Mochi Ice Cream — ice cream wrapped in soft mochi
Mochi ice cream is a now-globally-famous Japanese dessert: a small scoop of ice cream wrapped in a thin layer of soft mochi, then frozen and eaten by the bite. The cold mochi stays chewy (rather than freezing solid) so the texture stays interesting all the way through.
i. Origin & history
Mochi ice cream as we know it was invented in 1981 by Frances Hashimoto of Mikawaya, a Japanese-American confectionery business in Los Angeles. The product brought a piece of Japanese sweet culture into Western freezers and is now globally distributed — though the original at Mikawaya is still arguably the best.
ii. Ingredients
Makes 8 servings · scroll the side panel to adjust
- 150 g shiratamako
- 60 g caster sugar
- 180 ml water
- 60 g potato starch for dusting
- 8 small scoops of ice cream (vanilla, matcha, strawberry, etc.), pre-frozen on a tray
iii. Method
- Scoop the ice cream into 30 g balls; freeze on a parchment-lined tray for at least 2 hours so they're rock-hard.
- Microwave rice flour, sugar and water as for mochi — 90/60/30 sec with stirring between. Tip onto a starch-dusted surface; cool just enough to handle.
- Divide into 8. Roll each piece thin (about 1.5 mm). Working very quickly, place a frozen ice-cream ball in the centre; gather mochi up and pinch closed; turn seam-side down.
- Place each finished mochi ice cream back on the parchment tray and re-freeze immediately. Eat the same day or the next.
iv. Tips & common mistakes
- Ice cream must be frozen hard. Soft ice cream melts on contact with the warm mochi.
- Work in batches of one or two. Speed is everything; if the mochi cools too far it cracks.
- Eat from semi-frozen. Straight from the freezer the mochi is too hard; let sit 30 seconds first.
v. Variations
Endless flavour combinations — green tea, mango, ube, black sesame, coffee, raspberry. The shell can also be flavoured/tinted to match (green for matcha, pink for strawberry).
vi. Common questions
What is mochi ice cream?
Mochi Ice Cream is ice cream wrapped in soft mochi, from japanese cuisine. The cold mochi stays chewy (rather than freezing solid) so the texture stays interesting all the way through
Where is mochi ice cream from?
Mochi Ice Cream is from the japanese dessert tradition; the recipe and history are detailed above.
How long does mochi ice cream keep?
See the storage note in the Quick facts panel: 3 days frozen.