-credit to A RINGO A DAY-
There's always something about a daifuku that lures you into eating it. It doesn't matter if you're not a big fan of sweets in general, doesn't really enjoy biting into the chewy texture of mochi, or perhaps already feeling quite full.
You just cannot let this adorable ball of pillowy fluff go. It needs to get in your belly!
(I made mine really big, btw)
So let's get over with the ingredients to get started!
For the mochi:
100g glutinous rice flour
25g corn starch
40g sugar
150ml milk
10g unsalted butter
(or you can use any kind of oil you fancy)
Kinako Powder (Roasted Soy Bean Powder) or for coating, or you can roast some glutinous rice flour over the pan (to cook them) instead.
For the filling:
any choice of your favourite sponge cake, cut into bite size
you can also add in some chopped fruits, or even crushed oreos
whipped cream or your choice of milk spread
I used Gardenia Chocolate Twiggies (I cut each log into 3, but on hindsight I should have done 4 instead) and some homemade coffee milk spread as I personally hate whipped cream. But to get pretty looking daifuku (大福), also called 雪媚娘 in Chinese, it's best to use whipped cream such that you'll get a snowy white ball.
adapted from Amanda Tastes
First up, let's prepare the mochi dough! In a heat proof bowl, add in all the dry ingredients and milk, stir well until everything is well combined and there's no lumps at all. Then, steam the batter in the steamer (or over a pot of simmering water) for 15 to 20 minutes until the batter is fully cooked through into a dough. You can also do this step in a microwave.
While the cooked dough is still hot from the steamer, add in the butter and let it melt from the mochi dough's heat. Using a pestle or some other sturdy rod, pound the mochi dough to allow the melted butter to get incorporated into the dough, and also to allow the burning hot dough to cool down slightly. When the dough is cooled to a temperature that's manageable with your hands, knead for at least a few more minutes until the mochi gets a smoother and stretchy texture. The longer you knead the mochi dough, the better the texture will be. Do wear a pair of gloves, or oil your hands, as the mochi dough will be very sticky.
Then, pop the dough into a plastic/ziplock bag and roll it out as flat as possible. Set the mochi dough sheet in the fridge to cool off for at least an hour or two.
After an hour, the mochi dough sheet should have "toughen" up slightly and a little easier to work with, but will still be extremely sticky. Dust your work surface generously either with kinako powder or with the glutinous rice flour that you've roasted over the pan previously. Roll out the mochi dough sheet further to your desired thickness. A quarter of a centimetre should be quite alright, unless you like your mochi skin exceptionally thick, or thin. But do note that if you roll your mochi dough out too thin, it may end up tearing when you're wrapping & shaping up the daifuku.
Okay, so to wrap and form your daifuku, you can choose to challenge yourself and do it freehand, or find a small bowl or spherical mould to help make your life easier. According to the size of your cut-out sponge cake, cut out an appropriate size of the mochi dough sheet and lay it over the mould. Add in as much (or as little) of the whipped cream (or milk spread) according to your personal preference and put a piece of the sponge cake over it. If you're also adding in other toppings like chopped fruits, nuts or crushed oreos, add them in after the whipped cream before placing in the cake. Then, gather the ends of the mochi dough and pinch them together tightly to form a spherical ball. You can twist off any extra portion of the mochi dough and re-roll them out to get a brand new sheet of mochi dough, or do it like me (if you don't mind your daifuku having a ridiculously fat "butt") and tuck then excess mochi in on the bottom of the daifuku.
Then, it's best to keep the daifuku in your bowls/moulds and let them rest in the fridge for another hour or two for them to firm up and hold their round shape.
And Tadaa~
That's the "fat butt" I was talking about at the bottom of my daifuku. Haha! But it really shouldn't matter if you are a mochi lover.
Till then,
Mia Foo
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