In painting, the blank canvas can become a masterpiece; in dance, the human body, a breathtaking testament to physical strength and grace; in music — a string of notes can become a symphony.

But nowhere is the act of transformation more tangible (or delicious) than in the art of cooking, where a handful of relatively simple ingredients can, with just a bit of inspiration and manipulation, become so much more.

Such is the case with the mochi muffin created by Sam Butarbutar, who owns and operates Sam’s Patisserie, a tiny bakery located inside Berkeley’s Catahoula Coffee Co.

Not too sweet, the mochi muffin has a perfectly caramelized, slightly crisp exterior that belies a dense and chewy interior.

“Using rice to bake gives you a very interesting texture. It can be crispy while also chewy at the same time. You can’t do that with a lot of wheat flour,” says Butarbutar.

Back to Gallery Do you know the Berkeley mochi muffin man? 8 1 of 8 Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle 2 of 8 Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle 3 of 8 Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle 4 of 8 Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle 5 of 8 Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle 6 of 8 Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle 7 of 8 Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle 8 of 8 Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle















The 27-year-old Butarbutar didn’t plan to be a pastry chef. Born and raised in Indonesia, he would help his mom make Black Forest cakes at Christmastime, and as a student at UC Berkeley, he participated in college baking competitions. Despite graduating with a degree in toxicology, he struggled to find a job in the health field, so — without any culinary training — he decided to take a crack at professional restaurant work.

After reading Lazy Bear chef David Barzelay’s food blog, he inquired about helping out at Barzelay’s then-emerging underground Mission pop-ups. He stayed with Lazy Bear for about two years, leaving just before it evolved into a full-time restaurant.

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Around the same time, Butarbutar finally got a job offer from the Department of Health. “I went to college for it, (so I) wanted to at least give it a shot.”

He soon realized he was miserable away from professional kitchens, so he began scheming his way to get back. While still working at his office job, he signed up for a cottage food license, which allows entrepreneurs to make certain foods in their home kitchens to sell to the public.

During his off hours, he would bake, then sell his wares at local festivals and events. “Every single time I popped up in Berkeley I was selling out,” he says. “That’s when I realized, wow, I can do this full time.” Butarbutar quit his office job in April 2015 and hasn’t looked back.

From the beginning, Butarbutar had a vision to make French pastries with Asian flavors. He eventually added mochi to his repertoire, because every single day, at least five to 10 people were asking him about gluten-free options.

“To me, I don’t like turning something that is made with flour and making it gluten-free, like chocolate cake.” To create a good alternative for his gluten-averse customers, and still fit in with his Asian-influenced pastries, Butarbutar began experimenting with steamed mochi, which are made with Koda Farms mochiko (sweet rice flour), and filled with sweet red bean paste. He’s played with traditional flavors like matcha, as well as unexpected variations like plum-rosewater.

While the traditional versions got a strong response from some, he found them to be a harder sell for customers unfamiliar with the dessert’s unusual texture.

To make the sweets more approachable for Western palates, he created a baked version — the now-famous muffin — inspired by mochi he’d had in Hawaii, made with butter, coconut milk and Indonesian palm sugar, which he says has a darker and richer toffee-like flavor. He also infuses the dough with pandan, a grassy and bitter Southeast Asian herb that is “like a match made in heaven when you pair it with coconut.”

Though the pastry is normally baked in a large pan and then sliced, Butarbutar decided to use a muffin tin. The finished products are topped with a sprinkling of black and white sesame seeds.

While still a one-man baking show, Butarbutar began renting out commercial kitchen space at Catahoula Coffee Company in Berkeley, where he now makes about a thousand mochi muffins a week.

The mochi muffins have become so popular that, according to Butarbutar, people have tried to sneak into his kitchen to steal the recipe.

Sam’s Patisserie products are available at Catahoula Coffee in both Berkeley (2080 Fourth St.) and Richmond (12472 San Pablo Ave.), as well as a number of other spots around the Bay Area, including Berkeley’s Bartavelle Coffee (1603 San Pablo Ave.), and Asha Teahouse in Berkeley (2086 University Ave.) and San Francisco (17 Kearny St.), among others.

Sarah Fritsche is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sfritsche@sfchronicle.com