In May, I hosted my first little pop-up event in Denver in collaboration with Die Die Must Try, a Singaporean boba shop in the area, for Mile High Asian Food Week. The pop-up featured four flavors of mochi muffins (Coconut Pandan, Ube Cookies & Cream, Peanut Butter Cup & Black Sesame Strawberry Jam), which were available as a quad set and à la carte. You can find more information about this past pop-up event at: popup.craving-nomz.com
The most popular mochi muffin flavor amongst adults was the Coconut Pandan Mochi Muffins , but kids were a fan of this Ube Cookies & Cream (aka Oreo) Mochi Muffin—and I’m not surprised why! It’s a fun twist on the nutty, aromatic, and beautifully colored Asian flavor of ube, paired with one of the most beloved cookies by both adults and kids alike: Oreo.
In this blog post, I’m going to outline the process to make this Ube Cookies & Cream Mochi Muffins as well as list some ingredients you may need.
About the ingredients:
- 🍃 Ube halaya & ube extract: Ube Halaya adds richness, creaminess, and natural sweetness with a soft, smooth texture. Ube Extract provides a more intense, concentrated flavor and vibrant color without altering the texture too much.
- 🥥 Coconut oil: Coconut oil has a subtle, natural coconut flavor that complements the nutty and earthy notes of ube. The slight coconut aroma from the oil can also enhance the overall experience of the ube dessert, giving it a more exotic, layered flavor profile. In addition, coconut oil has a neutral color which ensures that it doesn’t alter the beautiful purple hue of ube. It allows the vibrant color of ube to shine through in the final product.
- 🍡 Mochiko & glutinous rice flour: This recipe uses both mochiko (made by Koda farms) and glutinous rice flour (the Vietnamese brand). This is to balance the chewy denseness (property of the Vietnamese brand) and fluffiness/cakiness/lightness that is a property of mochiko. Using all mochiko will result is a less chewy mochi muffin and using all glutinous rice flour will result in a denser chewier mochi muffin.
- 🍪 Oreos: The addition of Oreos creates a beautiful contrast against the purple ube, adding both a decorative touch and extra texture to the mochi muffin. For a gluten-free version, simply omit the cookie.
- 🥛 Oat milk: Oat milk provides a creamy, neutral base that is subtly sweet and makes these mochi muffins gluten-free. The brand I used is Kirkland’s organic oat milk. This can be easily substituted for regular milk with minimal impacts
Shop the ingredients:
These ingredients may not be the exact ones I use since I couldn’t find them on Amazon. Here’s a list of items you might not have in your pantry for your convenience.
Looking for more dessert recipes? You might like these:
- Coconut Pandan & Raspberry Tres Leches Cake
- Kabocha Squash Swiss Roll with Apple-Pear Jam and Kinako Cream
- Coconut Pandan Mochi Muffins
- Black Sesame Banana Bread
Ube Cookies & Cream Mochi Muffin
Equipment
- mixing bowls
Ingredients
- 25 g coconut oil melted
- 55 g cane sugar
- 45 g ube halaya
- 1 large egg or chia egg for vegan version (1 tbsp chia seeds + 3 tbsp water)
- 150 g oat milk
- 3 drop ube extract
- 80 g glutinous rice flour
- 40 g mochiko
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- oreos crushed & for garnish
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine melted coconut oil, cane sugar, and ube halaya. Then add in egg (or chia egg for a vegan version) and beat the mixture until it looks light and fluffy.
- In a separate bowl, mix together oat milk and ube extract.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: mochiko, glutinous rice flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Alternate adding some dry mixture and wet mixture to the sugar mixture. Please note that you may not need to use all of the milk mixture. The amount of liquid you needs depends on the type of glutinous rice flour/mochiko you use. Stop adding the wet mixture until the batter has the consistency of slightly thinner pancake batter. If the batter is too thick, add more oat milk, a tablespoon at a time.
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Prepare 6 baking cups on a baking sheet. Sprinkle a thin layer of the crumbled oreo on the bottom. Fill the baking cups a little more than 3/4 the way full. Sprinkle about 2 tsp of the oreo cookie crumble and swirl into the batter.
- Bake it in the oven on the middle rack until the edges of the muffin starts to set but the center is still wet.
- Remove the half baked mochi muffins from the oven and garnish the top with an oreo cookie broken in half. Let it continue to bake until the top of the muffins has set and has started to look a little golden.
- Remove the mochi muffins from the oven and allow them to cool completely before enjoying. For storage, keep the muffins in a vented container*, such as a bakery box, at room temperature. They’re best enjoyed within 3 days.
