Chocolate Birthday Cake Butter Mochi

Recipe from Sheldon Simeon

Adapted by Sara Bonisteel

Updated June 19, 2023

Chocolate Birthday Cake Butter Mochi
Christopher Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
1 hour 15 minutes, plus cooling
Rating
4(880)
Comments
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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. —Sara Bonisteel

Featured in: The Best Party Dessert Comes From Hawaii

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Ingredients

Yield:1 (9-by-13-inch) cake

    For the Butter Mochi

    • 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

    For the Frosting

    • 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
Ingredient Substitution Guide
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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the butter mochi: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with butter.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. Step 5

    Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool slightly.

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

Ratings

4 out of 5
880 user ratings
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Comments

Beth

Made this with my kids, and it was a big hit, in spite of the many substitutions we ended up making. An extra egg was added by mistake; we had no evaporated milk, so we subbed half milk/half cream; we used bittersweet chocolate instead of semisweet; we reduced sugar by half-cup; we were out of peanut butter, so we made a fudge topping—sweetened condensed coconut milk and super-dark chocolate. Also, alas, no pop rocks. Still delicious and so much fun to eat!

Greg Horesovsky

I made this yesterday for a surprise for my adult daughter’s birthday. It was fantastic and so much fun to eat. The butter mochi is pillowy with a marshmallow texture, but tastes like an incredible brownie. But the real star is the topping. Though it took me almost an hour to get the Demerara sugar to break down in the peanut butter in my stand mixer, it’s slightly sandy texture was a terrific contrast to the mochi. DO NOT skip the pop rocks! Such an unexpected surprise!

Caitlin T

This was amazing. Note to chefs: you are making mochi; not a cake, not brownies…mochi. If you have never had mochi, please read what it is before making this recipe. When you make the frosting, it will be a weird texture with the sugar, but it is important to put it on when the mochi is still warm. It integrates with the mochi perfectly upon cooling.

Ana

Wanted to, but didn’t love! Made the recipe as directed but maybe should have cut the sugar a bit. These are SUPER sweet and probably great for a kids party - I did not make them for a kids party and found them overpowering. Love the mochi aspect though! Super fun to make.

Amy

This was a really fun and super yummy cake. Kid approved!

Ellen

Fun and delicious. I mixed the frosting for a minute or two, then frosted the cake warm. I loved the Pop Rocks, which added a little citrus-y hit. This feeds a crowd!

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Credits

Adapted from “Cook Real Hawai‘i” by Sheldon Simeon and Garrett Snyder (Clarkson Potter, 2021)

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