Mochi Donut. These are super delicious and highly addictive! For those of you yet to be introduced to mochi, allow me to lead you to this new journey that will make your taste buds dance.
I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the #BacktoSchoolTreats week recipes. All opinions are mine alone.
Mochi donut. Those little donut holes are so addictive…and evil. Once you pop it in your mouth, you won’t stop munching them. My love for these donuts or pon de rings started when there’s a pop-up shop in the Bay Area. It took me 2 hours waiting in-line to get these donuts.
So this is a completely simplified version because maybe I was too lazy to make the dough like tangzhong when making bread. And maybe I can’t wait for too long to enjoy these mochi donuts. AND MAYBE I LIKE SIMPLE. Whatever the reason. I just kept this recipe really basic.
What are mochi donuts?
They are a hybrid of regular donut combined with Japanese mochi texture so they’re chewy and dense with the crisp interior. In short, they’re awesome!
What kinds of flour do you use?
I use a combination of all-purpose flour and mochiko sweet rice flour. Mochiko is an ingredient to make Japanese mochi to give foods a slightly chewy texture.
Can I make these donuts gluten-free?
Yes! Since #BacktoSchoolTreats week is here, I’ll share an easy mochi donut recipe that you can follow at home. It’s a shortcut recipe using a pancake mix so you can skip your stand mixer. So you can use a gluten-free pancake mix and combined it with sweet rice flour to make it a gluten-free version.
How to make mochi donuts?
The best part about making this recipe is it does not require any proofing or resting. It only takes 5 minutes to knead the dough and shape them into donut holes before you fry them. Once they are puffed up and golden brown, transfer to a cooling rack and let them cool before you put the icing or powdered sugar. Easy peasy, folks!
How do you fry pon de rings?
Pon de rings are the whimsical shape of donuts. In a regular donut shop, they use a machine to do the work; however, you can also make them at home easily. Make 1-inch donut holes from the dough. When all dough balls are formed, arrange 6 or 8 balls into a ring form, glue them with a bit of water. Place them on a piece of parchment paper. When you’re ready to fry them, simply drop a pon de ring with a parchment paper attached. The parchment paper will easily detach and you remove it using a tong.
As for the icing, I have a combination of sweet and a hint of salty. Sweet from Torani caramel sauce that is so silky smooth with a pinch of salt and melted salted butter. It’s a light glaze that can tickle your taste buds.
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Mochi Donuts with Salted Caramel Glaze
Ingredients
- 1 cup pancake mix
- 1 cup Mochiko rice flour
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 large egg
- Pinch of salt
- Oil for frying
For the icing:
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
- 2 tablespoons Torani caramel sauce
- Sea salt
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine pancake mix, mochiko, and salt. Slowly add milk to the flour mixture and mix well into a dough. Add egg, mix well until thoroughly combined.
- Scrape the dough onto a surface that’s dusted with more rice flour to prevent sticking. Roll the dough into a long snake, about 3/4″ thick. Cut into 1″ pieces and roll all the pieces into balls.
- Arrange 6 or 8 balls to form a ring on a piece of parchment paper, connect them with a dab of water.
- Add vegetable oil to a pot and set on medium-high. Once the oil is ready, turn the heat down to medium-low. Carefully add donut, along with parchment paper, into the oil. Remove the paper with a tong once it’s detached. Fry donut for a few minutes on each side until the donuts are puffed up and golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack.
- To make the icing: melt the butter and combine with caramel sauce. Transfer to a shallow bowl. Add in 1 tablespoon of milk if icing is too thick. Dip one side of donut into the warm icing and immediately sprinkle the dipped side with salt.
Check out these #BacktoSchoolTreats recipes from our Bloggers:
Back to School Breakfasts:
PB&J Stuffed French Toast from The Domestic Kitchen
Back to School Snacks:
Chocolate Covered Honeycomb Candy from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
Funfetti Rice Krispies Treats from Kelly Lynns Sweets and Treats
Mochi Donuts with Salted Caramel Glaze from Simply Healthyish
On the Go Granola Pouch from Jen Around the World
Back to School Desserts:
Afternoon Lemon Squares from Girl Abroad
Back to School Sugar Cookies from Love and Confections
Fruity Cereal Bars from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
Mini Pearls of Wisdom Cookies from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Pumpkin Donut Muffins from The Nifty Foodie
Back to School Drinks:
Caramel Apple Iced Tea from Jolene’s Recipe Journal
Caramel Apple Smoothie from Home Sweet Homestead
Caramel Macchiato Iced Coffee Cubes from Nik Snacks
Oh wow! We recently had a MoDo Hawaii pop-up at our local Mitsuwa and were immediately hooked! I will definitely need to try making them at home.
These mochi donuts are amazing! My hat is off to you for waiting in line to get your hands on some of these. Now I can make these at home anytime!
Mmmm…. donuts. 🙂 These are so light and tasty! I love deserts that are not too sweet.
These are wonderful! What a great recipe to make with the kiddos.
We love mochi ice cream so I was pretty sure we would love these donuts. I was right! They are fantastic.
This recipe didn’t work for me, they came out dense and nothing chewy. Do you have any idea why? Or any advice?
I’m sorry that happened to you. My guess would be the flour mix has more consistency compared to mochi flour.
These look amazing!! *-* Can’t wait to try them soon, hopefully! I need to pick up some mochiko rice flour!
I can’t wait to try!!! Can the dough me made and shaped ahead of time?
I believe so! 🙂
Can these be air fried?
It might be challenging but I don’t see why not
What pancake mix did you use? Or does any work?
Yes, lots of people use their favorite pancake mix and it works 🙂
What pancake mix did you use?
I use Krusteaz pancake mix but any pancake mix work 🙂
WHERE do you find the mochiko flour?
You can find it at most Asian stores or Amazon. Here’s the link: https://amzn.to/314IT5O
Is there a substitute we can use instead of pancake mix? I usually make pancakes from scratch so I never use a mix 😅
Hmmm…not that I know but I’ll take a closer look at it
I made a vegan version and they turned out great! My son has egg and dairy allergies, so I used almond milk and a flax egg instead. I brushed them with a maple syrup almond milk “glaze.” Yummy!
We live near King’s Hawaiian in Torrance, CA and they sell them in a variety of flavors, so I was inspired to find an easy version, which you thankfully gave us. 😉
Whoaaa that’s awesome! Glad you like it 🙂
No sugar in the recipe?
No, the pancake mix already has sugar 🙂
Sounds good! Can you bake these?
Loved the recipe! Thank you
Delicious the salted caramel is a nice touch!
With salted caramel, these donuts must so delicious. I love their shapes.
These are so fun to make!
I can’t wait to try these mochi donuts, they look so fun to make and eat!
These look completely irresistible!
WOW!! these are absolutely gorgeous! The recipe sounds pretty easy to follow too!
Yum! I loved this recipe.
Salted caramel must make these donuts so tasty. I will try gluten-free version
I wish this were in front of me right now.
Mmm….loved the chewy texture and the flavor was spot on.
These are the cutest donuts ever! And I love the addition of the salted caramel glaze…so perfect!!!