Daifuku is a Japanese mochi dessert stuffed with a sweet filling. The beautiful color of matcha powder will remind you of young green leaves. The whipped cream filling also gives it a nice accent.
Let's prepare the whipped cream filling. Chill the bowl of heavy cream on ice cubes. Add the sugar and beat the cream with a hand mixer. When it reaches a stiff peak stage, clean the beaters. Spoon the whipped cream into the pastry bag with a nozzle. Give it a little squeeze to remove the air inside.
Cover a tray with plastic wrap and squeeze the whipped cream into a round shape. The cream should be about the size of your thumb. Place the tray in the freezer to harden the cream. Alternatively, this frozen cream can be used as a dessert topping.
Now, the cream is completely frozen. Quickly flatten the anko, red bean paste. Cover the frozen cream with the anko. The food preparation gloves will help to avoid softening the cream.
Store the anko balls in the freezer while making the mochi wrapper.
Dilute the matcha green tea powder with water. Add a minimal amount of water to dissolve it. Dust a generous amount of potato starch onto a tray. We will be dividing very sticky mochi on the surface later.
Let's make the mochi. Combine the mochiko, sweet rice flour and granulated sugar in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the water and thoroughly mix.
Loosely cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Then, microwave the mixture at 600 watts for 2 minutes.
Remove the plastic wrap. Lightly wet the inner surface of the bowl with a kitchen brush. This will help in removing the mochi later.
Thoroughly knead the mixture with a dampened wooden paddle.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap again. Microwave the mochi for 1 more minute. When the mochi begins to look translucent, stop heating it. Heating the mochi in 2 steps will help avoid overcooking.
Wet the inside of the bowl again and knead the mochi thoroughly. Add the diluted matcha green tea powder and mix. Diluting the powder beforehand will help it combine with the mochi.
When the matcha is distributed evenly, transfer the mochi to the tray covered with potato starch.
While coating the mochi with the starch, carefully stretch it into a long oval shape. Then, tear the mochi into 5 equal pieces.
Remove the anko balls from the freezer.
Shape the mochi piece into a flat circle. The clean even surface should be facing outward. Place the anko onto the center and quickly gather the mochi toward the top.
Tightly close the edges of the mochi. Repeat the process to wrap the rest of the anko balls.
Adjust the shape of the daifuku and remove the excess potato starch. Dampen the daifuku with a kitchen brush.
Sprinkle on the matcha powder and enjoy the gorgeous matcha daifuku. The combination of the anko and cream is amazing!
Recipe Notes
Compared to Shiratamako, which is another type of sweet rice flour, Mochiko, regular sweet rice flour easily absorbs water so it is easy to combine the mixture.
If the mochi dough becomes cool, it is very difficult to stretch so wrap the anko balls as soon as possible.
The dough tastes better when it is steamed.😋 This is because, with plenty of steam, the dough absorbs the moisture evenly as well as the heat.
Using microwave, you can make the dough easily but the wattage and time should be appropriate. Please try both methods if possible.😊 Thank you for your question!
Toral Odedra
2 years ago
How long does it take for the whipped cream to freeze?
Ah okay, thank you for replying. I am using my recipe for my coursework so I just wanted to know if it would freeze in the time that I have. Once again thanks 🙏🏽
You are welcome! Good luck with your coursework.😊💓
Patty Leung
2 years ago
I made your Strawberry Daifuku at the same time as the Matcha Cream Daifuku. I noticed the Strawberry one the dough is steamed while the Matcha one is microwaved. I’m curious on what’s the difference between the two? Can I steam the dough for the matcha one as well?
Yes.😃 You can also steam the dough for the matcha daifuku.👌 A microwave oven is convenient when you don’t have a steamer or a large pot that can be used as a steamer.♨️ Sorry for the late reply.🙇 We are very glad to know you tried both strawberry daifuku and matcha cream daifuku❣️
Yw Yw
3 years ago
When we knead the rice flour after each microwaving, how long should we knead it? Or are there any visual cues that tell us the batter has been kneaded long enough? Thank you!
When you make the daifuku with the same amount of the recipe (5 pieces), quickly kneading the rice flour for about 1 minute should be enough.😊 Hope you will enjoy the delicious dessert soon❣️
We use matcha from Uji, Kyoto but don’t have a particular brand name to recommend.🍵😊 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uji_tea
Which is the best way to make mochi? Steam or Microwave?
The dough tastes better when it is steamed.😋 This is because, with plenty of steam, the dough absorbs the moisture evenly as well as the heat.
Using microwave, you can make the dough easily but the wattage and time should be appropriate. Please try both methods if possible.😊 Thank you for your question!
How long does it take for the whipped cream to freeze?
Place the whipped cream in the freezer for an hour. If it still hasn’t hardened enough, leave it for another hour.😊
Ah okay, thank you for replying. I am using my recipe for my coursework so I just wanted to know if it would freeze in the time that I have. Once again thanks 🙏🏽
You are welcome! Good luck with your coursework.😊💓
I made your Strawberry Daifuku at the same time as the Matcha Cream Daifuku. I noticed the Strawberry one the dough is steamed while the Matcha one is microwaved. I’m curious on what’s the difference between the two? Can I steam the dough for the matcha one as well?
Yes.😃 You can also steam the dough for the matcha daifuku.👌 A microwave oven is convenient when you don’t have a steamer or a large pot that can be used as a steamer.♨️ Sorry for the late reply.🙇 We are very glad to know you tried both strawberry daifuku and matcha cream daifuku❣️
When we knead the rice flour after each microwaving, how long should we knead it? Or are there any visual cues that tell us the batter has been kneaded long enough? Thank you!
When you make the daifuku with the same amount of the recipe (5 pieces), quickly kneading the rice flour for about 1 minute should be enough.😊 Hope you will enjoy the delicious dessert soon❣️