Butter Rice Cakes

By Kayla Hoang

Updated June 29, 2026

  • Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
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Ready In
1 hr 15 min
Rating
5(307)
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Also known as Shanghai butter mochi, Shanghai butter rice cakes and butter tteok in Korea, these butter mochi are individually sized, extra-crunchy and have taken the internet by storm. There are multiple theories about how the cakes originated. While some attribute them to bakeries in and outside of Shanghai, another popular belief is that the mochi were invented by an unknown baker in Nantong, China who combined nian gao with French canelé. From there, the crispy mochi became extremely popular at bakeries in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region of China before going viral, particularly in Korea. Given the similar batter,  Hawaiian butter mochi is also a likely influence—though Shanghai butter mochi use dairy milk in place of coconut.  The key to achieving their deeply browned, crackly crust and just-sweet-enough, bouncy center is to bake the cakes in a well-buttered muffin tin (or madeleine pan), frying the outside. A bit of honey in the batter further encourages browning. Though tapioca starch is often a component, different brands can produce wildly different results; for the sake of consistency, this recipe skips it, but the cakes still turn out wonderfully light and bouncy.

Featured in: These Crunchy, Buttery Cakes Have Taken the Internet by Storm

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Ingredients

Yield:Makes 1 dozen

  • 10 tablespoons/140 grams unsalted butter 

  • ½ cup/105 grams granulated sugar

  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  • 1 teaspoon honey

  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

  • 1 large egg/50 grams, at room temperature 

  • 1 cup/224 grams whole milk

  • 2 ¼ cups/270 grams mochiko (sweet rice flour)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)

28 grams carbs; 42 milligrams cholesterol; 221 calories; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 11 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 64 milligrams sodium; 3 grams protein; 10 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 400 degrees with a rack in the middle. 

  2. Step 2

    Heat the butter in a small saucepan over medium until just melted, stirring occasionally, 3 to 4 minutes. Pour 6 tablespoons/84 grams of the melted butter into a large bowl and add the sugar, vanilla, honey and salt. Whisk until well blended, then set aside to cool. 

  3. Step 3

    Meanwhile, brush the remaining 4 tablespoons/56 grams melted butter into the cups of a standard muffin tin to generously and evenly coat.

  4. Step 4

    Whisk the egg into the sugar mixture until just blended, then whisk in the milk. While whisking, gradually add the rice flour and whisk until smooth. Divide the batter evenly among the buttered muffin cups (about ¼ cup/60 grams per cup) and smooth the tops, if necessary. Set the muffin tin on a sheet pan. 

  5. Step 5

    Bake on the middle rack for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 375 degrees and bake until dark golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes more. 

  6. Step 6

    Let cool in the pan for a few minutes, then lift each cake out with a small offset spatula or very thin paring knife and transfer to a rack to cool slightly. Serve warm. (Because their crust softens overnight, these cakes are best eaten the day they are made.)

    Tip

    • For the most even browning, use an uncoated standard muffin tin.

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    Ratings

    5 out of 5
    307 user ratings
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    Comments

    Sang Jin

    I am Korean. I used to bake the Butter Rice Cake 40 years ago when I was studying abroad in the US. Seeing this recipe brings fond memories. Back then we used to call it Sticky Rice Custard (literal translation of the name in Korean). Since then, I lost the recipe. Thank you NYT. I will try making it again. Note: drop couple of chunks of sweet red bean paste to the batter before baking. It’s good.

    Mel

    Just made these exactly as directed. They’re burnt at 35 minutes (after the initial 10 minutes at 400 then down to 375). So, definitely check on them before the 35-40 minutes in the instructions. My fault for not checking them. I’ll try again another day and will start checking at 20-25 minutes.

    Dorothy

    @Katarina that won’t work since mochiko is made from sticky rice grains not regular rice flour. Also mochiko is just rice, no sugar added. It’s probably just one of those simple recipes you shouldn’t make without the main ingredient. Check Japanese food stores for it.

    Gina

    I cut the butter to 8 tablespoons, 6 in the recipe as written and 2 in the muffin pan. Still enough to bubble up and crisp the cakes. Yum! I made the first batch just after a power outage, and in my rush, I forgot to add the milk. I pulled them from the oven half way through the lower temp baking. Before throwing them out, I tasted them. They were delicious, similar to shortbread. My boo-boo cookies were more popular at the party than the rice cakes. Now, I have 2 good recipes.

    Russell

    These are quite good, maybe 4.5 stars. Mine were totally done after 35 minutes, any longer would have been a problem. Contrary to the recipe, I actually enjoyed them more the next morning (stored in an airtight glass container), they were spongier and chewier and the sweetness was more subtle than when eaten warm.

    GB

    I made a double batch and my mom brain totally miscalculated how much difference there was between 2x the mochiko called for and how much was in a box. I thought the difference would be ~10g (it was closer to ~90g), and I didn’t want to have leftover mochiko flour sitting in my pantry. I only realized it after I was done baking lol. BUT it worked great for us! The recipe was great, the sweetness level was just right (any sweeter would have been too much). In one muffin pan, I added in a dollop of red bean paste as suggested by a comment here. Both are fantastic. It also keeps well in the fridge and crisped up nicely in the toaster oven at 375F for 5-8 mins. It took our family of 3 about 4 days to finish all 24 pcs, and there was no sign of it going dry or bad. I would definitely make this recipe again. Aside from my mochiko miscalculation, I baked this at 375 for only 20 mins, but I followed everything else as written.

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