About This Chewy, Bouncy Passion Fruit Butter Mochi Cake
I love Hawaiian butter mochi cake, but sometimes feel like it can be too heavy and one-note on its own—which is why I developed this passion fruit butter mochi cake recipe. The recipe uses a generous amount of passion fruit puree, giving the mochi cake bold, tart, and tangy flavor that can cut through the richness of traditional butter mochi.
If you love contrasting textures, you’ll love this cake. I topped the chewy, bouncy cake with a seedy passion fruit coulis glaze that keeps the cake moist and juicy. The passion fruit seeds contrast wonderfully with the cake, giving some bites an occasional unexpected crunch.
Looking for more unique, gluten free mochi desserts? Check out these Small Batch Baked Ube Mochi Donuts (which were also featured in this New York Times article about small batch baking recipes)!
Ingredients (Recommendations and Sources)
To make this tart and tangy snack cake, you need a couple of key ingredients:
Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour. My hands down, all-time favorite brand of sweet rice flour is Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour by Koda Farms. 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! You can also buy it online on Amazon.
Koda Farms Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour
Shop NowPassion Fruit Puree. When developing this recipe, I tested out three different ways to make the passion fruit puree needed for this mochi cake:
- Use fresh passion fruit. You can “make” your own passion fruit “puree” by scooping out the pulp of a passion fruit. To make the the cake, you’ll need to strain the seeds from the pulp—but keep them for the glaze!
- Buy seedless passion fruit puree (often available in Hispanic grocery stores). But you can also buy seedless passion fruit puree online, in Hispanic grocery stores, or in fancy gourmet shops. I recommend going to a Hispanic grocery store and finding a pouch of Goya passion fruit pulp—these are much cheaper!
- Buy passion fruit puree WITH seeds. You can also find unstrained passion fruit puree with seeds (similar to this packet on Amazon). I found this bottle at my local Asian supermarket. If you can’t find fresh passion fruit, this is what I recommend buying so you can make your glaze exactly the way I made mine!
How To Make Passion Fruit Butter Mochi Cake (With Pictures!)
Reference Photos For The Batter
Reference Videos For The Glaze
My recipe below instructs you to combine the passion fruit and the sugar for the glaze in a medium sauce pan. Whisk until the sugar dissolves into the passion fruit—at this point, the mixture will be a cloudy matte yellow color:
Cook to a low simmer over medium heat, whisking continuously, about 3 to 5 minutes or until the mixture thickens and turns into a translucent yellow gel:
You can test doneness by dipping the back of a spoon into the mixture. I like to use the tip of my finger—careful, the mixture will be hot—to draw a line through the coating. If the gel holds the line and doesn’t run back together and/or doesn’t slip easily off the spoon, it’s ready for glazing the cake!
My Best Recipe Tips To Help You Make The Perfect Cake
- I’m always looking for ways to reduce my dirty dishes. So here’s a neat trick for this recipe: melt the butter first, in the bowl you’re planning on making the batter in. That way, there’s no need to dirty an extra dish! Just add the rest of the ingredients needed for the mochi cake to make its batter.
- If you don’t like the idea of a “seedy” passion fruit coulis glaze, strain the seeds out (or use seedless passion fruit puree for the same effect)! Follow the recipe for the glaze as written, just with strained passion fruit puree. The passion fruit butter mochi cake will be delicious either way, I promise.
- When developing this recipe, I tried my hardest to use the entire 1-lb box of mochiko sweet rice flour for this recipe. Sadly, I couldn’t get it right without making the resulting butter mochi cake worse. The good news? After making this cake, you’ll have just enough leftover mochiko rice flour to make one batch of Small Batch Baked Ube Mochi Donuts.
Get the Recipe: Passion Fruit Butter Mochi Cake (Gluten Free)
Ingredients
For The Passion Fruit Butter Mochi Cake
- ¾ cup (6 ounces or 170 grams) strained passion fruit pulp or puree
- ¾ cup (6 ounces or 170 grams) whole milk, at room temperature
- ¼ cup (2 ounces or 57 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups (12.25 ounces or 347 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 ¼ cups (11.75 ounces or 333 grams) mochiko sweet rice flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
For The Passion Fruit Glaze
- ½ cup (4.5 ounces or 128 grams) unstrained passion fruit pulp or puree
- ¼ cup (1.75 ounces or 50 grams) granulated sugar
Instructions
- First, make the passion fruit butter mochi cake. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.Generously spray a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with a parchment paper circle. Spray the parchment, too.
- Make the batter. In a large bowl, whisk together the passion fruit for the mochi cake, milk, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla. Add the sugar for the mochi cake and whisk until just combined. Add the mochiko sweet rice flour, baking powder, and salt and mix with a rubber spatula until just combined.
- Bake the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few crumbs attached.Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before making the glaze and glazing the cake.
- Make the passion fruit glaze. In a medium sauce pan, whisk together the passion fruit and the sugar for the glaze. Cook to a low simmer over medium heat, whisking continuously, about 3 to 5 minutes or until the mixture thickens and can coat the back of a spoon without dripping. Remove from heat and cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes before glazing the cake.
- Glaze the cake. While the glaze is still warm but not overly hot, use an offset spatula to spread the passion fruit glaze in a thin, even layer on top of the mochi cake. The glaze will continue to thicken and cool into a jelly-like consistency as it cools.
- Serve and store. Serve at room temperature. You can serve immediately after glazing, or wait 1 to 2 hours for the glaze to set.The mochi cake is best on the day it's made, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
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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.
