Mochi muffins with crispy tops and edges filled with swirls of purple yam puree in every bite. These ube mochi muffins are delicious and so perfect for sharing.
Happy Sunday!
I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend.
It’s been another busy weekend for me. On Friday, we went to House of Prime Ribs to celebrate my cousin’s job promotion and my sister’s graduation. My sister doesn’t officially graduate until the end of spring, but she finished all her classes. So many reasons to celebrate!
And today! My boyfriend, Gordon, and I are taking a New Orleans cooking class at Sur La Table to learn how to make chicken and sausage gumbo, shrimp and grits, and banana foster. I seriously cannot wait to learn how to make New Orleans style dishes and share them with you.
But in the mean time, we have to talk about these ube mochi muffins.
I’m so excited to share these ube mochi muffins with you. For the past couple years, I’ve been sort of obsessed with the mochi muffins I’ve bought from local cafes. Especially all the different flavors from Third Culture Bakery. And so I’ve been wanting to make my own for a little while now.
These ube mochi muffins are variations from these Butter Mochi Cake, these Matcha Butter Mochi Cake, and these Blueberry Mochi Cake. All of which taste amazing. But as much as I love the mochi cake versions, I decided that I want to try to make the muffin version. I mean, those crispy edges <3
Mochi muffins have a crispy top when it comes fresh out of the oven. The inside is soft and chewy and the outside has a layer of crispiness which I absolutely love. It’s kind of like brownies. Do you love the soft fudgy centers or do you love those chewy edges? This version of mochi muffins is filled with ube, or purple yam, which you can find at the local Asian supermarket. It’s the one with the dark skin. Ube has a dark purple center that’s sweet and perfect for desserts. You’re very likely to see more ube dessert recipes in the future.
Over the holidays, I made so many batches of mochi muffins trying to figure out how to get the best crispy top and chewy center. In the end, I brought the many variations I made to a holiday potluck party for everyone to try. Lol
I absolutely love that these ube mochi muffins are filled with fresh ube puree. The dark purple color of the ube turns the center of the mochi muffins a light purple. Every bite of the mochi muffins is filled with a hint of coconut and ube. One of my favorite flavors right now.
First, steam the ube until the center is soft. You can test if the ube is cooked through by testing with a fork. If the fork goes through the center easily, the ube is cooked through. This takes about 20-30 minutes depending on how big the ube is. Allow the ube to cool down completely before removing from the pot. Peel off the skin and use a masher to mash the ube until it becomes mashed and smooth. Set aside for now.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Use cooking oil spray to spray the muffin tins until all the surface is completely covered. The well greased muffin tins will help create the flat tops of the muffins, adding to the crispy edges. Set aside for now.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix together melted butter, vanilla extract, and granulated sugar until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined.
In another mixing bowl, sift together the mochiko flour (sweet rice flour) and baking powder. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix until all the ingredients are combined.
Pour in the evaporated milk, coconut milk, and add ube puree. Mix until the batter comes together. The batter will appear liquidy. Spoon the ube mochi batter into the prepared muffin tin until it’s just below the top. I like using a small ladle to do this. Once you’re done dividing the batter into each of the muffin tins, take the tray and hold it about an inch above the counter and drop it a few times. This helps remove any air bubbles.
Sprinkle black sesame seeds on top if desired.
Bake the mochi muffins for 40-45 minutes. Remove the ube mochi muffins from the oven when the top is browned. Test its readiness by inserting a toothpick into the center. If the toothpick comes out mostly clean, the mochi muffins are ready. Every oven is a little different so start checking at around 38-40 minutes for readiness.
Serve the ube mochi muffins warm. They taste best the same day.
This recipe makes about 20-22 mochi muffins depending on how well you fill the muffin tins. I recommend preparing two 12 cup muffin tin pans and baking simultaneously on different racks. But you can also bake them one batch first and then a second after.
Enjoy!
- 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, beatened
- 16 oz mochiko flour (sweet rice flour)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 - 12 oz can evaporated milk
- 1 - 16 oz can coconut milk
- 1½ cups ube/purple yam puree
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Use cooking oil spray to spray the muffin tins until all the surface is completely covered. The well greased muffin tins will help create the flat tops of the muffins, adding to the crispy edges. Set aside for now.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix together melted butter, vanilla extract, and granulated sugar until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined.
- In another mixing bowl, sift together the mochiko flour (sweet rice flour) and baking powder. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix until all the ingredients are combined.
- Pour in the evaporated milk, coconut milk, and add ube puree. Mix until the batter comes together. The batter will appear liquidy. Spoon the ube mochi batter into the prepared muffin tin until it’s just below the top. I like using a small ladle to do this. Once you’re done dividing the batter into each of the muffin tins, take the tray and hold it about an inch above the counter and drop it a few times. This helps remove any air bubbles.
- Sprinkle black sesame seeds on top if desired.
- Bake the mochi muffins for 40-45 minutes. Remove the ube mochi muffins from the oven when the top is browned. Test its readiness by inserting a toothpick into the center. If the toothpick comes out mostly clean, the mochi muffins are ready. Every oven is a little different so start checking at around 38-40 minutes for readiness.
- Serve the ube mochi muffins warm.
Tram says
Hi Andrea,
I tried this recipe with glutinous rice flour and my muffins came out quite wet and soft in the middle while the top and around the muffin is brown. I’m not sure what I did wrong because my batter is more watery than yours in the photo. Should I use more rice flour ? Thank you
Andrea | Cooking with a Wallflower says
Hi Tram, how much of the glutinous rice flour did you use? The batter was more watery.
Crystal says
i only have a small can of evaporated milk left. Can I substitute half of it with condensed milk? thank you!
Andrea | Cooking with a Wallflower says
Hi Crystal! I don’t think condensed milk will work for this. Plus, it will make the muffins a lot sweeter. You can try it with regular milk and see, but I haven’t tried it with regular milk either. Wish I could be more helpful. Let me know if you try it that way.
Crystal says
ended up making these and it worked! I used ~1 cup condensed milk to fill in, since I didn’t have quite enough evaporated and coconut milk. I also used flavored ube butter from a local Filipino restaurant. I cut the sugar in half (the ube butter was already sweetened as well) and they came out great!
Andrea | Cooking with a Wallflower says
Thanks for updating me! I’m so glad it worked!
Christine says
Hi! Thank you for sharing! I was wondering instead of using fresh ube/ purple yam and I use ube jam??
Andrea | Cooking with a Wallflower says
Hi Christine! You can try it with ube jam if you like. I personally haven’t tried it with ube jam. But it might turn out sweeter since the jam will be sweeter than puree. Hope that helps! Let me know how it turns out!
Zen says
Can I use sweet potatoes puree? I can’t seem to find ube anywhere, in store or Amazon.
Andrea | Cooking with a Wallflower says
Hi! Yes, you can replace with sweet potato if it’s easier for you. I usually find purple yam at the Asian supermarket, but it’s definitely more difficult to run around to look for ingredients right now. Hope you’ll like this!
Eric says
I don’t have coconut milk, is that okay to omit if you have everything else?
Andrea | Cooking with a Wallflower says
Hi Eric! I haven’t tried it without coconut milk so I’m not sure how it would turn out. But the coconut milk does add to the flavor of the mochi so I probably wouldn’t recommend omitting it. Hope that helps!
cthrntan says
Hi Andrea! Thanks for posting this recipe. Are you in the Bay Area? I’ve been having trouble finding fresh ube in SF. And I don’t think I’ve seen frozen ube either. Was thinking of subbing with reconstituted ube from powder? What do you think?
Andrea | Cooking with a Wallflower says
Hi Catherine! I found purple yam at May Wah in the Richmond district. Hope that helps! You should be able to use ube powder too. I haven’t done this recipe with ube powder before so I’m not exactly sure about the ratio. But previously, I used 2 tablespoons of matcha powder. Like with this recipe —> https://cookingwithawallflower.com/2019/03/10/matcha-butter-mochi-cake/
Hope this helps!
Vivien W Li says
Thank you for sharing this recipe! May I ask what could be a substitute for evaporated milk? Can I use regular milk?
Andrea | Cooking with a Wallflower says
Hi Vivien! I haven’t tried with regular milk for this recipe, but it should work. I’d substitute with 1 1/2 cups milk instead. Hope that helps! Let me know how it turns out for you.
Alicia says
i don’t have evaporated milk, can i use whole milk or omit?
Andrea | Cooking with a Wallflower says
Hi Alicia! I haven’t tried it with whole milk, but it should work. I’d substitute with 1 1/2 cups of milk. Hope that helps! Let me know how it turns out.