TikTok made me do it: Hawaiian butter mochi

I don't technically have a TikTok account - anything worth watching is usually reposted on Instagram. And that's where I consume TikTok videos because I'm a grown woman.

Props to forty-somethings with TikTok accounts. I'm too tired to engage in something so performative. A part of me just wants to ride it out without joining, just like I did with capri pants and Marvel movies.

Before I come off too grumpy, I'm here to tell you I find TikTok videos delightful. I like to laugh, I like to cook, and oh my goodness did I jump in on a viral trend. It went viral because it's heaven, and it's called Hawaiian butter mochi.

Guys. It's silky and bouncy like mochi, but buttery and coconutty (if it wasn't a word before, it should be). It's a little French, a little Japanese and crazy amounts of tropical.

And it's almost too easy to make. Unlike most baking recipes where you have to mix the wet and dry ingredients separately, or wait for things to rise, you don't do anything here but mix things in a giant bowl then bake. 

Hawaiian Butter Mochi recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 stick of melted butter
• 1 pound of glutinous rice flour (available at Asian markets)
• 2 cups of whole milk
• 2 dashes of salt
• 2 cups of granulated sugar
• 1 can of coconut milk
• Four eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup of shredded coconut (optional but texture - do it!)

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350
• Line a 9x13" baking tray with parchment paper
• Mix all ingredients in a bowl, except fpr the shredded coconut
• Stir until there are no lumps (you can't overmix this)
• Once it's as smooth as you can get it, pour into tray with parchment
• Dust or cover the top with shredded coconut
• Bake for at least 1 hour in the oven, and remove when the top coconut flakes become brown and toasty
• Remove from oven, and allow to cool before cutting

It's that simple. It's that good. Just thinking about it makes me reconsider my stance on not having a TikTok account.