This is exciting! Pate a Choux (the dough used for eclairs and cream puffs) is an elusive bird in the vegan world. The main ingredient in Pate a Choux is eggs, and lots of them. I’ve searched around for a vegan version, hopeful that some wonderful vegan baker out there had cracked the code of how to make this classic dessert without all the eggs. I’ve seen some bakers try with very mixed results but didn’t have the gumption to actually try myself. Then I discovered this mochi. (I am not being paid by the makers of this product in any way, just to clear that up before I continue my rave!)

I love finding new culinary treasures, and can honestly spend hours in a grocery store looking at new items and contemplating what amazing thing I could make with them. These, as the company calls them, bake and serve Mochi snacks were something I’d seen in the store before but I never actually stopped and looked at the package. I don’t know why not; I check out everything and I am kinda disappointed in myself that I didn’t discover these earlier. Better late then never as the saying goes, and I am so excited about the possibilities for this Mochi. Plus, it’s gluten free!

As soon as I read the back of the package, my mind started spinning with ideas. To bake the mochi, all you have to do is cut it in squares and put it in the oven for 8-10 minutes (perfectly effortless, just like I like!). And then, the miracle of miracle happens – the mochi puffs up to at least double it’s size, and, and — the middle is hollow! That is what started my mind spinning; empty middle means it can be filled with all manner of sweetness! Or so I hoped!

And so the experiment started. I had no idea what the mochi tasted like, if it would even be complimentary to a sweet filling or whether it would be more savory, or heck, I might not even like the taste at all. I started out by tasting a small bit of the uncooked mochi. It’s bland and very dense; I wouldn’t recommend it. Then I followed the instructions, cut it into 1-2″ squares (this is what is recommended on the package), put them on an ungreased cookie sheet and baked them for 10 minutes. They puffed up wildly; no joke, look at the pictures, they were crazy looking! I let them cool, then pulled a couple apart and sure enough, hollow and perfect for a filling. Next I tasted one. Just plain, on it’s own baked mochi, and it wasn’t bad. It was a bit bland and inside the hollowness where the dough was thicker was a little chewy but only slightly. I don’t think I’d make a habit of eating them plain (this was the original unflavored version as well, so maybe other ones would be better on their own).

Because they came out shaped so weirdly (I don’t know why or how to prevent that, nice little square pockets would be nice!), I cut off the oddly shaped end and then filled the remaining “squares” with a coconut whipped cream. It was really good, but not quite at the dessert level I wanted, so I drummed up all my culinary training, melted some chocolate to drizzle on top and then gave a fair dusting of powdered sugar. Now they looked like a real dessert. And the flavor? It was perfect. The chocolate added just the right amount of additional sweetness and after I took a ton of pictures, I promptly devoured them all! 🙂

These are not an exact replacement for pate a choux; the consistency isn’t quite the same but I think it comes pretty close and I can’t wait to bake and fill some more! Let me know what you think. Is this recipe reminiscent of a cream puff? I’d love to hear others thoughts!

Sweet Lemon-Coconut Filled Mochi Pockets

1 package Grainaissance Original Mochi

1 recipe coconut whipped cream (seriously simple to make – recipe from Gimme Some Oven here)

zest of one lemon

1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips

1/4 cup powdered sugar

Bake Mochi according to package directions. I cut them into 1 1/2-2 inch squares. While Mochi is cooling, make the coconut whipped cream. (I didn’t add any additional sugar, just the dash of vanilla extract) Stir the lemon zest into the coconut whipped cream. Cut off any funny shaped odd formations of the baked mochi so you have hollow “squares”. Using a pastry bag or small spoon, fill the mochis with the lemon-coconut cream. Drizzle with melted chocolate and then dust with the powdered sugar.