~These donuts from Mochinut were oh, so good. (June 1, 2024)~
Two years ago, I got to try some mochi donuts from Mochinut while on a date with Raymond. They were delicious but driving about an hour, through often heavy traffic, to get more, didn’t sound too appealing. So, I looked up a recipe and attempted it with moderate success. They weren’t pretty but they were delicious. I wanted to make more, but a part of me must have remembered just how fussy they were to make because it kept getting put off.
~My first attempt. They were a little misshapen but they were yummy!! (July 3 , 2024)~
I asked for some mochi donuts for a special occasion last year but Raymond had difficulty with the yeast step. So, he apologetically offered to make me something else for dessert. He always makes me yummy desserts, so it wasn’t a total loss. It didn’t scratch that mochi donut itch, though. I determined I would just make them again myself…eventually. I honestly thought the baking goals on my Forty Before Forty list would be a lot easier to check off, even though they were more involved than some recipes. I have had the ingredients on hand for these donuts for months. It’s kinda crazy that two of them made it until the month before my birthday to be completed!
Instead of waiting for a special occasion, or for everything to be as ideal as possible (my health, the kitchen being tidy etc.), I got everything out on Tuesday with an optimistic determination. I felt like I was doomed from the get go, though. I had trouble with the yeast step, even though I don’t recall struggling with it the first time. I was making an absolute mess as I went along, and bemoaning the complete lack of space my kitchen offers for food prep. After hours of missteps and then waiting for the dough to proof, I poured said dough onto my mat. It just spread itself out in a gelatanous, gloopy mess. It reminded me of when Odo’s character on DS9 was trying to coax the other Changeling he’d encountered to take the shape of different objects, but it kept defaulting to a goopy blob. The point is, it was not in an ideal state to be rolled into a log, let alone cut into twelve pieces. It was already dark outside, which on a summer night means it’s pretty late. It was a flop.
~This was tidy compared to the mess that remained at the end of my failed attempt. (June 23, 2026)~
~Blorp…Let me just roll at into a log. (June 23, 2026)~
I reevaluated what could have gone wrong and realized that using tapioca flour, instead of the tapioca starch the recipe called for, likely was the culprit. I wasn’t sure if it explained all of the reasons my mochi-flop donuts failed, but I sought out some tapioca starch online and promptly ordered it. The starch arrived yesterday afternoon, so I decided not to wait any longer to make another attempt.
Unceremoniously, I set out to make my mochi donuts today. I was facing it with a decidedly grim determination this time around. I didn’t even think to take pictures until the rings of dough balls were sitting in front of me, ready for another proofing. It was like I let out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding. At that point, I was almost home free. I just needed to deep fry them, then dip them in glaze. I decided to go with a matcha glaze, and adapted the chocolate glaze from the recipe to be a carob glaze instead.
~Ready to proof for another twenty minutes. (June 26, 2026)~
~Sizzling in a pan of oil. (June 26, 2026)~
~They got a little more browned than I meant them to be, but they still tasted great. (June 26, 2026)~
~The carob glaze in the forefront and the matcha glaze in the back. (June 26, 2026)~
They weren’t very pretty, but they were delicious. So delicious, in fact, that I may have eaten four over the course of the evening. Ahem. My son also tried one of the matcha ones, and Raymond ate two of those when he got home from work. Thankfully, they were still pretty fresh because I hadn’t made them that long ago. I am glad they were a hit! I am glad that I proved to myself that I can still make them. I am also glad that I attempted the glazes this time, instead of just going with powdered mochi donuts like I did last time. If I don’t want to drive an hour away to satisfy my craving, which is very likely, then this is a good alternative.
~My son loves matcha and matcha flavored foods, so this was an easy choice for him. (June 26, 2026)~
~I am learning how to sub carob in a lot of things that call for chocolate, so that has been very exciting for me and opened up a lot of recipes that I thought were no longer possible for me. (June 26, 2026)~
If you want to attempt them for yourself, you can try this mochi donut recipe from Sugar Yums.
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