Chocolate Mochi Brownies, How to Make Brownies Even Fudgier

If you like the bouncy, springy, chewy, sticky texture of mochi and you like the rich, chocolatey sweet taste of butter of traditional brownies, then you will love Chocolate Mochi Brownies! It's bouncy, beautiful, and sweet, and though traditional mochi can be intimidating to make, Mochi Brownies only takes 5 minutes to whip together. Shall we?

Explore More

• Chocolate Mochi Brownies Recipe
• What are Mochi Brownies?
• Ingredients You Need for Chocolate Mochi Brownies
• What is Mochiko, or Sweet Rice Flour?
• How to Make Chocolate Mochi Brownies
• Ingredients Substitutions and Varying Ratios
• Leftovers and Storage

What are Mochi Brownies?

Chocolate Mochi Brownies are brownies that are made with, wait for it, mochi flour as as opposed to regular wheat flour. They have the characteristic stretchy, chewy, bouncy texture of mochi, with the rich, sweet chocolate flavor of regular brownies.

Ingredients You Need for Chocolate Mochi Brownies

Fresh/Refrigerator Ingredients:

• Milk, 1 cup
• 2 large eggs
• Butter, ¼ cup (4 tablespoons)

Dry/Pantry Ingredients:

• Mochiko, 1½ cup
• Cocoa powder, ½ cup
• Coffee, ½ cup brewed, or extra milk
• Granulated sugar, 1 cup
• Baking powder, 1 teaspoon
• Vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons
• Sea salt, ¼ teaspoon
• Flaky sea salt for sprinkling on top

Optional: Dark chocolate, ½ cup chopped

Mochiko is a type of rice flour made from sweet rice, sometimes called sticky rice or glutinous rice. Though mochiko is generally associated with Japanese cuisine, it is a popular ingredient across many Asian cuisines, sometimes used in savory dishes, and mostly used in sweet desserts and confections. When baked or cooked, mochiko imparts a distinctive texture that ranges from bouncy and squishy to sticky and chewy. If you've ever had mochi, mochi ice cream, or any of the small colorful rice cakes like Korean tteok/dduk, Filipino bibingka, and Chinese nian gao, you're familiar with the texture!

Though the name has the word "glutinous" in it, glutinous rice flour, spelled with an "i," does not have "gluten," spelled with an "e" in it, so it is in fact, gluten-free. The word glutinous refers to the high starch content of the sweet rice, which is what makes it sweet and sticky.

Other Types of Sweet Rice Flour

There are several types of sweet rice flours that are similar to mochiko in that they are derived from sweet rice, but different in the way they are processed and therefore slightly different in the final texture and how it is used:

• Shiratamako - Japanese type of glutinous rice flour, processed soaking the rice first then milling into a much finer final product that is better suited for silky mochi confections. This is not as widely available as mochiko, and is generally more expensive.
• Thai glutinous rice flour - made by the "wet milling" method and is used for smooth silky dumplings. If you can't find a glutinous rice flour labeled mochiko, this is a good substitute.
• Sweet Rice Flour - basically any other "Western" brand that makes its own finely ground sweet rice flour, e.g. Bob's Red Mill.

Best Mochi Recipes

• Matcha Butter Mochi
• Strawberry Mochi Cake
• Pumpkin Butter Mochi
• Red Bean Butter Mochi

Additional Ingredients Notes and Resources

1. Mochiko. I almost always use this brand of mochiko. You can buy it at most Japanese and Asian grocery stores, and online.
2. Cocoa Powder. For this Chocolate Mochi Brownies recipe, I use organic, unsweetened natural cocoa powder. Make sure it's cOcOA powder, not cAcAO powder. Cocoa powder is made from beans roasted at a higher temperature so it's a little more palatable. Cacao powder is made from beans roasted at a lower temperature, so it's more bitter. Cocoa powder usually costs less than cacao powder.
3. Coffee. Use whatever coffee you already have brewed for the day. If you're trying not to stay awake until next Wednesday, use hot water or an extra ½ cup of milk.
4. Milk. You can use any fat percentage of regular dairy milk, though I have had the best results with 2%. Even nonfat/skim milk is fine if you use a full-fat coconut milk.
5. Sugar. The recipe calls for granulated sugar, but if you have brown sugar, you can use any combination. The difference in flavor and texture will be too nuanced, especially with the intensity of the cocoa powder.
6. Salt. Adding salt to sweet dishes isn't meant to make them taste salty. Salt not only brings out the natural sweetness of other ingredients, it balances the sweetness, too. Either kosher salt or this ancient sea salt.
7. Vanilla Extract. Vanilla in the recipe brings out the "chocolate." I use this organic brand of pure vanilla extract. Don't use imitation vanilla flavoring.
8. Flaky Sea Salt.

How to Make Chocolate Mochi Brownies

Technically, you could dump and stir all of the ingredients together into a mixing bowl, pour into a pan and bake, since brownies have a texture that don't require a specific order of ingredients or technique like a cake. But there are some tips to make the hardest part—the cleanup!—easier.

Make Chocolate Mochi Brownie Batter

How to Get the Shiny Crackly Top on Brownies

If you want that ever-coveted shiny, paper-thin crackly top on brownies, you have to add chocolate chips to the recipe.

Based on HOURS of research, that coveted shiny crackly top that you see on some brownies and not on others comes from the addition of chocolate chips or chunks to the recipe, not from dissolving sugar in either butter or eggs. The ingredient in the chocolate chips or chunks that keeps it solid and gives it shape, usually listed as some form of lecithin, seems to be the key.

So, to get that shiny top, stir in ½ to 1 cup of chocolate chips into the Chocolate Mochi Brownies batter at the end.

Pro Tips, Tricks, and Techniques

• Whisk by Hand rather than an electric mixer, which will aerate the brownie batter too much and give it a fluffier, more cake-like texture rather than the sticky, chewy, texture we want in brownies.
• Tap the Batter in the Pan against the counter to pop out any air bubbles.
• Substitute Melted Chocolate for Cocoa Powder. If you don't have cocoa powder, but already have some other form of chocolate on hand like baking chocolate bars or chocolate chips, you can substitute an equivalent amount of it for the cocoa powder by melting it along with the butter. However, the sugar and fat content of the recipe will change based on the sugar and fat content of the chocolate. 

Ingredients Substitutions and Varying Ratios

Full Substitutions

• Can you use regular rice flour for Chocolate Mochi Brownies? No. Regular rice flour is not "sticky" and does not produce the mochi "bounce." You can use different styles of sweet rice flour or glutinous rice flour, but you cannot use regular rice flour, which brings us to the next question...
• Can you use a different type of flour for Chocolate Mochi Brownies? No, you cannot use any other kind of flour, e.g. wheat flour, cassava or other starch, or ground nut flours. If you want to use regular flour for brownies, make this recipe for Olive Oil Brownies.
• Can You Substitute Out the Butter? Not recommended. If you want to use oil, make these Olive Oil Brownies. However, you can absolutely substitute a plant-based butter that has the same flavor and texture of regular butter in this recipe.
• Can you Replace the Eggs? I have not yet personally made this Chocolate Mochi Brownies recipe with an egg substitute, either store-bought or something like ground flaxseeds. If you do, please let me know how it turns out! I would recommend against ground flaxseed though, as they will take away from the smooth texture of the mochi.
• No Coffee. To make this without the coffee, add the same amount of extra milk, or water.
• Milk. If you would prefer not to use regular dairy milk, you can substitute with coconut milk, any other plant-based milk, or you can simply add plain water. Just be mindful that if you're trying to make this Chocolate Mochi Brownies dairy-free, you also have to consider replacing the butter.
• Can You Make it Vegan? If you replace the eggs, butter, and regular dairy milk with appropriate plant-based substitutes, the Chocolate Mochi Brownies will be vegan. I have not applied any of these substitutions myself. If you do, let me know how it turns out!

Leftovers and Storage

You can absolutely keep leftover Chocolate Mochi Brownies for several days on the countertop and up to a month in the freezer. You just need to take care to do a couple of things for optimal storage:

• Pre-slice the Chocolate Mochi Brownies into individual portions
• Wrap each individual Chocolate Mochi Brownie in parchment paper (best option) or plastic cling wrap (acceptable option) to keep them from sticking together.
• Air-tight containers are the best for keeping the Chocolate Mochi Brownies from drying out and getting a little too chewy (unless you like that)

Here are detailed tips for how long to store leftovers:

Countertop. Keep leftover Chocolate Mochi Brownies in an airtight container on the countertop for two days.

Refrigerator. Keep leftover Chocolate Mochi Brownies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for five days. Take individual servings out of the refrigerator to come to room temperature or heat gently in the microwave for 30 seconds or in a toaster oven on medium.

Freezer. Store Chocolate Mochi Brownies for the longer term, about 1 month, in the freezer. It is best to freeze what you know you won't eat right away. Wrap each portion in parchment paper to keep from sticking, and store in an airtight, freezer-safe container. Thaw in refrigerator overnight, or pop into a toaster oven or air-fryer for a few minutes.

Best Alternative Brownie Recipes

• Olive Oil Brownies rich and "not too sweet"
• Brownie Baked Oatmeal, flourless, dairy-free, sugar-free!