When I first posted a picture of Trader Joe’s mochi cake mix on Instagram, I had at least 10 people ask me how it was. I hadn’t even bought it! But due to popular demand, I went back, bought the mix, and made my own butter mochi from scratch to compare it side by side. Keep reading to see my review of Trader Joe’s mochi, plus my homemade butter mochi recipe. I’ll let you decide which one is best!
Overall Trader Joe’s Mochi Cake Mix Review
Overall, Trader Joe’s mochi cake was pretty dang good. In terms of taste, I would say it was very similar to my custard mochi recipe. The texture, however, was more dense and chewy, similar to chi chi dango. You can see in the photos that it doesn’t rise very much when baked in the 8×8″ pan, as directed in the instructions. It was also VERY easy to make: just add water, eggs, melted butter, and bake.
Comparison to Homemade Butter Mochi
My homemade butter mochi from scratch is the most basic mochi cake recipe, from which you can make endless variations, like my chocolate butter mochi. The flavor is less creamy than my custard mochi or Trader Joe’s mochi cake, but the texture is lighter and more cake-like. Additionally, my butter mochi recipe takes up a whole 9×13″ baking pan and ends up being twice as tall. Making butter mochi from scratch is only marginally more difficult than using the cake mix. You just have to add in the baking powder, coconut milk, and evaporated milk yourself.
The thing I like best about my butter mochi recipe is that you can really adjust the flavor to your liking. You can reduce the amount of sugar by half a cup or switch out some of the sugar for brown sugar (that’s what I did to make the mochi in these photos), you can add some cocoa powder to make the chocolate butter mochi, or you can increase or decrease the amount of salt to your liking. I’m thinking of trying to use browned butter next time for a browned butter, brown sugar mochi, doesn’t that sound good?
Benefits of Trader Joe’s Mochi Cake Mix:
- You don’t need to go to an Asian grocery to find mochiko.
- You can make it with ingredients you probably already have at home.
- 8×8″ size is good for less people.
Benefits of Butter Mochi from Scratch:
- Can feed more people (9×13″ pan).
- Has lighter, fluffier texture.
- Can adjust the recipe as needed.
- Still very easy to make.
Overall, in a side-by-side comparison, both Jeremy and I preferred the homemade butter mochi. BUT, we both agreed that the Trader Joe’s mix was still very good and would be helpful if we were in a pinch to make a last minute dessert without going to the grocery store. I’ll leave my recipe down below and let you decide which one to make!
Butter Mochi
Equipment
- 9×13" baking pan
Ingredients
- 1 16 oz box mochiko
- 2 cups sugar
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 14 oz can coconut milk
- 1 12 oz can evaporated milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 stick unsalted butter, melted (1/2 cup)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix dry ingredients (mochiko, sugar, salt, baking powder).
- Add in wet ingredients (coconut milk, evaporated milk, melted butter, eggs) and mix until well combined. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to check for any lumps of mochiko that did not get incorporated into the batter.
- Pour into a greased 9×13" baking pan and bake for an hour, or until a golden brown crust has formed on top and the middle is set.
- Let cool, slice into rectangles, and enjoy!
12 comments
[…] 自制mochi cake菜谱:https://www.mochimommy.com/butter_mochi/ […]
My TJs mix rose a lot more than yours. I hope my next box doesn’t go flat. I am excited to try your recipe!
Oh interesting! Maybe my box had old or expired baking power!
My TJs mix had a nice cake like texture while still having a fluffier and chewy consistency! It rose wonderfully for being premixed. Very different from what yours turned out judging by your picture! I loved it! Best part? SO EASY TO MAKE! I added a bit of vanilla and 2 tsps of Rum!! Yummyyyyy!
I’ll have to try another box! Maybe mine was just a dud.
I’ve had the same problem with the TJ mochi mix cake coming out flat the first two times I tried it. The third time around I added some baking powder (1 1/2 teaspoons) and baking soda (1/4 teaspoon) to the mix, and it rose elegantly, just like on the box.
I think they have a quality control issue where some lots either don’t have baking soda in the mix or they’re using old baking soda.
That would make sense. Guess I’m sticking to making mine from scratch!
[…] 自制mochi cake菜谱:https://www.mochimommy.com/butter_mochi/ […]
I tried the TJ’s a while back, but they don’t stock it consistently, so I switched to your recipe, which is clearly superior (IMHO). Thanks so much for sharing. I typically throw in coconut shreds to give it more texture.
I also recently tried the TJs chocolate mochi with peanut butter frosting – like a not very good brownie. Not sure what they did, but pretty disappointing.
Thanks for the feedback, Fred! I’m glad it’s not just me who thinks the homemade version is much better. If you’re interested in a chocolate mochi dessert, I’ve also got recipes for chocolate butter mochi and mochi brownies posted.
[…] of American mochi desserts that are made using mochiko include mochi donuts, mochi waffles, butter mochi, mochi ice […]
[…] if you take a look at my blog post comparing Trader Joe’s box mix with my recipe from scratch, you’ll see there’s a big difference. From scratch is way […]