These baked mochi donuts are crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. They’re glazed in two easy flavours - matcha and white chocolate biscoff - but the possibilities are endless. These are the perfect baked alternative to fried mochi donuts!
When I think of mochi donuts, the first ones that come to mind are the iconic pon de ring donuts made popular by Mister Donut in Japan. They are unmistakable with their bubbly shape. Those mochi donuts in particular are fried so that they have a crispy exterior and light texture.
When I’m making mochi donuts at home, I prefer to bake them as frying can be messy and intimidating. I bake them right in a regular donut pan. While they don’t have that bubbly ring shape, they are much easier to make. The exterior still gets crispy, especially when fresh, and you get that chewy texture that you’re looking for.
What are mochi donuts?
Mochi donuts are donuts that are made with glutinous rice flour instead of all-purpose flour. Glutinous rice flour is made from short-grain glutinous white rice, also known as sticky rice, and is used for its sticky, chewy, and bouncy consistency.
Mochi donuts can be either fried or baked. They’re ideally crisp on the outside with a chewy, mochi-like texture on the inside. They’re often glazed with melted chocolate or a simple sugar glaze in a variety of different flavours.
What’s different with this recipe
I tested different versions of this baked mochi donut recipe at least 5 times until I landed on this final iteration. The thing is, glutinous rice flour behaves very differently than all-purpose flour. Since it doesn’t contain any gluten (despite the name ’glutinous’ rice flour), it doesn’t have as much structure and shape when baked.
These donuts bake up a little differently than regular baked donuts. Instead of puffing up into a rounded shape on top, they rise a bit but remain flat on top. But don’t worry - the side that’s in the pan retains its rounded donut shape so just flip them over so that the flat side is on the bottom.
I tried different ratios of flours and liquid, including using a mix of glutinous rice flour and all-purpose flour, but they were either not chewy enough, too dry and hard, or just ugly. This final recipe is the compromise that I found to work the best.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- These baked donuts are much easier to make than fried donuts.
- There is no shaping or rolling needed because they are baked in a regular donut-shaped pan.
- They’re firm and crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside.
- You can glaze them with all kinds of flavours.
Ingredients
- Glutinous rice flour - If you have access to the Thai brand of glutinous rice flour, it's the one with green writing on it. You can also substitute with Mochiko (sweet rice flour) or use a mixture of both. They are similar in texture with the main difference being long-grained vs short-grained rice.
- Baking powder - These donuts don’t puff up into a round shape like normal donuts but the baking powder helps them rise.
- Salt
- Unsalted butter - Melt your butter in the microwave or on the stovetop before using.
- Brown sugar - I love using brown sugar instead of granulated sugar because it adds more flavour and colour.
- Egg - Your large egg should be at room temperature so that it doesn’t cause the melted butter to solidify. If you forget to take it out of the fridge ahead of time, just put it in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.
- Milk - Any dairy or non-dairy milk will work. I usually use oat milk or almond milk.
- Vanilla extract
- White chocolate - Your chocolate should be roughly chopped or broken into small pieces so that they melt evenly and quickly.
- Oil - Adding a bit of oil to melted chocolate makes it a thinner consistency for glazing and also helps prevent the chocolate from seizing.
- Matcha powder - Ceremonial grade matcha powder is recommended here because the strong and sweet flavour stands out when it’s not being baked. Culinary grade matcha powder is fine to use.
- Lotus biscuit - Crush the biscuit to sprinkle over your donuts. This is optional as it doesn’t really add much flavour but it looks cute and it’s an easy way to decorate your donuts.
How to make baked mochi donuts
For the donuts
Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly grease a donut pan with cooking spray or softened butter. Set aside.
Mix dry ingredients: In a small bowl, stir together glutinous rice flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Mix wet ingredients: In another small mixing bowl, stir together melted butter and brown sugar. Add in the egg and stir until the yolk has broken up and combined. Stir in the milk and vanilla extract.
Add dry to wet: Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and stir to combine until smooth.
Fill donut pan: Spoon the batter (or use a piping bag) into the donut pan until almost full.
Bake: Bake donuts for 25-30 minutes until slightly browned on the edges. Stop at 25 minutes for softer donuts or 30 minutes for crisper donuts but be careful not to overbake otherwise they will be more hard than chewy. Let donuts cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before lifting them out. Let cool completely on a wire rack before glazing.
For the white chocolate glazes
Make a double boiler: In a small pot, bring about 1” of water to a boil. In a heat-safe bowl that fits perfectly on top of the pot without touching the water, add the chopped white chocolate and oil (and matcha powder for the matcha version).
Melt chocolate: Turn off the heat and place the bowl on top of pot to create a double boiler. Let the chocolate sit undisturbed for about 2-3 minutes until it has mostly melted. Stir with a spatula to mix together and ensure there are no unmelted chunks.
Dunk donuts in chocolate: Transfer the melted chocolate to a small bowl. Dip the donuts into the chocolate and shake off the excess. Place on a wire rack to set. Drizzle with any remaining white chocolate and sprinkle with crushed Lotus biscuit, if desired.
Frequently asked questions
Baked mochi donuts are best enjoyed within 24 hours for the best texture. However, you can store mochi donuts in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. They are the softest and chewiest on the first day and will slowly dry out. They do not store well in the fridge and should be kept at room temperature to prevent them from getting hard.
I don’t recommend freezing mochi donuts because the texture will change after being thawed.
More donuts recipes to try
Recipe
Baked Mochi Donuts
Ingredients
Mochi Donuts
- 150 g glutinous rice flour or mochiko
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 50 g unsalted butter, melted
- 50 g brown sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 200 g dairy or non-dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Matcha White Chocolate Glaze
- 100 g white chocolate, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1 teaspoon matcha powder, ceremonial grade recommended
White Chocolate Biscoff Glaze
- 100 g white chocolate, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1 Lotus biscuit, crushed
Instructions
Mochi Donuts
- Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly grease a donut pan with cooking spray or softened butter. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, stir together glutinous rice flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In another small mixing bowl, stir together melted butter and brown sugar. Add in the egg and stir until the yolk has broken up and combined. Stir in the milk and vanilla extract.
- Add the dry mixture into the wet mixture and stir to combine until smooth.
- Spoon the batter (or use a piping bag) into the donut pan until almost full.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until slightly browned on the edges. Stop at 25 minutes for softer donuts or 30 minutes for crisper donuts but be careful not to overbake otherwise they will be more hard than chewy.
- Let donuts cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before lifting them out. Let cool completely on a wire rack before glazing.
Matcha White Chocolate Glaze
- In a small pot, bring about 1” of water to a boil.
- In a heat-safe bowl that fits perfectly on top of the pot without touching the water, add the chopped white chocolate, oil, and matcha powder.
- Turn off the heat and place the bowl on top of pot to create a double boiler. Let the chocolate sit undisturbed for about 2-3 minutes until it has mostly melted. Stir with a spatula to mix the matcha and chocolate together and ensure there are no unmelted chunks.
- Transfer the melted chocolate to a small bowl. Dip the donuts into the chocolate and shake off the excess. Place on a wire rack to set. Drizzle with any remaining white chocolate if desired.
White Chocolate Biscoff Glaze
- Use the same directions as the matcha glaze above but without the matcha powder.
- Sprinkle the glazed donuts with crushed biscuits while they’re still wet.
Notes
- Melting white chocolate in microwave: Microwave in 10 second intervals, stirring in between each zap. Stop when it's mostly melted. Be careful not to overheat it otherwise the chocolate will seize.
- If you’re making both glazes, save time by melting all of the white chocolate (200g) together and divide into two bowls. Stir matcha powder into one half.
Alizee
My batter was very liquid like wouldnt hold a shape. Should I add more flour? I followed everything.
Gail Ng
What happened after you baked them? The batter should be quite runny like cake batter!
Rachel
Hello! I don't know what happened but this recipe didn't work for me. My donuts deflated once they were out of the oven and turned into a chewy mochi. Do you have any ideas on what I could have done wrong? Thanks!
Gail Ng
If you did everything else the same, it sounds like you might just need to bake them for a few minutes longer! Keep in mind that the tops will be flat, not domed like regular donuts. Only the side touching the pan will have the domed shape. But if they're sinking in significantly, try baking for a little longer to give them more structure and crisp up the outside. Only the middle should be chewy.
Esca
This recipe is great, do you think it would work in a doughnut hole pan?
Gail Ng
It could work but keep in mind these donuts don't rise fully into a domed shape on top. The tops will be flat instead of like a round doughnut hole ball. I'd recommend baking in a muffin/cupcake pan instead if you don't have a donut pan!
Michelle
Hi Gail, I made your recipe in domed silicon molds Should I have adjusted the baking time ?
Also, I used Mochiko flour instead of glutinous rice flour (green label) Are the two flours interchangeable without issue ?
Thanks for the great recipe !
Gail Ng
Silicone doesn’t conduct heat as well as metal so it likely should be baked for a little longer. It also won’t allow the surface to brown very much and have that firm crisp exterior so the donuts will just be different vs metal pans if you prefer them that way. And yes, the flours are interchangeable with very minor differences!
Roscoe
Loved these donuts! They were so chewy and flavorful 🙂