A spinoff of the OG Brown Sugar Boba Milk Tea Bars.
These 2 layer tea infused jasmine milk tea boba mochi bars are floral, milky, sweet, chewy and fun. The bottom layer you have brown sugar boba dispersed in a jasmine green milk tea flavored mochi. The top layer is a classic sweet milk mochi.
They are gluten free and by swapping out the milk for milk alternative, you can make them vegan!
The Process
Make the boba
Cook tapioca pearls per instructions on the package. I used these tapioca pearls. To cook them, I bring a pot of water to a boil, add the tapioca pearls and cook them until they float. Then I cover the pot and lower the heat, letting the boba simmer for 2-3 minutes. Then I turn the heat off and let the boba sit in the pot covered for another 2 minutes.
When the tapioca pearls are ready, strain them and mix it in a bowl with brown sugar. Let it soak in the sugar mixture for about 15 minutes.
Make the mochi
Generously grease a 2-3 cup baking dish with oil or line with parchment paper (I prefer the parchment paper method).
Make layer 1 (milk tea layer): Heat milk and tea in a sauce pan over medium heat, stirring until the milk starts to steam. Turn off heat and let the tea seep for about 3 minutes. Remove the tea and dissolve in the sugar. Let cool, ~3 minutes and then evenly mix in the flour.
Make layer 2 (milk layer): Combine the other all the ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside
Pour 1/2 of layer 1 into the baking dish and then disperse 1/2 of your boba mixture on top. Pour remaining half of layer 1 on top and top with boba. Bake or steam (see Cook the mochi section below) until the layer has set ~15min. Then pour the milk layer on top and continue to steam or bake until the mochi has fully cooked ~25-30 minutes.
Cook the mochi
You can either bake or steam the mochi. I prefer baking the mochi since it gives the mochi a more solid structure.
Bake: Oil a piece of aluminum foil and use it to cover the baking dish. Gently tap the baking dish with mochi onto your counter to remove some air bubbles. Bake at 350F for about 45 minutes. The finished bars should look semi transparent and a bit glossy.
Steam: Alternatively you can steam your bars. Place the baking dish in a steamer, cover and bring the water to boil on high heat. Lower the temperature to medium heat and let steam for 45 minutes.
Cooling, serving & storing
It is important to cool the mochi completely before cutting or it will be too hard and sticky. Let it cool for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.
When ready to slice, grease a knife or wet with water. Re-grease the knife or run the knife under water in between slicing to prevent sticking. If the mochi bars is still not very structurally stable or sticky, let it air dry for another hour or toss it in corn starch. Store at room temperature for up to two days or in the fridge for longer. It will get harder after a day– simply steam, microwave, or re-bake to soften.
Tips & Recommendations
- Line your baking dish with parchment paper or very generously oil your baking pan to prevent the mochi from sticking. I prefer using parchment, but when I do use the greasing method, I would grease the pan with coconut oil and pop it in the freezer for 5 minutes so the coconut oil will solidify before using.
- This is a small batch recipe– it fits well in a 2 cup narrow baking dish. I use this from Snapware. Double the recipe if you are using more than a 3 cup baking dish or using a square baking dish.
- Bake the mochi covered. This prevent the top from drying out and cracking.
- Sufficiently cool the mochi before handling. I recommend to cool the mochi at least 4 hours. Ideally, let it rest overnight!
- Oil knife or run it under water before cutting. You will have to re-oil/wet the knife. If the mochi sticks to the knife, clean the knife well, and continue to cut.
- Try pan frying the mochi as well! It gives it a nice toasty flavor and an addicting crunch! One of my favorite ways to eat rice cakes!
2 Layer Brown Sugar Boba Mochi Bars
Equipment
- 3 cup baking/steaming dish
Ingredients
Brown sugar boba
- 1/4 cup tapioca pearls
- 2 tbsp Chinese brown sugar
Layer 1: Milk tea layer
- 65 g glutinous rice flour
- 25 g granulated sugar
- 90 g milk or milk alternative
- 1 tea bags or 1/2 tbsp loose leaf tea I used jasmine green but you can use any tea of your choice. Just note that the color of the mochi will change depending on what kind of tea you use
Layer 2: Milk layer
- 65 g glutinous rice flour
- 25 g sugar
- 80 g milk or milk alternative
Instructions
Make the brown sugar boba
- Cook tapioca pearls per instructions on the package
- Strain the tapioca pearls and mix in brown sugar and let it soak for at least 15 minutes.
Make the mochi
- Generously grease a baking dish with oil or line with parchment paper.
- Make layer 1 (milk tea layer): Heat milk and tea in a sauce pan over medium heat, stirring until the milk starts to steam. Turn off heat and let the tea seep for about 3 minutes. Remove the tea and dissolve in the sugar. Let cool, ~3 minutes and then evenly mix in the flour. The texture should be like between a pancake and crepe batter. If it is too thick add some more milk.
- Make layer 2 (milk layer): Combine the other all the ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside. The texture should be like between a pancake and crepe batter. If it is too thick add some more milk.
- Pour 1/2 of layer 1 into the baking dish and then disperse 1/2 of your boba mixture on top. Pour remaining half of layer 1 on top and top with boba. Bake or steam (see "Cooking the mochi" section below) until the layer has set ~15min. Then pour the milk layer on top and continue to steam or bake until the mochi has fully cooked ~25-30 minutes.
- Cool completely before cutting– at least 4 hours or if it has been steamed, preferably overnight. Wet a knife with water before cutting, running it under water in between slicing to prevent sticking. Let it air dry for about an hour if it is too wet or slice and toss it in corn starch. Store at room temperature for up to two days or in the fridge for longer. It will get harder after a day– simply steam, microwave, or re-bake to soften.
Cooking the mochi
- Bake: Bake the mochi at 350F for a total of 45 minutes. The finished bars should look semi transparent and a bit glossy.
- Steam: Place the baking dish in a steamer, cover and bring the water to boil on high heat. Lower the temperature to medium heat and let the mochi steam for a total 45 minutes.
