For Shuai Wang, chef at Short Grain, Jackrabbit Filly, and King BBQ in Charleston, South Carolina, mochi is his all-time favorite sweet treat, reminding him of holidays with family. Wang’s second favorite dessert? Classic Southern pecan pie. This Hawaiian-style butter mochi cake combines the best qualities of both. It has all the nutty richness you expect from pecan pie filling, plus any cloying sweetness gets tempered by the miso.
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What you’ll need
Sweet Rice Flour
$2.99 At Weee!
9" Round Cake Pan
$16 $13 At Amazon
Wire Cooling Rack
$17 At Bon Appétit Market
Rimmed Baking Sheet
$28 At Amazon
French Wire Whisk
$18 $16 At Amazon
Spatula
$13 At Amazon
Recipe information
Total Time
1 hour 30 minutes
Yield
10–12 servings
Ingredients
Pecans
Cake and Assembly
Preparation
Pecans
Step 1
Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 350°. Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet with vegetable oil. Using your hands, toss 8 oz. raw pecans, coarsely chopped (about 2 cups), 2 Tbsp. pure maple syrup, 1 Tbsp. sugar, and 2 tsp. white or yellow miso in a medium bowl until well coated. Spread out on prepared baking sheet; bake until fragrant and matte looking, 6–8 minutes (nuts won’t be fully toasted). Let cool.
Cake and Assembly
Step 2
Lightly grease a 9"-diameter cake pan with unsalted butter and line bottom with a parchment paper round. Vigorously whisk 2 large eggs, 1¼ cups (250 g) sugar, and 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a large bowl until smooth. Add one 13.5-oz. can unsweetened coconut milk, well shaken, heated slightly if fat is solid, 2 tsp. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract, and 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted, slightly cooled, and whisk well. Add 1⅔ cups (254 g) mochiko and 1 tsp. baking powder; whisk vigorously until combined and batter is smooth and thick. Scrape batter into prepared pan.
Step 3
Toss pecans to break up any clumps and scatter evenly over batter, going all the way to the edges (it may seem like a lot). Bake cake until sides start to pull away from pan, top is golden brown, and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean (some pecans will sink), 50–55 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cake cool in pan 15 minutes. Turn cake out onto rack; peel away parchment and discard. Carefully turn cake right side up and let cool completely (at least 1 hour).
Step 4
To serve, slice cake and top with scoops of vanilla ice cream.
