I used to think this was nian gao, because some friends and I had seen this recipe as a "baked coconut nian gao" online. I only recently found out it's called "butter mochi," popular in Hawaiian cuisine.

Either way, butter mochi is exactly as it sounds: a rich buttery chewy rice cake! The picture on the left is passionfruit butter mochi. I substituted some of the evaporated milk and sugar with a passionfruit caramel I had in my freezer. Feel free to get creative!

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Ingredients​

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• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

• 2 cups granulated sugar

• 4 large eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 16 oz. mochiko flour (1 box)

• 2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk

• 1 can (14 oz.) coconut milk

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Instructions

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1. Preheat oven to 350°F, and grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

2. Mix the melted butter and sugar until combined.

3. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Stir in vanilla.

4. Pour in the mochiko and add the baking powder. Stir until mostly combined. Stir in the evaporated milk, then the coconut milk.

5. When the batter is totally smooth, pour into the baking pan and bake for 1 hour, or until the center inserted with a skewer comes out clean. 

6. Cool butter mochi to room temperature. Remove from pan and cut into pieces on a cutting board. 

7. Store in an airtight container if not eating immediately.