The Making of the New Mochi Kit

My love affair with mochi ice cream started a couple decades ago, and I could not be happier that it’s now taking the world by storm! It’s the perfect marriage of two cultures coming together to create a fusion sensation: Japanese mochi that’s soft and silky, encapsulating an American favorite, cold and creamy ice cream. Mochi ice cream is so popular, it’s become a staple at Whole Foods and Safeway, and even served as the grand finale at the Ice Cream Museum in San Francisco. But can you make this delicious handheld treat at home?

One hot summer day, I was determined to give homemade mochi ice cream a shot. The result was so much fun, creating each mochi ball “from scratch,” that I could barely contain my excitement for all the different flavors I could make, and my boys were equally excited. And that’s when I knew, I had to share the joy of making mochi ice cream at home. I tried various techniques and honed my craft… again and again. Then, I roped in my family and friends, and they loved it too. After countless hours of hard work and mochi ice cream consumption (not too shabby!), I am proud to share our latest and greatest kit, the DIY Mochi Ice Cream Kit. This also happens to be our first foray into desserts!

Here’s a closer look at what comes in the kit:

The DIY Mochi Ice Cream Kit comes with almost everything you need to make 32 pieces (4 batches of 8). Just add your favorite firm ice cream and sugar.

Sweet Rice Flour

The key component for making the mochi outer later is the sweet rice flour. No, there is no need to risk your fingers and hands using the traditional mochi-making method.

Matcha Green Tea & Cocoa Powders

As with all our DIY kits, we encourage you to “make it yours” and be creative. In addition to using any ice cream flavors your heart desires (as long as it’s firm), it’s also up to you if you want to add something to the mochi outer layer. You can keep it plain/white, or add a little powder, food coloring or jam for a splash of color and taste. Our DIY Mochi Ice Cream Kit comes with two powders so you can make one batch of matcha green tea mochi and one batch of cocoa mochi, if you wish.

Potato Starch

This is also a key component… without it, you’d be a hot sticky mess! When you transform the sweet rice flour into the mochi dough, it is VERY sticky. The potato starch helps minimize the stickiness, making it easier to work with. The potato starch doesn’t impact the taste, just makes your life easier… and don’t we all need things like that?

Ice Cream Mold & Dough Cutter

Trust me when I say I have tried making mochi ice cream every which way (and so have my kind and patient and loving testers). This ice cream mold makes the perfect size dollops of ice cream, plus it’s easy to store in the freezer and the scoops easily pop out of the mold. The dough cutter also makes the pefect size mochi that encapsulates the ice cream dollops. The combination makes it foolproof! As a novice mochi ice cream maker, if the sizes are off, even just a little, it can make it more challenging than it needs to be. We’re all about setting you up for success! 

Cooking Instructions & Video

The DIY Mochi Ice Cream Kit includes step-by-step instructions that are easy to follow and very detailed. If you’re a visual person (like me), you can also check out our cooking video:

The hardest part might be picking which ice cream flavors to use! In my household, we’re a split between fruity and chocolately, so the debate starts there… but there’s always a happy ending!

Be sure to join us on Instagram as we do DIY Mochi Ice Cream Kit giveaways and more!