We had an International Bake Sale at work last week and one of my co-workers brought this custard mochi. I liked it, so I asked her for the recipe. (She had also made mochi dipped strawberries.) Then I made it for a potluck this weekend. One of the gals, Stephanie, said that it was just like something her mother used to make and that she hadn't had in fifteen years. Stephanie is half Asian, I think Japanese.
Anyway, mochi is rice flour and is used in many desserts in Asia. These days we mostly see it with ice cream. There are little frozen balls of ice cream in a mochi covering. Then there are little bits of flavored mochi that are used at toppings at yogurt shops. This recipe is like it sounds - a custard, but with a chewy consistency. For those that aren't familiar, I don't mean chewy like taffy or gum. Maybe a better analogy is 'al dente'. Like when pasta is done just right and has that bit of give. Or, like when you bite through a giant tapioca pearl.
At the potluck some people thought it was lemon bars because it looked like it. Everyone who tried it liked it. I actually saw George eat three pieces!
2 cups Mochiko rice flour
2-1/2 c. sugar
1 t. baking powder
5 eggs, beaten
3 c. cold milk
1 t. vanilla
1 cube butter, melted and cooled
Combine dry ingredients. Add beaten eggs, milk, and vanilla. Combine until smooth. Add in melted and cooled butter and mix till smooth. Pour into 13” X 9” x 2” pan. Bake at 35O’ for 1 hour. Top should be golden brown and edges are deep golden brown.