Tiramisu Ice Cream Mochi Bites

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I am obsessed with making ice cream mochi at the moment and they are actually really easy to make! These Tiramisu Ice Cream Mochi Bites are a delicious thing to have in the freezer at the end of a long day or for pulling out after a dinner party – everyone loves them!

They are little balls of ice cream wrapped in a chewy mochi dough. They are tiramisu flavour, so coffee and chocolate at the same time and that’s just the way I like them. You can make mochi with lots of other flavours (see below) but I am obsessed with this right now.

Why you’ll love this recipe:
Ingredients:
Substitutions and Variations:
Here’s how to make perfect mochi bites:
Cooking Tips:
Frequently Asked Questions:
Other recipes you might enjoy:
Tiramisu Ice Cream Mochi Bites Recipe

Why you’ll love this recipe:

Mochi bites are really simple – the frozen element means that the mochi are firm when handling, which means they are pretty hard to mess up.
The combination of chocolate and coffee is perfect in these little bite-sized puddings. I love these after dinner as they are something sweet but definitely not heavy or sickly.
The delicious texture of the soft, frozen ice cream with the soft, chewy and unique mochi texture makes this different to any other pudding.

Ingredients:

See recipe card for the exact recipe with a full list of ingredients and measurements

Condensed Milk – I always use Carnation. The condensed milk is key here as it is almost pure sugar, which means it won’t freeze solid so it’s perfect to make ice cream like this.

Double Cream – also known as heavy cream, this whips up with the condensed milk to make a quick no-churn ice cream.

Instant Coffee Powder – I like the coffee flavour here to make these tiramisu. Don’t use coffee grounds as they don’t dissolve, and it’ll be grainy.

Glutinous Rice Flour – I buy this on Amazon for ease. It’s essentially very finely milled short-grain rice, which makes it full of starch and lends itself to that chewy, stretchy chew.

Substitutions and Variations:

Mochi bites flavour ideas:

Keep it plain with just good quality vanilla extract.
Add a dash of lemon extract or lemon zest for a lemon flavour.
Matcha would be delicious if you dissolved some matcha powder into the ice cream.
If the flavour you choose doesn’t go with chocolate, dust them with icing sugar rather than cocoa powder.

Ice cream: you could also use shop-bought ice cream and use any flavour from the supermarket. Then all you need to do is mould the glutinous mochi dough around each ball to make these ice cream mochi bites.

Here’s how to make perfect mochi bites:

The full recipe is below but this step-by-step guide will give you some handy visuals to make sure you are making it correctly.

adding coffee to the cream and condensed milk

ONE: For the ice cream, add the condensed milk, cream, coffee and vanilla to a bowl.

TWO: Whisk all the ingredients together with an electric whisk until thick and stiff (soft peaks).

THREE: Use an ice cream scoop ( or spoon) to scoop dollops of ice cream onto a parchment-lined baking tray, or you can use a muffin tin lined with cling film or cupcake cases. You want them to be about the size of a golf ball Repeat until you have 8 small balls. Freeze to firm up for 3-4 hours.

FOUR: Mix the glutinous rice flour and sugar in a bowl. Fill a saucepan with 100ml of water and then turn the heat on high. Add the dry ingredients to the water. Stir to combine. The mixture should be runny and watery

FIVE: Keep stirring, there will be lumps but don’t panic, it will come together. Once you have one mass, turn the heat to medium, and push it around the pan. Add a splash more water and keep stirring. Once the mixture is a bit translucent, sticky, and slightly firm, it’s done.

SIX: Transfer the mochi to the board with a wooden spoon. It will be VERY sticky and stretchy. It will be very hot at this point so be careful and wait until it comes down to room temp so you can handle it. Sprinkle it with a little cornflour. Divide into 8 pieces and flatten with your hand.

SEVEN: Then wrap around a ball of ice cream, pinching closed with your fingers and shaping into a ball shape.

EIGHT: Roll each bite in cocoa powder. Freeze to firm up for a 3-4 hours and take out of the freezer to enjoy whenever you want

Cooking Tips:

Handling the sticky dough: You absolutely need cornflour/cornstarch to handle the dough and manage the stickiness. Keep your hands cool when handling too.

Making the dough: Go by visual cues written in the recipe. This means when mixing the dough, keep stirring it when lumps appear. They will disappear. Once it’s smooth and one mass, turn the heat to medium and keep handling it around the pan. Add a splash more water and keep stirring. You will know it’s done when you see that the mixture is a bit translucent, sticky, and slightly firm.

Moisture Control: Monitoring moisture levels is essential. If your mochi dough is too sticky, adding a little extra glutinous rice flour can help. On the other hand, if it’s feeling too dry, a small splash of milk will restore the right consistency.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is mochi?

Mochi is a Japanese rice cake, traditionally made of mochigome, a short-grain glutinous rice, and sometimes other ingredients such as water, sugar, and cornstarch. They aren’t typically frozen but with the popularity of Little Moons, ice cream mochis are increasingly popular.

Can I make this mochi recipe without glutinous rice flour?

No, I wouldn’t recommend using plain flour for this. The glutinous part of the flour is important for it to stretch into the chewy texture and if you use regular flour, you will not achieve the same results. It’ll turn into a weird dough with a dry texture.

Can I make this mochi recipe with shop-bought ice cream?

Yes, you can! You can use whatever flavour you like. Just scoop into nice spoonable balls (you might need to use your hands to squish it to the right shape) then re-freeze to firm them into individual bites. Continue with the recipe as written.

Why can mochi bites become brittle even if sticky during mixing?

Homemade mochi can turn brittle if the dough is underhydrated or too much flour is added after cooking. For best results, only add flour to stop it sticking and don’t go overboard.

Other recipes you might enjoy:

I am a tiramisu fan, in case you hadn’t already gathered from this recipe. This Banana Tiramisu is so good, but as is this Dark Chocolate and Malt Tiramisu and my famous Pistachio Tiramisu. Otherwise, my bite-sized Tiramisu Cookies are so delicious and really simple too. Or for a showstopper, this Tiramisu Tres Leches Sponge Cake is next level.