last Sunday was the first day of Spring semester, and George brought a basket of matcha (green tea) mochi cake that he baked in mini bundt pan. They were so cute and delicious! They were all gone in minutes. After chatting with George about the recipe he used, I started thinking about how I could experiment with it. Instead of using matcha powder, I thought I would try candy cap powder.

The original recipe is available online at Week of Menus blog. Below is my modified recipe:

Candy Cap Mochi Cake
Makes 4 24-mini muffin pan or approximately 96 bite size cake

1 lb of Mochiko flour (sticky rice flour)
2 cups of sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
4 teaspoons of candy cap powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 14 oz cans of coconut cream
1.5 12 oz can evaporated milk
5 large eggs
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup of butter) melted and slightly cooled

Preheat oven to 350.

I cut back the amount of sugar from the original recipe because candy cap mushrooms have a very sweet aroma that's similar to maple syrup or butterscotch. I also used only half can of coconut cream so the coconut smell doesn't overpower candy cap.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together mochiko flour, sugar, baking powder, candy cap powder and salt. In a separate bowl or large measuring cup (4 cup capacity), beat eggs, then add coconut cream, evaporated milk and melted butter.

Carefully pour the wet ingredients over the mochiko flour mixture and whisk until mixture is smooth and uniform in texture.

They expand and pop out of the mold shortly before they are done

Pour batter into the pans or molds. A silicon mold is highly recommended. If you don't have a silicon mold, be sure to use mini muffin liners unless you are 110% sure your pan is non-stick. Bake for 45 minutes, until top is golden brown and the cake begins to pop out from the mold. If you are using a 9x13 cake pan, bake for about 90 minutes instead.

Allow cake to cool for about 10 minutes on a rack and then pop them out from the molds to cool completely. Can store mochi cake for three days, covered.

I baked my first batch using the mini muffin pan, and they would not come out of the pan without a fight. I thought about the silicon square mold that I got last year but never used, and this was the perfect situation to use it! The mochi cake expanded as it was being baked. They popped out from the mold but once they were removed from heat, they went back into the mold.

I took them to Master Ken's class today, and again they were an instant hit!

When they are all golden brown on the top, they are done!