How to Make Mochi Ice Cream

Mochi ice cream is the perfect, compact dessert to grab and eat on a hot summer day. The traditional Japanese treat involves wrapping your favorite flavor of ice cream with mochi, which is a sweet rice flour dough. You do not have to go all the way to Japan to experience this glorious round dessert. Instead, make it yourself. Grab an ice cream flavor of your choice, rice flour, and a cupcake tin to get started.

Ingredients

Ice cream flavor of your choice—at least 2 cups (300 g)
¾ cup (90 g) of shiratamako or glutinous rice flour
³⁄₄ cup (180 mL) of water
¼ cup (50 g) of superfine sugar
½ cup (80 g) of cornstarch or potato starch

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Preparing the Ice Cream

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1
Choose an ice cream with a thick consistency to use for the mochi balls. Thick ice cream will harden nicely inside of the mochi balls and won’t melt as quickly. The flavor, brand, or type of ice cream you use is entirely up to you and your preferences. Use a single flavor of ice cream, or use a different flavor for each mochi ball.^{[1]XResearch source}
- You will need at least 2-3 cups (300-450 g) of ice cream to make 10 mochi balls, so purchase a standard ½ gallon (1,200 g) container of ice cream.
- Pick traditional vanilla or chocolate ice cream for a simple taste.
- Experiment with more complicated flavors like mint chocolate chip, rocky road, or cookie dough.
- Use strawberry, matcha, or black sesame ice cream for a savory taste that is more traditional to mochi ice cream sold in Japan.
2
Use plastic wrap to individually line 10 cups in the cupcake tin. The plastic wrap will keep the ice cream from sticking to the tin. This will work best if your cupcake tin has rounded cups instead of the flat, oval-shaped ones.^{[2]XResearch source}
- Instead of a cupcake tin, you can use the bottom portion of an egg carton or an ice cube tray that has large, round cups.
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3
Put 1/4 cup (33 g) of ice cream into each of the 10 cupcake tin cups. Get a full, round scoop of the ice cream to make handling it later easier. Use an additional spoon to help properly fill the ice cream scoop and empty it into the cups if needed.^{[3]XResearch source}
- If your ice cream is particularly hard, it will be difficult to get full scoops. Allow the ice cream to soften at room temperature for 2-5 minutes.^{[4]XResearch source}
Gently, form the plastic wrap around each scoop of ice cream to prevent it from developing ice crystals. Let the ice cream sit in the freezer for at least 2 hours or until the scoops are firm to touch.^{[5]XResearch source}

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Mixing the Mochi

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1
Mix ¾ cup (90 g) rice flour and ¼ cup (50 g) of sugar in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the shiratamako or glutinous rice flour into the bowl first, and then stir in the superfine sugar. Continue to stir the ingredients until they are blended and free of lumps.
- Once you get more comfortable with making the mochi ice cream, you can experiment by adding additional ingredients to the mochi batter. Some people prefer to add a pinch of salt to the batter, or even 1 tsp (2 g) of matcha (green tea powder) or a strawberry puree.^{[6]XResearch source}
- The bottom of microwave-safe bowls will either directly say, “Microwave Safe” or will have a symbol resembling a microwave with wavy lines across it.
2
Whisk ³⁄₄ cup (180 mL) of water into the bowl. Slowly add the water to the dry ingredients. Continue whisking the mixture together until it becomes a smooth batter.^{[7]XResearch source}
- If the batter is too thin or watery, add 1/2 tbsp (4.25 g) of rice flour to thicken it. For batter that seems dry, add 1 teaspoon (4.9 mL) of water to moisten it. Increase the increments of flour or water as need until your batter is smooth.^{[8]XResearch source}
Crack the lid on the bowl so that the contents can ventilate and do not build up air pressure. The microwave will thicken and cook the mochi so it becomes a sticky dough for you to cover your ice cream balls with.^{[9]XResearch source}
4
Stir the mochi and microwave it with a cracked lid for another 1 ½ minutes. Use a rubber spatula to stir and aerate the mochi. Scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl so the mochi doesn’t start to burn or dry out. After microwaving the batter, it should be cooked and resemble a sticky dough.^{[10]XResearch source}
- The bowl will be hot when you take it out of the microwave, so handle it with care and use potholders.
5
Sprinkle your clean counter with corn or potato starch. The starch, whether corn or potato, will keep the mochi from sticking to your counter when you roll it out. Don’t worry about wiping the starch off your hands. Having some on your hands will actually be beneficial and keep the dough from sticking to your skin as you handle it.^{[11]XResearch source}
- Have ½ cup (80 g) of cornstarch or potato starch set off to the side of your workspace. Use as much or a little of the starch as you want. Don’t be afraid sprinkle the counter with more if needed.
Sprinkle it with more starch so it won’t stick to your rolling pin when you go to roll it out. Be careful when first handling the mochi. It will most likely be hot. Remove the lid and allow it to cool off enough for you to be able to touch it without burning yourself.^{[12]XResearch source}
7
Use a rolling pin to spread out the mochi into a thin sheet. Make the sheet of mochi about ¹⁄₈ in (0.32 cm) thick. Work from the center of the dough outwards to keep the edges of the sheet from getting too thin. The center of the dough should roughly be the same thickness as the edges of the dough. The sheet can be a rough circle or rectangle shape, as either will work well when cutting the mochi.^{[13]XResearch source}
- If you are worried the mochi will stick to your rolling pin, rub some of the starch onto the rolling pin as well.
8
Cut out 10 circles using a 3.5 in (8.9 cm) round cookie cutter. Prevent the mochi from sticking to the cookie cutter by rubbing starch on it. Start at one side of the mochi sheet and work your way over to the other side. If you have to, gather the mochi scraps and roll it back out again so you can cut out more circles.^{[14]XResearch source}
- If you do not have a round cookie cutter, you can coat the rim of a glass and use that instead.^{[15]XResearch source}
9
Put the mochi discs onto a baking sheet and chill them in the refrigerator. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap to keep the mochi from drying out in the refrigerator. Check on the mochi discs after 30 minutes to see if they are cold to touch. If the mochi discs are still warm, allow them to continue chilling in the refrigerator.^{[16]XResearch source}
- Once the mochi discs are fully chilled, you are ready to begin assembling the mochi ice cream balls.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Covering the Ice Cream

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1
Line your counter with a small piece of plastic wrap. Cut the piece of plastic wrap so it is at least twice the size of the mochi ball. The plastic wrap will be used to individually package the finished mochi balls.^{[17]XResearch source}
- You can reuse one of the plastic wrap pieces you used to cover the ice balls. But if the piece of plastic wrap is damaged or if it does not look big enough to cover the entire ball, get a new piece to line the counter.
2
Place an ice cream ball on a mochi circle and rest it on the plastic wrap. Use a spoon or your fingers to quickly place the ice cream in the center of the mochi sheet. Either hold the mochi sheet in the palm of your hand or have the sheet already resting on the plastic wrap to do this. Pick which method is easiest for you.^{[18]XResearch source}
- Handle the ice cream as little as possible to keep it from melting before you wap it in the mochi. Leave the cupcake tin with the rest of the balls in the freezer to keep those from melting while you work.^{[19]XResearch source}
Stretch the mochi sheet with your fingers as needed to cover the entire ice cream ball. The chilled dough may be tough to stretch at first so be patient.^{[20]XResearch source}
4
Pinch the dough edges closed at the top of the ice cream ball. The covered ice cream ball will roughly resemble a cinched coin purse. Smooth out the puckered edges along the top with your finger. Be careful not to tear the mochi dough while doing this.
- If there is a lot of extra dough pinched at the top of the ice cream ball, use scissors to cut away the extra dough. Save the excess dough in case you need to patch a hole or cover a thin spot while making the rest of the mochi balls.^{[21]XResearch source}
Cover the entire mochi ball with the plastic wrap, so that none of the dough is exposed. The plastic wrap will keep the dough from drying out in the freezer, and will also help the ball maintain its shape until the ice cream and dough firm up.^{[22]XResearch source}
6
Rest the packaged mochi ball in the cupcake tin in the freezer. Place any obvious seams in the plastic wrap casing down into the cup. This will keep the plastic wrap from peeling off the mochi ball as it freezes.^{[23]XResearch source}
- Repeat this process until the remaining 9 ice cream balls are all covered with mochi and packaged in plastic wrap.
This will give the handled ice cream a chance to harden. When you are ready to eat a mochi ice cream ball, let the ball sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to allow the mochi dough to soften so you do not hurt your teeth when you bite into it.^{[24]XResearch source}

Community Q&A

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Question
Can I also use potato starch?
Community Answer
Yes, this is the preferred starch as potato starch (or katakuriko) is used when making regular mochi.
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Question
Do you have suggestion for flavoring the dough?
Community Answer
It is often left plain, but a nice twist might be to add a drop of vanilla flavoring or some milk instead of water to make it creamier.
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Question
Can you use brown sugar instead of plain sugar?
Community Answer
The sugar will be hard to dissolve, and won't have the texture of mochi.
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Tips

Have fun experimenting with the ratio of mochi to ice cream. Larger ice cream balls are easier to wrap than smaller ones since smaller ice cream portions will soften quicker.^{[25]XResearch source}
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Consider using 2 thick discs of the mochi to make ice cream sandwiches instead of wrapping the entire ice cream ball with a single disc of mochi.^{[26]XResearch source}
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