Chocolate Birthday Cake Butter Mochi
Sprinkles always bring joy to a cake, but add Pop Rocks and you have a celebration, complete with a mini fireworks show. This recipe from the chef Sheldon Simeon and Garrett Snyder’s 2021 book, “Cook Real Hawai’i,” takes chocolate butter mochi to the max with a creamy peanut butter topping and lots and lots of candy. Add the Pop Rocks just before serving; the candy has a tendency to ping off as it reacts with the moisture in the frosting. The butter mochi is best the day it is made, but will keep a couple of days covered in the refrigerator.
- Total:
- Serves: 1 person
Ingredients
- 12tablespoons/170 grams salted butter, cut into chunks, plus more for greasing the pan
- 1cup/173 grams semisweet chocolate chips
- 2cups/403 grams granulated sugar
- 3large eggs
- 2teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1(12-ounce/354-milliliter) can evaporated milk
- 1(13.5-ounce/399-milliliter) can unsweetened coconut milk
- 3cups/454 grams mochiko (sweet rice flour), like Blue Star brand
- 1tablespoon baking powder
- ¼cup/24 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1cup/250 grams creamy peanut butter
- 1cup/201 grams Demerara or turbinado sugar
- ¼cup/48 grams Pop Rocks candy, from 5 (.33-ounce/9.5-gram) packages, any flavor, for finishing (optional)
- 4ounces/113 grams rainbow sprinkles, for finishing
Instructions
Step 1
Make the butter mochi: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with butter.Step 2
In a microwave-safe large bowl, melt the 12 tablespoons butter and chocolate chips by microwaving on high in 30-second increments, stirring and repeating as needed, until just melted.Step 3
Add the granulated sugar to the melted chocolate and stir until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla and milks.Step 4
In a large bowl, stir together the mochiko, baking powder and cocoa powder until evenly distributed. Fold the liquid chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients, stirring until thoroughly mixed. When the batter is totally smooth, pour it into the prepared baking pan.Step 5
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool slightly.Step 6
As the cake cools, make the frosting: In a bowl with an electric mixer, whip together the peanut butter and Demerara sugar until the mixture has the texture of frosting.Step 7
While the cake is still slightly warm, spread the frosting evenly over the top. Let cool to room temperature. Just before serving, sprinkle with Pop Rocks, if using, and shower sprinkles over the top, then cut into squares and serve.