Nyob Zoo All!
Here’s another take on the very trending and delicious Shanghai butter rice cakes. This one is corn flavored. This flavor is a very well-known type of ncuav commonly eaten in Hmong culture. Corn rice cakes, also known as Ncuav Pob Kws in Hmong, are often made and best enjoyed during corn season. They’re usually made with fresh yellow corn, but nowadays, if corn is not in season, frozen or canned corn is often used instead. They’re full of corn flavor, chewy on the inside, and made not too sweet. Corn rice cakes are probably one of my grandma’s go-to rice cakes to make, so I thought I’d turn these delicious butter mochi cakes into a corn-flavored version. They’re crispy and buttery on the outside, soft, chewy, and full of corn flavor on the inside. Give this one a try if you love corn!
What are Shanghai butter rice cakes?
Shanghai butter rice cakes are a type of rice cake that are chewy and soft on the inside, and super crispy, light, and buttery on the outside. They have gone viral because of it’s unique golden buttery edges and soft and chewy interior. It’s classically made with glutinous rice flour which gives it that fun chewy texture, butter for that rich addicting flavor, sugar for sweetness, and eggs to bind it all together. It’s simple in ingredients but other flavors can be added to the batter to make it a little bit more fun. You can see very similar rice cakes in other countries like Hawaiian butter mochi or Filipino bibingka. Same type of chewy like interior but all have unique texture, style and method of their own. It’s been trending quite a bit in Korea where it’s often called “butter tteok” as well.
Main Ingredients
- Glutinous rice flour: Glutinous rice flour is flour made with “sweet rice” or also known as sticky rice. This is what gives the rice cakes the chew. There are two kinds of glutinous rice flour I like to use for this. Erawan Brand or Koda Farms Mochiko flour will work. What’s the difference? Erawan brand uses long grain sticky rice for their flour vs Koda farms uses short grain sticky rice instead. Long grain and short grain sticky rice both have their own unique subtle flavors and texture to them but they both will work perfectly fine in this recipe since the rice cake will still achieve that nice chewy texture. If I had to choose, I would use Erawan brand since it will create a much crispier exterior and more chewier interior.
- Tapioca starch: Gives tenderness and also more chew
- Coconut milk: Give the rice cake richness and flavor. Use a good quality coconut milk like Aroy D.
- Whole milk: Gives more richness and helps balance out the amount of coconut added to this recipe.
- Corn: Gives the rice cake a subtle sweet and corny flavor.
- Sugar: For sweetness
- Salt: Gives flavor
- Egg: Gives elasticity and binds the batter
- Butter: Gives richness and flavor
- Vanilla extract: Gives flavor
Blend the fresh corn with milk and coconut milk. Cook with the sugar, salt and butter just to melt. Cool to room temp and then add in the egg, vanilla, and starches before pouring it over a sieve to get a smoother batter.
CORN: You can use frozen or canned corn. I like fresh corn for the color and flavor better.
The pan
Use a good NON STICK oval shell shaped madeleine pan that has 12 cavity. The batter will make exactly 12 rice cakes. You can easily find these online. 
Make sure to butter each cavity so the rice cake doesn’t stick, helps create a crispier exterior, and for extra buttery flavor! 
Fill the batter 3/4 full. Give it some room so they can expand as they bake. 
Bake for 35 minutes for that golden crispy exterior
Flip them over so it can cool and steam out. This will help keep the bottom crispy! It’s buttery, soft, and slightly chewy with the perfect amount of corn flavor. Delish!
These are best when they are still crispy and slightly warm or room temp. 
Enjoy!
-Cindy Her (C.HerCreations)
Corn Butter Rice Cakes
Equipment
- 12 Cavity Round Shell Shape Cake Pans (NON STICK IS BEST)
Ingredients
For the coconut butter mochi cakes
- 80 grams fresh yellow corn (canned or frozen works fine too)
- 130 grams coconut milk (Aroy-D brand)
- 50 grams whole milk
- 55 grams sugar
- 2 grams salt (1/4 tsp)
- 2 grams vanilla extract (1/2 tsp)
- 40 grams unsalted butter (Room temp is best)
- 1 large size egg (50g)
- 140 grams glutinous rice flour (Erawan Brand or you can also use Koda Farms Mochiko flour)
- 20 grams tapioca flour
Other
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter (very softened or spreadable) [This is for brushing the cavities of the baking pan]
Instructions
For the corn butter rice cakes
- In a blender, add in the corn, coconut milk, whole milk and blend until smooth. Transfer to a pot and add in the sugar, salt, and room temp butter. Allow it cook on medium heat until the butter, sugar, and salt has melted. It does not have to come to a boil. Just hot enough to melt the butter, sugar & salt. Allow it to rest to room temp or you can cool it over a bowl of cold or ice water to let it come to room temp faster. Once at room temp, add in the egg and vanilla extract. Mix well and set aside.
- In a bowl, add in the glutinous rice flour and tapioca flour. Mix well. Then pour in the coconut liquid base and whisk well. Transfer the batter over a sieve that's been placed over a bowl to help smooth out the batter and remove the skins of the kernels. Transfer the batter into a spouted measuring cup or pitcher for easier transfer. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes before cooking. This allows the the flour to fully get hydrated before cooking. As the batter is sitting, go ahead and preheat the oven to 350'F under the baking setting.
- As the oven in preheating and the batter is sitting, take about 2 tbsp of unsalted softened/spreadable butter and brush each cavity of the baking pan well with it. You can microwave the butter to get it a little melted to make it easier to work with if needed. After 15 minutes of letting the batter sit, give it a gentle stir and pour the batter about just shy of 3/4 full into each buttered cavity. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes. I like to bake mine for 35 minutes in my oven for a crispier bottom. Once baked, remove and immediately flip each cakes over so the bottom can cool so they can hardened and stay crispy. If you don't do this, the bottom of the cakes will absorb the excess moisture that is trying to escape as it sits. So flip it over so the bottom can cool and retains it's crispy texture. Enjoy while they are still crunchy!
