Hojicha Mochi Muffins w/ Roasted Black Sesame
Earthy + nutty with a satisfying chew. My ideal muffin.
This recipe was one of the first recipes I created for my menu back in 2021. I was heavily inspired by Third Culture Bakery: a bakery in Oakland that’s known for their variations of mochi muffins. I went to college up in Berkeley and their original mochi muffin became a weekly staple for me. I remember the flavor of the muffin being rich and buttery while the sweetness was balanced perfectly. The flavors in tandem with the chewy + bouncy texture of the mochi muffin had me coming back for more every week.
What is hojicha? Hojicha is a roasted green tea that is distinguished by its nutty + almost smoky flavor profile. The roasting process reduces the teas natural bitterness resulting in a smooth yet rich earthy flavor.
During the time I created this recipe, I was exploring different pastry textures and loved the chewy yet dense texture that sweet rice flour was able to bring to pastries. It reminded me of chewy traditional Korean rice cakes I ate growing up and that texture was familiar and really satisfying to me. For this recipe, I wanted to incorporate one of my favorite flavors, hojicha, with the sweet rice flour as well as browned butter + dark brown sugar for extra depth of flavor. This is how I ended up creating my ideal muffin. Hope you love it. Enjoy the recipe!
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to BY JIYOON to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.