Hojicha and Matcha Mochi Mini Muffin 焙茶&抹茶麻糬迷你鬆餅

Recently one of my Hong Kong high school friends moved back to Vancouver from Hong Kong with her husband. We took watercolor class together and I invited her to my place for dinner few weeks ago. She is really talented with soap and candle making, and she also did lots of handmade cards when she was in Hong Kong. She brought her handmade candle and also a pack of Matcha powder when she came to my place. She told me that this Matcha Powder is good for baking. It's matcha flavor and color are still strong after baking. I can't wait to try this on my next baking project.

I decided to make some mochi mini muffin by using her Matcha Powder and some of my own leftover Hojicha powder. The flavor of Matcha bursts out and the color still stays bright green. I am happy with that. I packed some of them and gave them to her as a return gift. Hope she likes it 💖

Recipe adapted from One Happy Bite:

Ingredients (make 36 mini muffins)

• ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk
• ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 cups Mochiko sweet rice flour (If you want less chewy with more cake texture, you can substitute 1/8 cups Mochiko flour with cake flour)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp matcha powder (I use 1 tbsp matcha powder and 1 tbsp Hojicha powder to make two flavors)
• ¼ cup hot water (Divided 1/8 & 1/8 for 2 flavors)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously grease the muffin tin with butter or cooking spray.
2. Melt butter in a small pot over medium heat. Once butter is melted, turn the heat off. Add coconut milk and condensed milk, whisk until combined. Then add eggs, and whisk until well combined. Set the wet ingredients aside.
3. In a small bowl, mix matcha powder with hot water. (mix Hojicha powder with hot water). Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, prepare dry ingredients by combining sweet rice flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt together.
5. Slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, whisking constantly until well combined. (Divide batter in half if making 2 flavors). Then add matcha mixture and mix until no lumps. (Add matcha mixture to half the batter and add Hojicha mixture to another half batter)
6. Fill muffin tins with batter up to just below the rim. Bang the muffin tin onto the counter a few times to get rid of air bubbles. 
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.
8. Allow the muffins to cool completely before serving. The muffins get chewier as they get cooler.

Notes

Mochi muffins can be stored in an air tight container for up to 3 days.