The Best Baked Mochi Donut Recipe Experiment (Pt2)

The search for the best baked mochi donut recipe continues! I love mochi in every shape or form, so I took on this challenge to create a healthier baked mochi recipe that I can enjoy without all the guilt.

In this part, I'll focus on how healthy add-ins such as applesauce, pumpkin puree and Greek yogurt can be added to mochi donut recipes without sacrificing too much of its unique texture. Check out Part 1 of my Best Baked Mochi Donut Recipe Experiment for healthier flour substitutions.

My goal:

What I hope to achieve with these new donut recipes:

• Chewy, springy, glutinous (sticky) in texture
• Light and fluffy on the inside
• Takes less than 30 minutes to make
• Under 10 ingredients
• Easy on clean-up
• Not deep fried --> baked
• Lighter on carbs and calories than original
• Healthier than original

My mochi recipe experiment is divided into multiple parts. The first part will cover flour substitutions, the second will cover healthy add-ins (applesauce, pumpkin puree, greek yogurt, etc.), and the third part will be about paleo substitutions.

Equipment

_{**I’ve linked some of these equipments / ingredients to amazon.com to give you an idea of what they are, but you should also be able to find them in your local grocery store (usually, the baking aisle or natural & organic food section). They are also affiliate links, which means that I earn a commission as an Amazon Associate if you decide to purchase the items. The price will be the same for you, link or no link} 

At first, I tried using both metal and silicone donut pans. Later on, I went with the silicone one because the donuts were easier to remove from the pans. IMPORTANT TIP: spray or grease the pans (even the silicone ones) with oil before using. It'll save you a lot of frustration when taking your donuts out of the pans.

Evaluation Method

I evaluated the donuts based on the outer texture, mouthfeel, appearance, and crumb. I decided to assign number (star) values to each recipe where the number would represent relative ranks. Since I couldn't exactly rank donuts on ambiguous terms like "mouthfeel" or "texture" (for example, a cakey donut could have better or worse texture as a chewy donut depending on preference), I picked more specific rankable traits like "chewy," "glutinous," "volume," "tenderness," and "nutrition."

Here's what each trait means in this guide

Most 5 >>>4>>>3>>>2>>>1 Least

Healthy Ingredient Add-Ins

I used the almond flour mochi donut recipe from part 1, and replaced the liquid (unsweetened almond milk) with a variety of ingredients.

½ cup mochiko flour (a.k.a sweet rice flour)
½ almond flour
½ cup sugar
¼ tsp salt
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp olive oil
½ tsp baking soda
⅓ cup unsweetened almond milk --> Used a Healthier Substitute
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla

Directions: Mix all ingredients together with a whisk.

Spoon or pour into a well-greased donut pan (fill to ¾ full).

Bake in a 350F preheated oven for about 15-18 minutes (about 20-22 minutes for silicone donut pan).

Makes 6-8 donuts depending on pan size.

Applesauce Mochi Donuts

In this recipe I substituted the ⅓ cup unsweetened almond milk with ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce. Full recipe here. Since applesauce has less water content than almond milk I could have used more, but I decided to stay with the 1:1 substitution to keep things simple.

These applesauce mochi donuts were the best! They were fluffy, springy and subtlely sweet. The chew was there, with a smooth silky inner crumb.

Update: I also tried applesauce with a part coconut-flour mochi donut recipe, here

½ cup mochiko flour (a.k.a sweet rice flour)
½ almond flour
½ cup sugar
¼ tsp salt
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp olive oil
½ tsp baking soda
⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla

Review of Applesauce Mochi Donuts

Chewy	★★★★	4
Glutinous	★★★★	4
Tender	★★★★	4
Volume	★★★	3
Nutritious	★★★★★	5

Greek Yogurt Mochi Donut

This time, instead of the ⅓ cup almond milk I used ⅓ cup Greek Yogurt. Full recipe here. The result? Not so good...

The Greek yogurt batter spilled out of the donut wells and spread all over the donut pan. I'm guessing that the Greek yogurt (due to its acidity) may have contributed to a crazy rise in the batter. They also looked a bit like flying saucers. Surprisingly, the texture of the donuts was soft and tender, less "mochi" like but more "cake" like. The donuts also kept soft even the day after.

**UPDATE: I reduced the amount of Greek yogurt I added to ¼ cup, and the results were much better! See the full recipe here

½ cup mochiko flour (a.k.a sweet rice flour)
½ almond flour
½ cup sugar
¼ tsp salt
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp olive oil
½ tsp baking soda
⅓ cup Greek Yogurt --> **UPDATE: ¼ cup was better
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla

• 

• 

Review of Greek Yogurt Mochi Donuts

Chewy	★★★	3
Glutinous	★★	2
Tender	★★★★★	5
Volume	★★★	3
Nutritious	★★★★★	5

Banana Mochi Donut

In this recipe I substituted the ⅓ cup unsweetened almond milk with ⅓ cup mashed bananas. Full recipe here.

Review: the banana mochi donuts were fluffy and extra springy! I loved the subtle sweetness of the bananas and how moist and tender the crumb was.

½ cup mochiko flour (a.k.a sweet rice flour)
½ almond flour
½ cup sugar
¼ tsp salt
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp olive oil
½ tsp baking soda
⅓ cup mashed bananas
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla

Review of Banana Mochi Donuts

Chewy	★★★★	4
Glutinous	★★★★	4
Tender	★★★★	4
Volume	★★★★	4
Nutritious	★★★★★	5

Pumpkin Mochi Donut

So this recipe is a little different. I substituted the ⅓ cup almond milk with ⅓ cup pumpkin puree and also left out the baking soda and apple cider vinegar to reduce leavening (egg will leaven it a little but not as much as these two combined). My goal was to make the mochi donuts more dense and chewy (kind of like my mochi blondies). Full recipe here.

Result: the donuts were dense, but equally chewy and glutinous! I can see some people liking this unleavened version of mochi donuts better than the leavened ones.

½ cup mochiko flour (a.k.a sweet rice flour)
½ almond flour
½ cup sugar
¼ tsp salt
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp olive oil
½ tsp baking soda
⅓ cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla

Review of Pumpkin Mochi Donuts

Chewy	★★★★★	5
Glutinous	★★★★★	5
Tender	★	1
Volume	★★	2
Nutritious	★★★★★	5

Conclusion

Order of preference: Applesauce > Banana > Greek Yogurt = Pumpkin

Don't forget to reference this flour substitution guide to find your favorite mochi donut texture!

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