Gluten Free Chocolate Mochi Ice Cream

Mochi is a naturally gluten-free Japanese dessert, served during Japanese New Year and year round, usually in the form of a very starch rice cake. However, that same starchy rice dough is used to wrap frozen balls of ice cream. Mochi ice cream is a unique dessert that everyone should, at least, try once! Kids would love to make them! The little ones can help. You can add food coloring to the dough, and flavored extracts, as well. I like to use natural food coloring or cocoa powder. It can be made with a regular or dairy-free ice cream, sherbet or frozen yogurt. They remind me of bon-bons! Have fun with this one!

Gluten-free Chocolate Mochi Ice Cream

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Yield: Makes 10 - 12 mochi ice cream pieces.

Gluten-free Chocolate Mochi Ice Cream

Gluten free mochi ice cream balls similar to bon bons, but a bit starchier. A wonderful Japanese treat.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup gluten-free ice cream, sherbet or frozen yogurt
  • 1/2 cup filtered water
  • 1/4 cup evaporated cane juice or sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon pure cocoa powder (or a few drops of natural food coloring) (optional)
  • 1/2 cup sweet rice flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon extract flavoring of your choice (almond, mint, etc.) (optional)
  • 2 - 3 Tablespoons tapioca flour/starch for dusting

Instructions:

  1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or wax paper.
  2. Using a small cookie or ice cream scooper (I used a 1 tablespoon scooper, about 1 1/4" wide), add single scoops of ice cream on the lined cookie sheet.
  3. Freeze until frozen.
  4. In a small size pan, bring the sugar, water (and if using, cocoa) to a boil, stirring occasionally.
  5. Remove from heat and whisk in the sweet rice flour until smooth.
  6. Return back to heat cook on medium for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. It soon will roll up into a ball and it will need to be turned continuously, versus stirred. Remove from heat.
  7. If using an extract, place it and stir it into the dough at this time with a spoon.
  8. Sprinkle tapioca starch on a clean, flat surface covered with parchment paper or wax paper.
  9. Place the hot dough onto the tapioca starch dusted surface. With your hands spread the dough out in order for it to cool quickly. Cool for about 15 minutes.
  10. Measure one tablespoon of dough; dust your hands very lightly with tapioca starch; and roll it into a ball. Then flatten it. With your fingers continuously turn the circle and flatten it, widening the circle. It's almost like making a miniature pizza crust. Stop once the circle is about 3" wide. Make sure you don't have any thin areas.
  11. Place an ice cream ball in the center, upside down (flat side up); wrap the dough around it by stretching the ends to the center of the bottom; and pinch to seal. If any of your frozen ice cream balls have any pointy or strange protrusions cut it off with a knife. It's okay if the ball is sitting on a little plate, as it tends to melt a bit prior to freezing. You won't see this once covered.
  12. Place each ball, seam side down, on a cleanly lined parchment paper baking sheet. Freeze each ball as you make them. When using dark color mochi it tends to whiten a bit after frozen. If you desire, you can wet them a tiny bit to darken them again or eat as is.
  13. Keep frozen in an airtight container. May be kept in the freezer up to one month.

Tips

Add any extract you like to flavor the dough. Once the cooking cycle is complete just add the extract or food coloring and knead in the dough.

If you using cocoa powder or any dark coloring the tapioca flour may show on the ball itself. Just lightly wet your finger tip and dissolve the flour.

 

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