With vibrant pink and blue hues, these homemade mochi donuts are perfect for Spring! Made with sweet rice flour, dragon fruit, and butterfly pea powder, these unique donuts are delicious and gluten-free.
These mochi donuts are crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and almost too gorgeous to eat. Almost! Made with sweet rice flour, tapioca starch, and a few other simple ingredients, these donuts are pipped onto parchment paper and then fried with parchment paper still attached. This simple technique lets you make donuts with a unique bubble ring shape.
I love making donuts. Even though we have a great bakery about 20 minutes from our house, you just can’t beat the satisfaction that comes with making these treats in your own kitchen. Although mochi donuts are a bit more complicated than my sour cream donuts or pink donuts, with a bit of patience and attention to technique you can definitely make these at home.
What Are Mochi Donuts?
Mochi donuts are a kind of Japanese-American donut. They are made with sweet rice flour and tapioca starch, then deep-fried. They have a crisp exterior with a chewy interior and are usually made in a bubble ring that resembles a baby’s teething ring. Usually, mochi donuts are topped with a sweet glaze, which can then be finished with everything from sprinkles to freeze-dried and crushed berries.
Is this an Authentic Recipe?
I would not call this an “authentic” recipe simply because I am not Japanese and have never been to Japan. This particular recipe was inspired by donuts I tried at a fair a couple of years ago, where a NY donut shop happened to have a booth. Their mochi donuts were delightful, but since I don’t live in NY and the fair hasn’t happened in a few years, when I had a craving for these delightful treats I had to figure out how to make them.
This recipe comes incredibly close to the texture and flavors I remember, though I couldn’t resist putting my own spin on them by using butterfly pea powder and dragon fruit powder to make the donut glaze pink and blue. (The donuts I had at the fair just had a simple vanilla glaze similar to glazed donuts.)
Where Does the Vibrant Color in These Donuts Come From?
The blue color in these donuts comes from butterfly pea powder (affiliate link), which is also known as blue matcha powder. Blue matcha powder has a subtle floral flavor, and it’s made from butterfly pea petals. If you want to see other baked goodies made with blue matcha, try my Blue Baby Yoda Cookies or my Naked Blue Velvet Cake.
The pink color comes from dragon fruit powder (affiliate link), which is made from a fruit that’s also known as pitaya or strawberry pear fruit. If you want to try other recipes with dragon fruit, check out these Pink Donuts or these Frosted Animal Crackers.
Key Ingredients
You can find the full ingredients list in the recipe card below, but here are a few notes for the main ingredients:
- Mochiko Flour – This is a kind of glutinous rice flour, also known as sweet rice flour. It is made from short-grain Japanese rice and can be found in the international section of some grocery stores, or on Amazon (affiliate link).
- Tapioca Starch – This is a thickening agent that adds a chewy texture to baked goods. It is also called tapioca flour. I like to use Bob’s Red Mill tapioca flour/starch.
How to Make Mochi Donuts at Home
Mix your dry ingredients. In a large bowl, mix together the mochiko flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, salt, and granulated sugar.
Add your wet ingredients. Add in the egg, milk, and butter. Stir until fully combined.
Prep your parchment paper. Cut a piece of parchment paper into 3 square inch pieces. Lay out your parchment squares on your workspace and place a small dot of dough on the back of each piece. Press into your surface to stick. This will help your paper to not slide when you are shaping your donuts.
Shape your donuts. Fill your dough into a piping bag or large plastic storage bag. With scissors, cut the end to create a medium-sized tip. Pip your dough into the shape of a ringed donut, one dot at a time. Repeat this step until all your donuts are shaped and there is no more dough. Set aside.
Prep your oil. Pour the vegetable oil into a dutch oven or deep saucepan. Slowly preheat the oil until roughly 350°F. The oil should sizzle when testing with a drop of dough.
Fry your donuts. When the oil is ready, gently place 2 to 3 donuts into the oil with the parchment paper still attached. Be careful not to overcrowd. After 30 seconds, use a tong to carefully remove the parchment papers and continue to fry for an additional minute. These donuts will stay light in color because of the Mochiko flour.
Carefully remove the donut with a slotted spoon and rest the donut on a paper towel-lined cooling rack. I suggest having a sheet pan underneath to catch any leftover oil. Repeat the frying process until all the donuts are cooked. Cool completely before icing.
Prep your icing. Divide the powdered sugar into two separate bowls, one for each color. Add dragon fruit powder to one bowl and blue matcha powder to the second bowl. Add cold milk into each bowl. Stir each until a smooth icing forms. It should have a slow pour consistency. If too thick, add a small amount of milk. If too thin, add more powdered sugar until it reaches the desired consistency.
Decorate. Using your hands, dip the tops of each donut face down into the icing of choice. Lift back up and place face side up back onto the cooling rack (keep the sheet pan underneath to catch any icing dips). Allow to rest until the icing is hard.
If you want to add the optional white drizzle, add powdered sugar and milk together in a small bowl. Mix until you have the same slow pour consistency. Use a spoon and drizzle the icing over the tops. Let rest a second time until the icing has hardened.
Tips for Success
Here are a few tips to make sure that your donuts turn out wonderful:
- Use good quality blue matcha powder and dragon fruit powder. My favorite brands are linked above.
- Don’t overcook the donuts. The donuts should be a light brown color after being fried. If they are overcooked, they will turn out to be too hard.
- Use an oil with a high smoke point. Vegetable and canola oil are both great oils for frying, and they have neutral flavors that won’t affect the flavor of your donuts. I wrote a bit about the best oils for deep-frying in my beignets recipe.
Are Mochi Donuts Gluten-Free?
Yes, these mochi donuts are gluten-free because they are made with tapioca or glutinous rice flour instead of regular flour.
How to Store Donuts
Donuts are always best on the day they are made. If you have extras, you can store them in a glass bowl loosely wrapped with saran wrap for up to one day. I don’t usually use an airtight container to store these because the glaze will absorb moisture from the donuts and become sticky.
PrintMochi Donuts
With vibrant pink and blue hues, these homemade mochi donuts are perfect for Spring! Made with sweet rice flour, dragon fruit, and butterfly pea powder, these unique donuts are delicious and gluten-free.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 15 donuts
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Deep Fried
- Cuisine: Japanese-American
Ingredients
Mochi Donuts
- 1 1/3 cup Mochiko flour (sweet rice flour)
- 1 cup tapioca starch
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons butter
- Vegetable oil for frying
Glaze (Two Colors)
- 2 cups powdered confectioners sugar, divided use
- 4 – 6 tablespoons milk, divided use
- 1 tablespoon dragon fruit powder, for pink icing
- 1 tablespoon blue matcha powder, for blue icing
For the White Drizzle
- 1/2 cup powdered confectioners sugar
- 1–2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
Make the Donuts
Combine the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, mix together the mochiko flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, salt and granulated sugar.
Add the wet ingredients. Add in the egg, milk, and butter. Stir until fully combined.
Cut a piece of parchment paper into 3 square inch pieces. Lay out your parchment squares on your work space and place a small dot of dough on the back of each piece. Press into your surface to stick. This will help your paper to not slide when you are shaping your donuts.
Fill your dough into a piping bag or large plastic storage bag. With scissors, cut the end to create a medium sized tip. Pip your dough into the shape of an eight ringed donut, using roughly 1 teaspoon of dough per dot. Repeat this step until all your donuts are shaped and there is no more dough. Set aside.
Heat the oil. Pour the vegetable oil in a dutch oven or deep saucepan. Fill until it is about 1 1⁄2 inches deep. Slowly preheat the oil until roughly 350 degrees F. The oil should sizzle when testing with a drop of dough.
Fry the donuts. When the oil is ready, gently place 2 to 3 donuts into the oil with the parchment paper still attached. Be careful not to over crowd. After 30 second, use a tong to carefully remove the parchment papers and continue to fry for an additional minute. These donuts will stay light in color because of the Mochiko flour.
Drain and cool. Carefully remove the donut with a slotted spoon and rest the donut on a paper towel lined cooling rack. I suggest having a sheet pan underneath to catch any leftover oil. Repeat the frying process until all the donuts are cooked. Cool completely before icing.
Make the Glaze and Decorate
Prepare the glaze in two colors. Divide the powdered sugar into two separate bowls, one for each color. Add 1 tablespoon of dragon fruit powder to one bowl and 1 tablespoon of blue matcha powder to the second bowl. Start with adding 2 tablespoons of cold milk into each bowl. Stir each until a smooth icing forms. It should have a slow pour consistency. If too thick, add a small amount of milk. If too thin, add more powdered sugar 1⁄2 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency.
Glaze the donuts. Using your hands, dip the tops of each donut face down into the icing of choice. Lift back up and place face side up back onto the cooling rack (keep the sheet pan underneath to catch any icing dips). Allow to rest until the icing is hard.
Add a white icing drizzle. If you desire the optional white drizzle, add 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1-2 tablespoons of milk together in a small bowl. Mix until you have the same slow pour consistency. Use a spoon and drizzle the icing over the tops. Let rest a second time until the icing has hardened.
Last Step:
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