Vegan Ube Mochi Waffles

We're sure you'll love this super easy, 15-minute recipe for vegan purple yam mochi waffles, aka ube moffles.

It's an all-new way of using mochiko flour other than making mochi balls and a colourful twist on the classic waffle recipe. So, let us show you how to prepare these wonderful purple waffles!

You'll need only three ingredients

1. Glutinous rice flour

   Also known as mochigomeko (もち米粉), or mochiko for short, it is a type of flour made from Japanese ground cooked glutinous rice, called mochigome (もち米).

   Because mochiko flour is traditionally used to make mochi, small Japanese rice cakes, we called these waffles mochi waffles.

2. Ube spread

   It's a sweet, spreadable paste made from Filipino purple yams, and it's known as ube halaya in Filipino, meaning "purple yam jam".

   Ube spread is often used in sweets and bakes to add flavour and colour.

3. Plant-based milk

   You can use any plant-based milk you like, but we recommend coconut milk drink. It lends a tasty tropical flavour to the waffle batter, which goes really well with the ube butter taste.

   Use it to thin out the moffles batter until it's smooth and pourable.

You can find both glutinous rice flour and ube halaya at your local Asian food store or online.

Make sure you buy glutinous rice flour, not regular rice flour. The two look the same but yield completely different results.

Waffles made with mochi flour are crispy outside, sticky and chewy inside, while those made with rice flour are soft and spongy and like classic waffles.

That's because glutinous rice flour becomes gummy and gooey when it cooks, giving these mochi waffles their unique texture and feel.

As for the ube spread, you could also try making it from scratch if you can get hold of fresh ube or purple sweet potatoes.

We have a super easy and quick recipe for homemade ube butter that's vegan and lower in sugars than the classic ube halaya.

Because our ube halaya is more similar to butter than to jam, you can then use it as a butter substitute in bakes and sweet treats.

We successfully used it in all our delicious recipes with ube, including these vegan waffles and our ube butter mochi.

Once you have gathered all the ingredients, simply whisk them to make a purple waffle batter, pour it into your waffle maker, and let your machine take care of the rest. Super!

And if you'd like to try other exotic waffles ideas, you'll love this no-butter avocado waffles and plantain waffles!

Step 1

Make sure you're using glutinous rice flour (mochiko) for this recipe, not regular rice flour.

If you use regular rice flour, the waffles won't be soft and chewy like a Japanese mochi, but just spongy like normal waffles.

As for the ube spread, you can use ready-made ube halaya, available online or at your local Asian food store, or make it from scratch following our easy vegan ube butter recipe.

Ensure all the ingredients are at room temperature as they will incorporate more easily.

Now, add glutinous rice flour, ube spread, and coconut milk drink into a bowl and whisk well to make a smooth and pourable waffle batter.

Step 2

Heat your waffle machine to the max and thoroughly grease it with vegetable oil.

This will keep the mochi waffle batter from sticking.

Pour in enough ube mochi batter to fill all the waffle machine pockets and level it with a spatula.

Don't spread the batter to the very edge of the griddle, as the mochi batter will expand while cooking and it might leak out. So, it's important you don't overfill the machine here.

Step 3

Close the machine lid and cook the ube waffles for 5-6 minutes or until lightly crispy outside and soft inside.

Depending on your machine, you might need to cook the waffles for less or more.

Just make sure the waffles are crusty and golden on top but don't overcook them; you want to keep them soft and chewy inside, like a Japanese mochi.

Step 4

Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you have used all the ube mochi batter, and keep the cooked waffles on a rack without stacking them.

You can also keep them warm in the oven at 160°C (329°F).

Once ready, serve the ube waffles right away as they will lose some of their fluffiness the longer you keep them.

You can top your delicious vegan ube mochi waffles with yogurt, berries, granola, ice cream, or maple syrup.

Try them with a drizzle of our date caramel or a scoop of our purple lavender ice cream.

Tips

You can make an ube frosting like the one in our picture by whisking equal parts of ube spread and cream cheese (vegan or dairy-free if needed) in a bowl. Then, add icing sugar or maple syrup to your liking, and either spread or pipe the ube frosting over the mochi waffles.