Black Sesame Butter Mochi

Nutty and chewy, this black sesame butter mochi is a perfect potluck dessert. Butter mochi is a chewy mochi rice cake from Hawaii that’s really simple to make. Adding black sesame gives it a fun flavor twist!

What is Butter Mochi?

Butter mochi is a snack cake from Hawaii made from mochiko, a glutinous rice flour that makes the cake super chewy, bouncy, and soft. You can find this at many bakeries and cafes in Hawaii, and it is a common dessert to make at home as well. There’s no definitive answer on who invented butter mochi. Obviously, Japanese immigration had some influence, given the use of mochiko and the “mochi” in the name. However, butter mochi is not common in Japan. In fact, it’s more similar to the Filipino dessert, bibingka. Given that both of those people groups immigrated to Hawaii back in the late 1800s, it could easily be a combination of both cultures as well.

Butter Mochi vs. Brochi

So what’s the difference between a butter mochi and a brochi? To be honest, I’m not exactly sure. A brochi is supposed to be a mix between a brownie and a mochi. I can see how you could tweak a butter mochi recipe to be more gooey and chocolatey like a brownie. However, many popular “brochi” recipes I see online don’t actually include any chocolate! So in that case… aren’t they just the same thing as a butter mochi? Or at the very least, shouldn’t it be a mochi blondie instead of brownie? Blochi? Mondie?

One difference between the two desserts, however, is that butter mochi has been around for decades, whereas brochi seems to be rather recent invention, spread by the virality of the internet. Maybe food bloggers were unfamiliar with the term “butter mochi,” and with mochi trending worldwide, the term “brochi” became a way to cater to a non-Hawaiian audience. Though given Hawaii’s ever increasing tourist population (which is a different problem in itself, although hopefully that’s changing), it seems that butter mochi is finally getting its rightful recognition.

My personal take? I go with the term that has been around longer and honors the community that created it. So butter mochi it is!

Butter Mochi Without Butter?

Okay, speaking of misnomers…I know this is a BUTTER mochi recipe… which makes you think… shouldn’t this recipe have butter?

My typical butter mochi recipes absolutely use melted butter. For this one, I just felt that I REALLY wanted the black sesame flavor to shine, so I used coconut oil instead! I REALLY liked how the flavor came out. But if you are dead set on butter, you absolutely can substitute butter for the coconut oil.

What is Black Sesame?

Like the name implies, black sesame is a type of sesame seed that is naturally black. Black sesame has a much stronger and nuttier flavor than white sesame seeds. It almost tastes roasted, even though it’s not.

Black sesame is a common ingredient in Asian desserts. You can find it in traditional sweets like Chinese tang yuan, deep fried in rice balls (jian dui), and in more modern desserts like in soft serve ice cream (one of my favorites!). I personally love it in my black sesame cookies and black sesame layer cake.

Grinding Black Sesame Seeds Vs. Paste

A lot of recipes out there give instructions for grinding your own black sesame seeds into a paste prior to using it. And you certainly can do that if you want. But I would rather skip that step and just buy black sesame paste straight from the store. When I grind seeds/nuts at home… I find that I just don’t do as great a job as the industrial grinders. It ends up being powdery and dry, instead of… nut butter-y.

I can find jars of black sesame paste at my local Japanese market, but of course there’s always online. A word of warning, however: the paste is more expensive than buying seeds. So the choice is up to you! For me, convenience > price.

Variations on Butter Mochi Textures and More Butter Mochi Recipes

Do you like your butter mochi more dense and rice-y? Or more fluffy and cakey? My recipe listed below leans more towards the dense and gooey. If you’d like to go more cakey, try decreasing the milk to 1.5 cups and/or increasing the eggs to 4.

For more dense and creamy butter mochi, try my custard mochi recipe. For more cakey, try my everyday butter mochi. My chocolate butter mochi and traditional butter mochi recipes are a nice in between. And for more fun flavor twists, how about matcha butter mochi? What butter mochi should I make next??