Happy Thanksgiving, Liliko'i Butter Mochi!!

Some of you might wonder, why is she posting about Mochi on Thanksgiving?  Well, no special reason, it's just what I decided to make for dessert on this special day.  Luckily my daughter brought cheesecake, so there was  a choice. If you've (likely) never tried it before, mochi is more confection than cake.  Similar consistency to Applets and Cotlets, or nougat, and popular here in Hawaii.  I was going through my box of clipped recipes, which hardly ever gets looked at nowadays, since the computer recipe file I keep, and ended up online, with this one from the Executive chef at the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, Ralf Bauer, originally clipped from our local airline magazine.

Blackberry Mochi Cake and Sticky Lemon Cake

Our current Cook the Books Club selection, Baking Cakes in Kigali, by Gaile Parkin, was a wonderful glimpse of life in a distant land and culture, modern-day Rwanda, albeit in a place (University housing) heavily influenced by Western thinking, customs, food, etc., with a resultant struggle by some of the local people to hang on to African traditions. 

In spite of all the horrific experiences endured by many of the characters in Parkin's book, an upbeat and hopeful mood was maintained.  There was humor and flavorful individuals aplenty, encountered by the heroine, Angel Tungaraza, through her home business of catering special occasion cakes.

I thought all the negative references to "white cake" as opposed to the brightly colored frostings on Angel's cakes was particularly funny.  Cake itself is not "African", and the bits of recipe we were given certainly had no claim to outstanding taste.  Similar to The Cake Boss, TV series.  It's all in the design and decoration, rather than any wonderful or distinctive flavor.  But that is quite aside from the chef's artistic outlet and entrepreneurial creativity.

 In case you don't know what's going on here, we read a book selection bimonthly, and then cook something inspired by the work.  For my submission, I was tempted to bake three white cakes, with differing flavors.  About this time last year I made Black Cake, a West Indian specialty, so why not?  One of my very favorites is coconut cake, made with coconut cream and topped with shredded coconut on a fluffy white frosting.  Then the Sticky Lemon Cake, which I'd been wanting to make since reading a Nancy Atherton book which included that recipe, Aunt Dimity and the Deep Blue Sea.  Perhaps to be followed by a Butter Mochi Cake.   However, what I ended up with was the Sticky Lemon Cake and a Blackberry Mochi Cake.

Chocolate Topped Butter Mochi Bars

 Just a fair warning.  These are not low calorie, diet or fat-free munchies.  They are over the top with butter, evaporated milk, coconut cream, and sugar.  Then there is the chocolate on top.  Think Mochi on steroids.  Or, Indo-European take on dessert austerity.  Though I do really like plain mochi, and in various flavors (with exception noted below).  These are just another level up.  Anyway, as Ruhlman says, it isn't fat that makes you fat.  It's eating too much.

The exception.  I do not look on beans as a prospect for dessert.  Not when there are so many other tempting things out there, chocolate aside.  Strawberries, mangoes, pineapples, apples, oranges, etc. etc. etc. and nuts.  Just think of all the possibilities.  Beans and rice, pork and beans, beans in tortillas with cheese, or in Cassoulet, okay.  I'm fine with that.  Probably just upbringing.  But, still...

And, the only pounding we did was on those little blocks of chocolate before sprinkling it on top of the hot, almost finished mochi bars.  That was the easy way.  Probably next time I will melt the chocolate and pour on top when the baking is completely finished.  Just for aesthetic reasons.  It didn't alter the fabulous taste.