Achieve A Soft And Chewy Mochi Ice Cream Treat With Just 2 Ingredients
There's something extremely satisfying about biting into a chewy, doughy, creamy, and cold mochi ice cream treat. The different textures, temperatures, and tantalizing flavors blend together into one mouthwatering bite. Deliciousness aside, this yummy dessert is also super easy and fun to make yourself. The best part is that only two ingredients are needed to make this tasty treat: Ice cream and glutinous rice flour.
Before making your own two-ingredient mochi ice cream balls, it helps to know a bit of the background of this treat that blends Japanese and American food cultures. Traditional Japanese mochi is made of a sweet glutinous rice called mochigome that is steamed, pounded into dough, and formed into a ball. Modern and Americanized versions of mochi often include fruity fillings or, as is the case with mochi ice cream, mochi dough wrapped around various fruity or chocolatey flavors of ice cream.
Who doesn't love quick and easy-to-make desserts? They're low commitment, fun to make, and don't involve emptying the entire pantry. When making your own scrumptious mochi ice cream treats, the ice cream is used in the dough as well as for the filling. To make the mochi dough, melt a bowl of ice cream in the microwave, then add the glutinous rice flour, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and stick it back in the microwave for a couple of minutes. Once it's cooled, you can knead the dough and work it into portions to wrap around your scoops of ice cream.
What is glutinous rice flour?
Glutinous rice flour is made from ground cooked and dehydrated kernels of glutinous rice — a sticky, sweet rice with several varieties, including Japanese mochigome. The sticky texture of glutinous rice makes this flour perfect for mochi, dumplings, sticky rice cakes, sesame balls, and other chewy treats. Contrary to its name, glutinous rice flour is gluten-free just like regular rice flour. So, if you choose the right ice cream, mochi ice cream treats can be a delicious gluten-free snack for you to enjoy at home.
You can use any brand of glutinous rice flour you can find but keep in mind that different types may absorb moisture differently, resulting in dough that's more dry or more sticky depending on which type you choose. Due to its versatility, glutinous rice flour is probably one of the best things to buy in an Asian grocery store. You can also buy it on Amazon or from other online retailers.
Since dough made with glutinous rice flour will be very sticky, when making your mochi ice cream treats make sure to rub some cooking oil on your hands or wear food prep gloves. If the dough turns out too wet and not sticky enough, it's possible you added too much ice cream to the dough or didn't microwave it long enough. It will also thicken as it cools down, so don't start kneading it immediately out of the microwave.
Yummy ice cream flavors to try
One of the best parts of making your own mochi ice cream treats is that you can choose your favorite ice cream flavor. For something sweet, tangy, fruity, and refreshing, try using mango ice cream. Just make sure to use ice cream and not sorbet when making two-ingredient mochi ice cream treats because the cream is crucial for making the dough. Other yummy flavors include cookies and cream, strawberry, chocolate, and matcha ice cream, to name a few. The color of the ice cream will give your matcha dough its vibrant color, making it look equally as beautiful as they are delicious.
To ensure you can wrap the ice cream in the dough properly, a helpful tip is to scoop the ice cream balls onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and freeze them for an hour or so before trying to wrap them in the dough. That way, they'll be nice and compact when you fold the dough around them. Also, you'll have an easier time wrapping the ice cream balls if they are frozen solid so you may want to remove one or a couple at a time from the freezer as you wrap them instead of the entire pan. Store the finished treats in the freezer and allow them to sit for a few minutes when you take them out before eating — this will give you more of the doughy texture and make them easier to bite into.