baked ube mochi donuts

About These Small Batch Baked Ube Mochi Donuts

These baked ube mochi donuts are crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, and packed with lots of ube flavor thanks to ube jam and extract in both the batter and glaze! The best part? The baked ube mochi donuts are 100% gluten free thanks to the use of mochiko sweet rice flour. The recipe is also small batch, and makes only six donuts!

What is a mochi donut?

If you’ve been living under a rock—which, honestly, I don’t blame you given the events of 2020, lol—you may have missed mochi donuts exploding into the food scene last year.

Mochi donuts are donuts made from sweet rice flour, giving them a chewy texture similar to Japanese mochi desserts. Although they only recently came into popularity in the United States in 2020, mochi donuts have been popular in Asia for a while now. Mister Donut, a popular Japanese donut chain, introduced the world to the concept with their famed “pon de ring” mochi donut. The concept was then brought over stateside by Liliha, a popular bakery in Honolulu. You can read more about the mochi donut’s history in this Chowhound article.

Since then, mochi donuts have taken on different shapes and sizes. Right now, the two most common shapes for the mochi donut is the fried pon de ring mochi donut, as well as the baked donut ring made in a donut pan.

What do mochi donuts taste like?

Similar to regular donuts, the taste of mochi donuts depends on its glaze topping. Like these baked ube mochi donuts! Because I flavored both the batter and glaze with ube, the mochi donuts taste primarily like ube (which tastes like a cross between vanilla and pistachio—learn more about ube in the next section).

But on its own, the donut is neutral tasting, with a mild sweet flavor. Its texture is much more unique. Both fried and baked mochi donuts are crispy on the outside, with a super chewy interior crumb similar to Japanese mochi dessert.

Are mochi donuts gluten free?

Mm, it depends. Fried pon de ring mochi generally are NOT gluten free. Most recipes require a combination of all-purpose flour (which contains gluten, obviously) and tapioca starch to get its signature flower shape.

However, baked mochi donuts, like these ube ones, are typically gluten free. Most baked mochi donuts exclusively rely on sweet rice flour (which is gluten free!) to make the batter. Learn more in the Ingredients section below!

Okay, now let’s talk about ube. What is ube?

Ube, pronounce ooh-beh, is a purple yam often used in desserts; specifically, in the Philippines (where my family is from). It has a beautiful, deep purple color and is almost exclusively used in dessert recipes, where it gives the sweets a wonderful earthy and almost nutty flavor.

What does ube taste like?

Think of it as similar to a sweet potato, but definitely more subtle and not quite as sweet. Some folks have even compared its flavor to a mix between vanilla and pistachio. In the past, I’ve used ube in recipes for babkacakecinnamon rolls, and crinkle cookies.

Is ube and taro the same?

A lot of folks get ube confused with taro. Not only do they taste pretty similar, but taro also can come in a light lavender color (although it mostly comes in white). But they’re actually just completely different plants. Although both ube and taro are tubers, taro is cultivated from the taro plant. Unlike ube, it’s not classified as a “yam”. In the Philippines, taro is often used in savory cooking, while ube is reserved for sweets.

And finally, it’s important to note that both ube and taro are also different from the different varieties of purple sweet potatoes available. It’s confusing, I know. So for the purposes of this recipe, I’ll keep it simple: these baked ube mochi donuts are made with UBE. Not taro, and not any kind of purple sweet potato, lol.

hands holding tray of baked ube mochi donuts

Why You Should Make The Recipe

Here are all the reasons to make this baked ube mochi donut recipe:

This ube mochi donut recipe recreates a popular, bakery-style treat at home.

I mentioned earlier that mochi donuts exploded in popularity in 2020. In my city alone, several bakeries and pop-ups appeared out of nowhere to sell these delightful desserts. As I was browsing through the different bakeries and pop-ups, I noticed that almost all of them sold an ube flavored mochi donut!

If you’re a frequent reader of Hummingbird High, you should know by now that I am obsessed with ube. I’m always trying to incorporate the popular Filipino dessert flavor into more baked goods like babka, cinnamon rolls, and crinkle cookies. As a result, I was beyond excited to try making ube mochi donuts at home.

And despite making bakery-quality donuts, this recipe comes together really quickly!

I was also delighted to find that making baked mochi donuts at home was incredibly easy. To wit—the batter for these baked ube mochi donuts doesn’t even require a stand mixer! All you need are two bowls and a whisk. Both the mochi donut batter and ube glaze come together in just 5 minutes. The most time consuming part is waiting for the donuts to cool to glaze them!

These donuts are 100% gluten free.

At the start of this year, I wrote that one of my January resolutions was to focus on alternative baking. I wanted to expand my repertoire of gluten free, vegan, or gluten free AND vegan desserts!

Truthfully, in the weeks that have passed since making that resolution, I’ve discovered something new: I MUCH prefer gluten free baking to vegan baking. Gluten free baking allows you to play with a variety of interesting and tasty gluten free flours—like the sweet rice flour in these baked ube mochi donuts! Thanks to the sweet rice flour, these ube mochi donuts are 100% gluten free. Learn more in the Ingredients section below.

This baked ube mochi donut recipe is small batch. It makes only enough batter to fill a standard 6-cavity donut pan!

Many of the baked mochi donut recipes online make a dozen or more donuts. While this generous yield is fine under normal circumstances, many of us are still avoiding large gatherings and big groups! I wanted to develop a recipe that would make just enough for a small household. As a result, this baked ube mochi donut recipe only makes SIX donuts. (Ignore my photo of seven donuts—I had one extra from a previous test batch and more donuts looked cuter in the photos!)

Another benefit? Mochi donuts also tend to lose their crispiness quickly. With a smaller batch, you can ensure that everybody in your household enjoys one of these donuts when they’re at their best and freshest. No more slogging through soggy leftovers for days afterwards!

tray of baked ube mochi donuts

Ingredients and Substitutions

Now that I’ve convinced you to make these donuts, here is your shopping list for the recipe:

Shopping List for Baked Ube Mochi Donuts

Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the exact ingredient quantities—hit the “Jump to The Recipe” button on the page for a quick shortcut!

  • mochiko sweet rice flour
  • baking powder
  • kosher salt
  • unsalted butter
  • granulated sugar
  • large eggs
  • ube halaya jam
  • ube extract
  • purple food coloring
  • whole milk
  • confectioners’ sugar

And let’s talk about some key ingredients and their substitutions:

Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour

You need ⅔ cup to make these baked ube mochi donuts.

What is sweet rice flour?

Sweet rice flour is made from ground short-grain, glutinous rice (also known as “sticky rice”). This kind of rice has a much higher starch content than other kinds of rice, making it a great thickening agent/binder for cooking and baking.

Wait a second—does sweet rice flour have gluten?

No! Despite the fact that it is made from “glutinous” rice, sweet rice flour is gluten free.

So sweet rice flour and glutinous rice flour the same thing?

Yes! Sometimes, sweet rice flour is labelled as glutinous rice flour. They’re the same thing!

What about rice flour? Is rice flour and sweet rice flour the same thing?

No, rice flour and sweet rice flour are NOT the same thing. In contrast to sweet rice flour, rice flour is made from ground long- or medium-grain rice.

You absolutely cannot substitute rice flour for sweet rice flour and expect the same results. The two flours contain different starches, and these starches bake and cook into two different textures. You can learn more about it in this Reddit thread.

What does sweet rice flour taste like?

Despite its name, sweet rice flour tastes mild and milky—not sugary sweet. It also mostly tastes neutral, and lets the other flavors in the recipe really shine.

My Recommended Brand of Sweet Rice Flour: Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour by Koda Farms

My hands down, all-time favorite brand of sweet rice flour is Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour by Koda Farms. In a pinch, I’ll also use Bob’s Red Mill Sweet Rice Flour—but really, I use Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour 99% of the time.

Where To Buy Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour

You can find mochiko sweet rice flour in the Japanese or flour section of almost every major Asian grocery store. I’ve also started seeing it in the Asian and/or gluten-free baking sections of major grocery stores like Safeway, Whole Foods, and even Target! You can also buy it online on Amazon. However, I don’t recommend doing so because you can only buy it in bulk and a box at a grocery store typically costs less than $5.

If you live in Portland, Oregon like I do, you have a lot of options! Mochiko sweet rice flour is available at these Asian supermarkets: H Mart, Fubonn, and Uwajimaya. In addition to Safeway and Whole Foods, you can also buy it at New Seasons.

Ube Halaya (Ube Jam)

You need 2 Tablespoons ube halaya jam to make the baked ube mochi donuts, and another 1 ½ teaspoons to make the ube glaze.

What is ube halaya?

Fun fact: it is actually really hard to buy fresh ube (that is, ube still in its tuber form). That’s because ube is really hard to process: it needs to be peeled, boiled for a long time, then grated and mashed into its signature texture. So typically, most ube is bought frozen or processed into a powder, extract, or jam. In the Philippines, the jam is called “ube halaya” and is typically what people mean when they say “ube” in recipes.

Where To Buy Ube Halaya

Ube halaya jam is typically found in the “Filipino” aisle of any Asian supermarket, close to jars of preserved jackfruit, macapuno (a coconut hybrid much beloved in the Philippines), and other fruits commonly found in the country. In the US, the brand I most commonly see is Monika. It’s what I use anytime I make anything ube (Portlanders—Monika ube halaya is available at FubonnH-Mart, and Uwajimaya). You can also buy ube halaya (as well as its powdered counterpart) on Amazon, but I don’t recommend doing so. They are much more expensive than they should be, especially the jam!

I can’t find ube halaya. Can I still make these baked ube mochi donuts?

Sadly, no. Ube halaya is one of the key ingredients to making these ube donuts, well, ube. Without it, the donuts wouldn’t be ube at all. It would be a bit like making chocolate cake without any chocolate or cocoa powder. Or banana bread without any bananas. Or blueberry muffins without any blueberries. Okay, I’ll stop now (lol).

Can I use fresh ube to make these baked ube mochi donuts?

Yes! However, you’ll need to process the ube before you use it in the recipe. To process the ube, peel it and boil it until soft. Then, puree it into a jam texture. It’s similar to the process you would undertake if you wanted to make pumpkin puree from scratch as opposed to buying it canned.

Can I use powdered ube to make these baked ube mochi donuts?

I’m sorry, but I don’t know. Powdered ube is really hard to find where I live! As a result, I’ve never used it in any of my baking recipes. I don’t have much experience with it at all. So if you do make these baked ube donuts with powdered ube, please leave a comment telling me how you did it!

Ube Extract

You need ¾ teaspoon ube extract to make the baked ube mochi donuts, and another 1 teaspoon to make the ube glaze.

What is ube extract?

Ube extract is similar to vanilla extract. However, instead of flavoring baked goods with vanilla, it flavors them with ube! Pretty cool, right? Most ube baked goods rely on ube extract for flavor. That’s because ube on its own is so subtle—you really need the extract to boost the flavor.

And in addition to giving baked goods ube flavor, the ube extract also helps color them. Most ube extract is dyed with purple food coloring. This food coloring in the extract helps enhance your baked good’s purple color.

The Best Ube Extract for Baking

In the United States, there’s only a handful of brands that make ube extract: McCormick and Butterfly. I’m partial to McCormick because they’re a huge company that also makes other high-quality spices, herbs, and extracts. Their ube extract also contains actual yam and ube in it.

I’ve never used the Butterfly brand, so I can’t personally vouch for it. But I also know that Butterfly does NOT contain any yam or ube in its extract—it’s mostly lab developed. However, several of my readers used Butterfly ube extract to make my ube crinkle cookies with rave results. So you do you!

Where To Buy Ube Extract

Although most McCormick spices and extracts are available in most supermarkets, you need to go to a specialty Asian market to source the ube extract. Most Asian supermarkets have a baking aisle. In this aisle, you’ll find extracts for “Asian” flavors like coconut, durian, jasmine, and ube.

If you don’t have an Asian supermarket in your city, you can buy ube extract online on Amazon.

And if you live in my city of Portland, Oregon, get excited. You have a lot of options! Both McCormick and Butterfly ube extract is available at Fubonn and the H Mart on Belmont.

I can’t find ube extract. Can I still make these baked ube mochi donuts?

You technically can. However, I don’t recommend it. Why? I mentioned earlier that ube has an incredibly subtle flavor. Without the extract, I think you’d find these donuts bland! Yes—even if you used ube halaya jam.

Purple Food Coloring

You need ½ teaspoon purple food coloring to make these baked ube mochi donuts.

What kind of purple food coloring did you use for your baked ube mochi donuts?

For these donuts, I used a purple from this “Nifty Fifty” Americolor food coloring set. You can also buy as an individual bottle online.

Do I really need to use purple food coloring to make baked ube mochi donuts?

Technically, you don’t need to use purple food coloring to make these donuts. But your donuts won’t come out the same color as mine.

That’s because although both ube halaya and ube extract are purple, they don’t have enough natural pigment to really dye the donuts a deep purple on their own. So you definitely need to boost the batter with food coloring. Without it, your donut crumb will turn out a pale, almost brownish lavender color.

Okay, but what if I just *can’t* with food coloring? Can I skip it anyway?

Hm, it depends. Are you skipping it because you don’t want to source food coloring? If so, go ahead and make the donuts! Just know that, while they’ll be plenty tasty, they won’t look anything like mine.

But are you skipping the food coloring because you’re allergic/sensitive to food dye? If so, I have bad news: don’t make this recipe. Almost every brand of store-bought ube halaya jam and ube extract use purple food coloring, too.

Help! I couldn’t find purple food coloring. What can I use instead?

No worries! In the United States, this food coloring set by McCormick is readily available at most major supermarkets. The set typically consists of four colors: red, yellow, green, and blue.

You can make your own purple food coloring by combining a few drops of red with a few drops of blue in the cookie dough. Play around with it until you get a shade of purple similar to the purple of the ube jam and extract. Pinterest typically has really awesome charts with exact recipes for getting the colors you want.

Whole Milk

You need ½ cup plus 1 Tablespoon milk to make the baked ube mochi donuts, and another 2 teaspoons to make the glaze.

Can I use skim, low-fat or non-fat milk instead of whole milk in this small batch baked ube mochi donuts recipe?

Yes, but with reservations. Skim, low-fat, and non-fat milks will lead to less flavorful baked goods.

Can I use non-dairy milk like almond milk, coconut milk, soy milk, or oat milk instead of whole milk in this small batch baked ube mochi donuts recipe?

Yes! You can use alternatives like almond milk, coconut milk, soy milk, and/or oat milk in this recipe without altering the results. However, be mindful that using an alternative milk with “strong” flavors (like coconut or oat milk) will impart their flavors into the donuts, too. Specifically, your ube donuts might have a subtle coconut or oat milk flavor to them, too.

And that’s not necessarily a bad thing! In fact, coconut and ube are frequently paired together in desserts in the Philippines. So if you want to make these baked ube mochi donuts a little more “authentic”, use coconut milk instead of whole milk!

Can I use evaporated milk instead of whole milk in this small batch baked ube mochi donuts recipe?

Yes! In fact, that’s also another ingredient frequently used in Southeast Asian desserts. Using evaporated milk in these donuts will give them a subtle, toasted flavor.

baked ube mochi donut crumb

How To Make The Recipe

Here are the basic steps to make the baked ube mochi donuts from scratch:

First, prep the ingredients.

  1. Prep the ingredients. (Prep Time: 10 minutes)
    This baked ube mochi donut requires slightly more prep than my baking recipes. That’s because you need to melt the butter for the recipe beforehand. I recommend doing this first to allow it time to cool slightly before using in the recipe.

    For the ube glaze, you definitely need to sift the confectioners’ sugar before using in the recipe. Doing so is the secret to perfectly smooth and shiny glaze!

Then, make the donuts.

  1. Make the ube mochi donut batter. (Work Time: 5 minutes)
    Luckily, the batter comes together VERY quickly with just two bowls. Simply whisk together the mochicko sweet rice flour, baking powder, and kosher salt in a small bowl. Then, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, and egg yolks in a large bowl. Add the ube jam, ube extract, milk, and then the dry ingredients. That’s it!

    Note that it’s important to add the ingredients in the order that they are listed in the recipe. Again, doing so is the secret to a lump free batter! The butter and sugar will clump together at first, but smoothen out as you add the egg yolks.

  2. Assemble the ube mochi donuts. (Work Time: 5 minutes)
    After you make the ube mochi donut batter, it’s time to assemble the donuts for baking! First, prep your donut pan by spraying its cavities with cooking spray. Most baking recipes instruct you to prep the baking pan as the first step in its recipe. However, in this recipe, I instruct you to do it right before filling the pan with batter. Doing so prevents the oil from sliding down the donut cavity and pooling at the bottom. Don’t forget to spray the donut hole mold in the center, too!

    After you’ve sprayed your pan, use a liquid measuring cup or pitcher with a spout to pour the batter into the donut pan cavities. The batter is really liquidy—a liquid measuring cup or pitcher is your best bet to filling the pan without making a mess! You’ll need to fill each cavity all the way up to the top. Don’t worry! The donut batter won’t overflow since it won’t rise too much.

  3. Bake the ube mochi donuts. (Bake Time: 35 minutes)
    The ube mochi donuts need 35 minutes in the oven, or until the outer edges are crisp but the inside is still soft. Test for doneness the way you would other cake recipes by inserting a skewer into the center of a donut. A skewer should come out with a few crumbs attached.

Finally, finish assembling the donuts.

  1. Cool the ube mochi donuts to room temperature. (Cool Time: 1 hour+)
    You need to cool the ube mochi donuts completely before glazing. Otherwise, the glaze will melt on the donuts! The fastest way to cool the donuts is to turn them out onto a wire rack 5 minutes after baking.

  2. Make the ube glaze. (Work Time: 5 minutes)
    Once the donuts are cool and you’re ready to glaze them, it’s time to make the glaze! Whisk together the ube jam and milk in a medium bowl. Add the confectioners’ sugar, ¼ cup at a time, whisking until it turns into a thick paste that is completely smooth.

    Most glaze recipes instruct you to add the liquids to the confectioners’ sugar. However, note that I instruct you to do the opposite. I find that adding the confectioners’ sugar to the liquid instead leads to a smoother glaze. You’re also better able to control its texture this way.


    Once the glaze is thick and smooth, add the ube extract. At this point, the glaze will be really thick—add another teaspoon of milk to thin it out. This splash of milk also helps

  3. Glaze the ube mochi donuts. (Work Time: 5 minutes)
    Working quickly, dip the top of each mochi donut in the bowl of glaze. You may need to dip the donut a few times to really layer the glaze on! Flip the donuts so that the glaze is upright again, and place them on a wire rack to allow any excess glaze to drip off. I recommend placing the wire rack in a sheet pan lined with parchment paper to help with clean up. Garnish immediately with sprinkles and voila! Baked ube mochi donuts.
bite of baked ube mochi donut

Recipe Troubleshooting and FAQ

FAQ: Questions About Baking Equipment To Make The Donuts

Baking Equipment To Make Baked Ube Mochi Donuts

To make these baked ube mochi donuts, you need a couple of “specialty” baking items:

Although you can get away without using a liquid measuring cup/pitcher, your life will be INFINITELY easier if you do! The donut pan will be really hard to fill without a liquid measuring cup or pitcher.

Note that a liquid measuring cup is different from a dry measuring cup—liquid measuring cups look like small pitchers and are specifically designed for pouring liquids cleanly. My personal favorite liquid measuring cup is this one by Pyrex. I even recommend it in my cookbook, Weeknight Baking!

Similarly, you can probably get away with making these donuts without a wire rack. You can instead set the donuts on a plate after glazing them… but the glaze will pool on the plate, making the bottom of your ube donuts soggy. Sometimes, it’s worth it to get the right baking equipment!

What donut pan do you recommend to make baked ube mochi donuts?

I recommend this Wilton donut pan. I used to use this one by Williams Sonoma, but then realized it made much smaller donuts than the Wilton pan! This is a problem for most donut pan recipes—many are designed for the Wilton donut pan size.

That being said, you don’t have to use the Wilton donut pan. You can use whatever is cheapest and available on Amazon. However, I recommend getting a light-colored metal pan like this one by Mrs. Anderson. Darker pans absorb more heat in the oven, leading to overbaked goods.

I also suggest skipping the silicone donut pan varieties and opting for metal. Silicone pans don’t crisp up the mochi donut crusts in the same way as the metal pans. Your mochi donuts will come out of the oven with a soft crust.

Can I make these baked ube mochi donuts in a mini donut pan?

Yes, with reservations. You’ll need to adjust the Bake Time for the ube mochi donuts. Unfortunately, I don’t have exact numbers since I don’t own a mini donut pan myself!

Help! I don’t have a donut pan. Can I still make these baked ube mochi donuts?

In theory, yes. I think you could pour the batter into a muffin pan instead and make ube mochi muffins. However, you’d need to adjust the Bake Time accordingly. I also can’t guarantee the results since I haven’t tried it myself. Report back if you do!

FAQ: Troubleshooting Unexpected Recipe Results

Help! My baked ube mochi donuts didn’t rise. What did I do wrong?

Don’t panic!

First of all, these baked ube mochi donuts don’t rise in the same way as traditional cake donuts. That’s why I instruct you to fill the donut pan cavities all the way up to the brim with batter! Their bottoms will be flat—in fact, you can see that’s the case for my donuts in these pictures, too.

So rest assured: if your donuts are flat on the bottom, that’s what they’re supposed to look like!

FAQ: Questions About Storing The Donuts

How To Store Baked Ube Mochi Donuts

The donuts are best on the day that they’re made, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Note that, as you store them, the outsides of the donuts will lose their crispiness. They will get softer the longer you store them, too. There’s no way around this—you can “revive” them in an air fryer or oven, but only if you don’t glaze them first. Learn more below.

How To Prevent Baked Ube Mochi Donuts From Getting Soggy

Unfortunately, there is no magic technique to prevent baked ube mochi donuts from getting soggy. However, you CAN recrisp them in both an air fryer and an oven to get the outsides crispy again. To do so, simply preheat your air fryer or oven to 350°F. Bake the donuts for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the outsides are crispy again. If using an oven, place the donuts directly on the oven rack to allow air to circulate between them fully.

Note that this only works if the donuts aren’t glazed. If the donuts ARE glazed, the glaze will melt and make a mess!!!

Can I make the ube mochi donut batter ahead for baking later?

Yes! If you don’t want to bake the batter right away or all at once, you can keep it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Simply cover the bowl with plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge! When ready to bake, follow the instructions in the recipe to preheat your oven, prep and fill your donut pan, bake and glaze the donuts!

Can you freeze baked ube mochi donuts?

Although you can technically freeze a baked ube mochi donut, I don’t recommend it. Why? It’s a bit like freezing a regular donut. The magic of a mochi donut (and a regular donut, for that matter) lies in its texture. If you freeze the mochi donuts and bring them back to room temperature for serving, it will no longer have it signature crispy exterior. Furthermore, the glaze will be a sticky, wet mess!

You can try freezing the baked ube mochi donuts unglazed and reviving them in an air fryer or oven per my instructions above. However, I still don’t recommend it. This is the type of baked good that’s worth making from scratch each time.

Best Recipe Tips

Best Ingredient Tip

Best Technique Tips

  • To save yourself a dish, melt the butter in a large bowl. This bowl will eventually become your batter bowl! You add the sugars, eggs, and remaining ingredients directly to the melted butter in this bowl.

  • Don’t panic if the butter and sugar turns lumpy once you mix them together! This is normal, I promise. Add the egg yolks one at a time—doing so will smoothen out the mixture. I add the sugar first to the melted butter first to bring its temperature down and ensure that it doesn’t accidentally scramble the egg yolks.

  • Most baking recipes instruct you to spray your pan with cooking spray as the first step. However, in this recipe for baked ube mochi donuts, I instruct you to do so only right before filling the donut pan with batter. If you spray the pan too early, the cooking spray has a tendency to slide down the sides of the pan and pool at the bottom of each donut cavity! This excess oil gives the donuts an unattractive color and texture. Simply avoid it by spraying the donut pan right before filling it with batter.

Video Tutorial for The Recipe

Use the video player below to watch my Instagram Story tutorial on how to make these small batch baked ube mochi donuts! You can click on the left and right hand sides of the frame to skip backwards and forwards through the different recipe steps. You can also hit the frame to “pause” it accordingly.


Alternatively, head to my Instagram profile to watch these Stories! The circles underneath my bio indicate saved Instagram Story highlights for various recipes. Click on one of the circles to play the video tutorial for the recipe. You may need to swipe left or right to find these baked ube mochi donuts.

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Get the Recipe: Small Batch Baked Ube Mochi Donuts Recipe

These baked ube mochi donuts are crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, and packed with lots of ube flavor thanks to ube jam and extract in both the batter and glaze!
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Ingredients

For the Baked Ube Mochi Donut Batter

  • cup (3.5 ounces or 100 grams) mochiko sweet rice flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 Tablespoons (1 ounce or 28 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
  • 6 Tablespoons (2.65 ounces or 75 grams) granulated sugar
  • 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
  • 2 Tablespoons (1 ounce or 28 grams) ube halaya jam
  • ¾ teaspoon ube extract
  • ½ teaspoon purple food coloring
  • ½ cup plus 1 Tablespoon (4.5 ounces or 128 grams) whole milk, at room temperature

For the Ube Glaze

  • 1 ½ teaspoons ube halaya jam
  • 2 teaspoons whole milk, separated into 1 ½ teaspoon and ½ teaspoon portions
  • ½ cup (2 ounces or 57 grams) confectioners' sugar, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon ube extract
  • sprinkles, for garnish

Equipment

  • a donut pan
  • a liquid measuring cup or pitcher with a spout

Instructions
 

For the Small Batch Baked Ube Mochi Donuts

  • First, make the donuts. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.
  • Mix the dry ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together the mochiko sweet rice flour, baking powder, and kosher salt.
  • Mix the wet ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter, sugar, and egg yolks until combined. Add the ube jam, ube extract, and purple food coloring and whisk until combined. Gradually whisk in the milk until just combined.
  • Add the dry ingredients. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Pour the batter into a liquid measuring cup or pitcher with a spout.
  • Prep the donut pan. Lightly spray the cavities of a donut pan with cooking spray. Use the liquid measuring cup to pour the batter into the cavities, filing each cavity completely up to its brim with batter.
  • Bake the donuts. Bake for 35 minutes. When done, the top of each donut should bounce back when gently pressed and a skewer inserted into the center of the cake should come out with a few crumbs attached. Cool the donuts in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out to cool completely on a wire rack before glazing.
  • Make the glaze. In a medium bowl, whisk together the ube jam and milk. Add the confectioners' sugar, ¼ cup (1 ounce or 28 grams) at a time, whisking until completely incorporated and smooth before adding the next batch of sugar. Once the glaze is smooth, whisk in the ube extract. The glaze will be thick at this point—loosen it by whisking in the remaining ½ teaspoon milk.
  • Glaze the donuts. Working quickly, dip the top of a donut in the glaze and quickly flip it up so that the glazed side is upright. Place on a wire rack to let any excess glaze to drip off. Garnish immediately with sprinkles. Repeat with remaining donuts.
  • Serve and store. Serve at room temperature. You can serve immediately after glazing, or wait 1 to 2 hours for the glaze to dry and harden. The donuts are best on the day that they're made, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Notes

  • Wondering what to do with your leftover ube halaya jam and extract? Check out these other delicious ube recipes on Hummingbird HighUbe Babka, Ube Cinnamon RollsUbe Crinkle Cookies, and Ube Layer Cake.
  • To save yourself a dish, melt the butter in a large bowl. This bowl will eventually become your batter bowl! You add the sugars, eggs, and remaining ingredients directly to the melted butter in this bowl.
  • Don’t panic if the butter and sugar turns lumpy once you mix them together! This is normal, I promise. Add the egg yolks one at a time—doing so will smoothen out the mixture. I add the sugar first to the melted butter first to bring its temperature down and ensure that it doesn’t accidentally scramble the egg yolks.
  • Most baking recipes instruct you to spray your pan with cooking spray as the first step. However, in this recipe for baked ube mochi donuts, I instruct you to do so only right before filling the donut pan with batter. If you spray the pan too early, the cooking spray has a tendency to slide down the sides of the pan and pool at the bottom of each donut cavity! This excess oil gives the donuts an unattractive color and texture. Simply avoid it by spraying the donut pan right before filling it with batter.
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Weeknight Baking:
Recipes to Fit your Schedule

Over the past several years of running Hummingbird High, I kept a crucial aspect of my life hidden from my readers: I had a full-time, extremely demanding job in the tech world. In my debut cookbook, Weeknight Baking, I finally reveal the secrets to baking delicious desserts on a tight schedule.

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