Mochi Donuts at Home: Chewy, Not Gummy (Baked Recipe)

Mochi donuts are the reason many people first bought a bag of glutinous rice flour. They are soft on the outside, pleasantly bouncy in the middle, and slightly chewy in a way that regular donuts never are. One 2026 roundup of viral desserts, The Hype Menu’s guide, picked mochi donuts as the best trending dessert to actually make at home, and a Penn State Extension trend report notes that mochi delivers soft, chewy and sticky textures all in one bite.

The best part: you do not need to deep fry anything. This baked version uses a donut pan and about 10 minutes of hands-on time.

Ingredients (makes 6)

• 100 g glutinous rice flour
• 40 g plain flour
• 60 g sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• A small pinch of salt
• 1 egg (for an eggless version, use 60 g plain yogurt instead)
• 120 ml milk
• 25 g butter, melted and cooled
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Simple glaze: 100 g icing sugar mixed with 2 tablespoons milk. Add 1 teaspoon matcha, a little ube extract, or strawberry powder for colour and flavour.

Step by step

1. Heat the oven to 175 °C and lightly grease a 6-cavity donut pan.
2. Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk the glutinous rice flour, plain flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
3. Mix the wet ingredients. Whisk the egg, milk, melted butter and vanilla in a jug.
4. Combine. Pour the wet into the dry and stir until just smooth. The batter will be thick, like a slightly loose cake batter. Rest it for 10 minutes so the rice flour absorbs the liquid.
5. Fill the pan. Spoon or pipe the batter into the cavities, filling them about three quarters full.
6. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the donuts are lightly golden and spring back when pressed. Every oven is different, so check from 15 minutes.
7. Cool and glaze. Let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes, turn them out, and dip the tops in glaze. Let the glaze set for a few minutes.

Why are my mochi donuts not chewy? Troubleshooting

• They are dense and cakey. You probably used regular rice flour, or too much plain flour. The chewiness comes from glutinous rice flour, so keep the ratio as written.
• They are dry. They were overbaked. Mochi donuts are done when just golden, not dark brown.
• The centre is gummy. They need a few more minutes. Rice flour batters look done before they are.
• They turned hard overnight. This is normal. The starch firms up as it cools. Warm a donut for 8 to 10 seconds in the microwave to bring back the chew.

Flavour ideas

• Matcha: whisk 1 teaspoon matcha into the glaze
• Ube: add a little ube extract to the glaze and top with toasted coconut
• Chocolate: dip in melted dark chocolate and add a pinch of sea salt
• Strawberry: blend freeze-dried strawberries into the icing sugar

Learn the basics that make every recipe work

A good donut is a good dough or batter: the right ratios, the right mixing and the right bake. If you want to build those skills properly, so every recipe you try turns out better, hear what graduates of APCA Chef Online say about learning online:

Frequently asked questions

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