Ingredients

   
200g milk (or coconut milk)
1 large egg
28g unsalted butter, melted
50g granulated sugar
130g mochiko (glutinous rice flour)
16g tapioca starch
3g miso paste (or a pinch of salt)
  softened butter for greasing molds

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously grease canelé molds with softened butter — use visible white streaks, not melted.

  2. Blend or whisk milk, egg, melted butter, sugar, mochiko, tapioca starch, and miso until smooth.

  3. Fill molds about 70% full (leaves room for the rise — see notes on ballooning).

  4. Bake at 500°F for 10 minutes to set the shell, then without opening the oven drop to 350°F and bake ~25 minutes more, until tops are golden and bottoms are crispy.

  5. Unmold onto a wire rack. Eat warm.

Analysis

Total batter weight: 477g

Component Amount %
Structure solids (mochiko + tapioca starch) 146g 30.6%
Fat (butter, egg) 28g 5.9%
Sugar 52g 10.9%
Liquid (milk, egg water) 226g 47.4%
Egg/protein 8g 1.7%

This is a starch-set chew, not a gluten one: structure is high (~31%) but it’s all glutinous rice flour and tapioca, which gelatinize into that signature stretchy mochi bite rather than a wheat crumb. Low fat and sugar keep it leaner than a canelé despite the similar mold and crispy-shell goal. High liquid is what lets the starches swell and gel.

Notes

  • The Seoul viral trend (상하이 버터떡 / Shanghai butter tteok). Crispy shell, chewy mochi interior — similar textural concept to canelé but with rice flour instead of wheat.
  • Canelé molds work perfectly here — the butter + tall metal shape = crispy all around.
  • Gluten-free. The chew comes from glutinous rice flour (mochiko), not wheat gluten.
  • Ballooning in tall molds? In canelé molds the batter can puff up and over like a popover — that’s trapped steam (the batter is ~47% liquid and the starch gels into a gas-tight film), made worse by the tall narrow shape, not from over-mixing. A hot shock fixes it: start at 500–525°F to set the shell fast, then drop to 350–375°F to finish. Filling only ~70% also gives the rise room to stay in the mold.
  • Want it lighter / less dense? This tteok style skips leavening for a dense, boba-like chew. Classic Hawaiian butter mochi (Just One Cookbook, Epicurious, Delish) adds baking powder for an open, cakier crumb. To lighten this one: add ~3–4g (¾–1 tsp) baking powder sifted in with the mochiko, and/or shift the starch ratio toward tapioca (e.g. 100g mochiko + 46g tapioca instead of 130/16) for a bouncier, airier bite. Keep the hot shock so the lift sets fast instead of ballooning. Untested here — next experiment.
  • Miso is optional but adds savory depth that makes the sweetness taste rounder.
  • For flavor variations: add 1 tbsp matcha, ube extract, black sesame paste, or pandan extract to the batter.
  • Coconut milk makes it richer and slightly more tropical. Regular milk is more neutral.
  • These don’t keep well — the crispy exterior softens within a few hours. Eat same day.
  • The yield assumes canelé molds at ~70g fill. Original recipe makes 12–16 in smaller molds.