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An easy and delightful Japanese-inspired dessert featuring chewy, sweet rice dough wrapped around your favorite ice cream flavors. This recipe yields about 12 small mochi ice cream treats with a tender, chewy texture and creamy ice cream center.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup glutinous rice flour (sweet rice flour, such as shiratamako or mochiko)
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • Food coloring (optional, to tint the dough)
  • Cornstarch or potato starch (for dusting and rolling)
  • Ice cream (your favorite kind)

Instructions

  1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; scoop small, firm balls of ice cream, flatten one side so they sit flat, place on the sheet and freeze until solid (about 1 hour).
  2. In a microwave-safe bowl, whisk together glutinous rice flour, sugar, and powdered sugar; slowly add water while stirring until smooth and lump-free.
  3. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and microwave 1 minute; remove and fold with a wet spatula to prevent sticking, cover and microwave 1 minute more; fold again and microwave 30 seconds; if the dough isn’t shiny and stretchy, microwave an additional 30 seconds.
  4. Alternatively, instead of microwaving, steam the mixture for 15 minutes, stir, then steam another 5 minutes until shiny and stretchy.
  5. On a countertop covered with parchment dusted generously with cornstarch or potato starch, scrape the hot mochi dough onto the parchment and dust the top with more starch.
  6. Roll the dough with a rolling pin into a large rectangle about 1/4 inch thick, dusting as needed to prevent sticking; transfer the parchment with the rolled dough onto a baking sheet and chill in the refrigerator 30 minutes.
  7. Cut plastic wrap into large squares—one per ice cream ball—and set aside.
  8. Use a ~3-inch round cutter to cut circles from the chilled dough and brush off excess cornstarch from each circle.
  9. Working with one frozen ice cream ball at a time, place the scoop in the center of a mochi circle, gently gather and pinch the dough up and around the ice cream to seal tightly and remove air pockets.
  10. Set each sealed mochi ball on a square of plastic wrap, twist the top to seal, repeat with remaining balls, then place the wrapped mochi in the freezer (twist-side down) and freeze at least 1 hour before serving.

Notes

Use plenty of cornstarch, potato starch, or tapioca flour to prevent sticking while working with the mochi dough., Dip your spatula in water to keep it from sticking during folding and handling the dough., Choose a cutter about 1 inch larger than your ice cream scoop diameter for a snug wrap without excess dough., Microwave cooking is quicker and fuss-free; steaming yields traditional texture but takes longer., Try flavor variations by adding matcha powder, cocoa powder, peanut butter, or vanilla extract to the dough., Use any ice cream, gelato, sorbet, or dairy-free frozen dessert to suit dietary needs., For storage, wrap each mochi tightly in plastic wrap and place in an airtight container to freeze up to 3 months., Allow mochi ice cream to sit at room temperature for 5–15 minutes before serving for optimal softness., Avoid reheating mochi ice cream directly in the microwave as it can melt unevenly and become soggy.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://gingerbaking.com/mochi-ice-cream/