Foodiva's Kitchen: Dragonfruit and Black Sesame Mochi Ice Cream

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Dragonfruit and Black Sesame Mochi Ice Cream

Happiness, hit her like a train on a track
Coming towards her, stuck still no turning back
She hid around corners and she hid under beds
She killed it with kisses and from it she fled
With every bubble she sank with a drink
And washed it away down the kitchen sink
~ Florence And The Machine, Dog Days Are Over


My childhood friend and I had gotten together for lunch recently and for dessert, we treated ourselves to mochi ice cream at a Japanese restaurant. It was black sesame ice cream wrapped in a plain mochi shell and to say it was hea.ven.ly is an understatement. The creamy, nutty flavor was not unlike frozen peanut butter, with the black sesame ice cream melting effortlessly on the tongue. As for the mochi, oh the mochi...have you ever had it like this before? Despite being frozen, it retained its chewiness, softness and silkiness that it didn't require much of an effort to cut through it. That leisurely afternoon treat lodged an intention in my mind... I needed to learn how to make mochi ice cream at home!



My brand new ice cream maker has had a sad track record so far. It was broken in a week after I bought it, and one more time about a month after that. Then nothing. The days have been rainy and cool over the past couple of months that making ice-cream didn't really feature high on my to-do list. But the thought of that mochi ice cream kicked the intention right up to that part of my brain marked 'to-do-right-now'. 


I love the smoky-grey hue of black sesame ice cream and figured it would go well with a more vibrantly-colored mochi. Red-fleshed dragonfruit then came into mind. Grey and pink, my favorite color combo (if you don't believe me, just see my macaron, polvoron and bread pudding posts). The sesame ice cream was a breeze to make as it didn't need a cooked custard base thanks to the creamy mascarpone. Just bung everything in the blender, churn in the ice cream maker and it's done. The mochi was not so la-di-daa...


I've documented the mochi-making process in pictorial form below so you can refer to it, along with the instructions. The mochi dough cooked in a matter of minutes so that wasn't the problem. The frustrating part was actually stretching the mochi dough thin enough to wrap around the ice cream. It was my first time making a mochi shell which resulted in my kitchen counter being covered with cornstarch, as was I. I needed to use lots of it so the mochi wouldn't stick! In addition, the mochi dough kept tearing and small holes kept forming with all the stretching and pulling it was subjected to.  In the end, I cheated and rolled the mochi thinner using a rolling pin covered with, you guessed it, more cornstarch. I definitely need to practise doing this more often.

If you have a round mold, you can freeze the ice cream-filled mochi in it to help form a nice shape. I used my silicon rose molds and my mochis froze into beautiful pink roses. This is such a lovely, delicious dessert for a small, sit-down dinner party so the next time you're going to host one, remember to put this one on the menu.

I hope you're all having a lovely, leisurely weekend and I wanted to share this song by Florence and the Machine (lyrics at the top). Enjoy :-).


Post update: I've submitted this post to Torviewtoronto's Food Palette Series Black, since I used black sesame in my ice cream here.

Dragonfruit and Black Sesame Mochi Ice Cream
Makes: around 6-8 mochi ice creams

Black Sesame Mascarpone Ice Cream
1/2 cup black sesame powder
1/2 cup mascarpone
1/2 cup coconut milk
4 tablespoons honey

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth (about 1 minute). Taste to adjust the sweetness.
2. Pour mixture into an ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. Scoop the semi-frozen mixture into an airtight container and leave in the fridge to freeze further for at least 2-4 hours. Use this ice cream as a filling inside the mochi (see below).

Dragonfruit Mochi
50 g glutinous rice flour or sweet rice powder
100g caster sugar
½ cup chopped dragonfruit flesh
80-100ml water
cornstarch as needed


1. Spread cornstarch on a cutting board, use plenty so the mochi dough does not stick to the board.
2. Press the dragonfruit flesh through a sieve to mash it and squeeze the juice out. Add water to this juice to make up 100ml of pink liquid. Set aside.
3. Place the glutinous rice flour in a glass bowl and add the pink liquid a little at a time, stirring to get rid of lumps. Then add the sugar and mix it well again.
4. Next, cover the bowl with plastic food wrap (leave a breather gap) and cook in the microwave on medium for 2 minutes. Mix with a wooden spoon (dip it in water) and cook for around two more minutes. Stir quickly until the dough turns shiny and smooth. It is now ready to be spread.


5. Dip your spoon in water then spread the sweet rice dough onto the cutting board as flat as possible. Remember the dough is hot so take care.
6. Cover the dough with corn starch and flip it over. Then pull and stretch the edges and make the dough thinner.
7. Keep pulling and stretching until the dough is around 3 millimetres thin. If it tears a little, just patch the hole up with more dough.
8. Leave to cool a little and when the dough is cool enough, cut it into rounds using a large, round cutter or a bowl for the size. You now have nice, round mochi sheets.
9. To freeze the dough, cover each layer of mochi sheet with plastic wrap and dust with cornstarch then put it in the freezer.


To make mochi ice cream:
1. Place a scoop of black sesame ice cream onto the centre of the mochi sheet. For a nice round mochi use an ice cream scoop.
2. Fold mochi over the ice cream and join the edges at the centre, pinch to close. Place in a round (I used flower) mold to form a nice shape and put mold in the freezer for at least 2-4 hours until the ice cream hardens up. To serve, remove mochi ice cream from the mold, let it thaw for 1-2 minutes and eat immediately.

23 comments:

Three-Cookies said...

I've never tried dragonfruit but seeing more and more recently. Must be in season. Hope the ice cream maker continues to behave properly. In cold countries (in Sweden anyway) lot of ice cream is sold even during winter. Don't let the weather win!

Erin said...

I have never tried anything like this. I had never even heard of Mochi before now. You make it look doable, and sound delicious! Thanks!

Alina---Explora Cuisine said...

What a beautiful looking ice cream!!! delicious too I bet! This is an amazing recipe for this hot season, I'll look some more for the pink dragonfruit :) Have a great weekend Maya!

Unknown said...

The color hear really draws me in, and even though you struggled it really does look gorgeous.

PFx said...

Definitely a huge fan of Florence + The machine with her raw crisp bold voice. You must be proud of your daughter huh? :)
What a pretty pink colour of dragonfruit within the mochi. I love mochi. If anything I'd love marry a Japanese mochi girl when I was a little boy. That's how much I love it. Hahaha.
Your ice cream machine seems to do a good trick.

Sandra said...

I am blown away by your incredible dessert and this song and her powerful voice..
what a amazing way to enjoy ice-cream.. phenomenal idea!!!

Anonymous said...

This looks amazing!

Maureen said...

We have dragonfruit at the farmers market here but I've never bought one. I think I'll have to try this. It's such a beautiful color!

Evelyne CulturEatz said...

Funny I have made black sesame ice cream too after trying it at a Korean restaurant. LOVE the stuff. But there was no mochi in site for me. That is a really cool envelope but a pain indeed to shape. I think you did a fab job, it looks so appetizing.

Nami | Just One Cookbook said...

I'm impressed Maya! I would love to eat this mochi ice cream!!!! You should sell this idea to mochi ice cream company (you know mango, matcha, strawberry etc are typical) I never ever seen any mochi that has dragon fruit in it. Such a creative idea!

Nourhan @ Miss Anthropist's Kitchen said...

Omg I LOVE mochi ice cream! I've been meaning to make some very soon--thanks for sharing! Yours look delicious! :)

Anonymous said...

I have never seen anything like this before! Absolutely stunning! the colours and the combinations sound brilliant - I will be making this one soon...

-Shilpa

Ana Helena said...

Wow! So good looking, and the colors are saying "it me now". Fantastic post. Thanks for sharing.

Carolyn said...

I've been listening to this same Florence song for a few days now, I totally love it! But beyond that, I've never tried mochi ice cream. From the looks of it, I am pretty certain I would like it!

Priscilla-ShesCookin said...

Wow, now I know what to do with the next dragon fruit I buy! This is stunning and my daughter loves mochi ice cream. She just went to see Florence at The Greek in LA - we both love every song on that CD!

Unknown said...

Nami, I don't think any mochi ice cream company will make this...dragonfruit, especially the red fleshed ones, are not so prevalent everywhere. But now you've given me the idea of making mango mochi ice cream! I think I may have a mochi ice cream-filled summer this year ;-).

Unknown said...

Carolyn, who would've thought that you and I would share a similar taste in music? I love this song too and listen to it over and over and OVER... LOL.

Unknown said...

Priscilla, how lucky is your daughter! I'd love to see that band live but they're not touring Asia anytime soon. The white fleshed dragonfruit won't make a difference to the mochi skin, so make sure you get the red-fleshed variety!

Nancy said...

I love mochi ice cream! Really loving your version, and the colors. I've made mochi before and it was such a pain in the you know what :) I love that song. It's always on the radio. This is a great version too.

(BTW, I saw your email. Will reply just as soon as this YBR settles down.)

Nancy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
the [sugar] apothecary said...

As always, I LOVE your color / flavor combinations! That black sesame, gunmetal gray is my favorite, and your dragonfruit pink is gorgeous! Anything comparable to "frozen peanut butter" sounds AWESOME to me! Beautiful.

Unknown said...

The mochi looks so so cool.

Torviewtoronto said...

innovative beautiful looking dessert I haven't had like this Maya thank you for linking it to the event

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