Within the United States, mochi doughnuts are available mostly in major cities — not in my college town in Connecticut, and definitely not in my hometown in Arkansas. Lucky for me, they’ve gained a local foothold in the last few years. So when I prepared to move to Boston, I was ready to patronize independent bookstores, visit iconic museums, and watch boats along the Esplanade — but more than anything else, I wanted a mochi doughnut.
But not all mochi doughnuts are created equal.
According to pastry chef and recipe developer Catherine Zhang, the key to a good mochi doughnut is texture. She tested many recipes to try to replicate a Mister Donut-esque mochi doughnut for her new cookbook, “Mochi, Cakes and Bakes,” which is out in November. According to Zhang, the ideal texture can vary according to personal taste, but there are a couple of factors to keep in mind.
One is the base. According to Zhang’s research, Mister Donut uses tapioca starch for its doughnuts instead of glutinous rice flour. It’s what gives them their chewy, bouncy texture. Glutinous rice flour (a.k.a. mochi flour) can make doughnuts “a bit stodgy,” she said.
In Boston, some mochi doughnut vendors belong to chains that use proprietary mixes that probably contain at least a little bit of both — at least, I think. In my quest for Boston’s best mochi doughnut, I talked to general managers, cashiers, and owners. Most couldn’t tell me what is in their doughnuts.
As Will Oh, assistant general manager at Paris Baguette, said of their recipe: “It’s very confidential. Even if I could give it to you, I have no idea.”
To me, the ideal mochi doughnut is chewy and has consistent structural integrity. The icing has hardened on the top, and you can pull apart each of the eight balls with ease. The flavor of mochi doughnuts largely comes from the icing, but the balance between icing and doughnut should be such that you can taste both.
In the name of journalism, I sampled 26 mochi doughnuts at seven outlets around town. Here’s what you need to know about each one.
The trailblazer: Coco Leaf
The first mochi doughnut in Boston was at Coco Leaf, a local dessert café with two locations. It started selling mochi doughnuts in 2017, before they gained popularity in other parts of the country, which meant Coco Leaf often had to educate people about what mochi doughnuts are.
“We had to warn them about the texture before they tried it, because they’d see a doughnut, and they’re expecting a traditional cake doughnut,” said Somath Om, one of the co-owners. “Then they bite into it and it’s like a marshmallow-y, gooey texture.”
The doughnuts here look like traditional American-style doughnuts, and they are in limited supply. They’re only available on the weekends. Because mochi doughnuts are so labor intensive, said Om, Coco Leaf makes only a couple dozen of them, and they usually sell out in two hours.
The doughnuts are topped in a white chocolate glaze and coated in Oreo crumble, matcha, or Fruity Pebbles. (The matcha was great!) They’re made with a glutinous rice flour base, which makes them chewier than most other mochi doughnuts. But it works — an evocation of the bouncy texture known as QQ, found in boba and other chewy Asian desserts.
Note: The Dorchester location will be closed until the end of the month for renovations, but it will be back in September with new Vietnamese street food items such as papaya salad with beef liver and fried chicken.
1480 Dorchester Ave., Dorchester, 617-506-0010, and 305 Newbury St., Back Bay, 857-991-1719. www.cocoleafboston.com.
Most creative: Neighborhood Donut Society
For Canton resident Anna-Li…
Read More: I tried every mochi doughnut shop in Boston. Here’s what you need to know.